Server moving to front row.

[bluedude62]

I recently watched a game where the server moved from the back position to the outside-middle hitter position and hit kill shots several times during the match. Is this legal ? My daughter played several years ago and the rule stated that "the server" could bump the ball near the net but could not kill. I ask a parent about the girl moving up and she agreed with me that the server could only kill from the back row position. The refs never caught this so that's why I'm wondering if there has been a rule change.

[RonVonHagen]

No rule change. That is what you would call an "illegal attack". The server can attack the ball but her feet have to leave behind the 3M (10 ft) line. The refs would of caught that if they were any good---that call is a little "too obvious". What level (grade) did this occur? I can see that happening in a Jr High match, but if that happened in a varsity match that would be ridiculous!

[cobweb]

Often you will see a front row player move back for serve return coverage. This re-postion is legal. When this player attacks, it does look like she is coming out of the back row. As Ron said, this should never occur with the server. I would not expect this to occur at any level. I have seen a bunch of volleyball. I've never seen that play attempted.

[Bastogne]

as long as the back row player does not contact the ball completely above the height of the net it doesnt matter where she attacks/hits the ball. she may contact the ball above the height of the net if she remains completely behind the attack line. the setter is usually the one who gets caught or will violate this rule. she will come from the back row to set a ball but will need to save it and will contact the ball above the net and the ball will end up crossing the net. if she can save it and it remains on her side of the net then it is okay.

this will happen at the jr high level a lot where there is one or two players who try to dominate a match and typically you might have less experienced officials who might not catch it as quickly. and it usually occurs with teams that have one or two players that have to carry the team. it should be caught the majority of the time (but it gets missed more than it should) at the high school level. officials should be able to catch this 95%+ of the time if they are paying attention.

[bluedude62]

I ask my daughter who played from 1997-2000 about this particular game and she said the setter can bump but as you guys stated , she cannot jump to kill "at the net" after serving the ball. This happened several times in a varsity game and neither ref caught it in the whole match. Two other parents saw it also and the three of us talked about it loud enough for them to hear ,but it was ignored.
Thanks for the feedback..

[tossithigh]

The rule reads: ART. 4 . . . A back-row player (on or in front of the attack line), cannot contact the ball completely above the height of the net and complete an attack.

Jumping or not is not the gage of the rule, it is where the ball is at the moment of contact. A player could be standing and still violate the rule. Since jumping usually causes the player to contact the ball above the height of the net most people think jumping is against the rule. Keep in mind this applies to any player who is in the back-row not just the server.

[crashnburn]

Cobweb, related to the situation you described, 2 years ago when we played Waterford in Regionals, a sports writer actually wrote an article in the Marietta times and claimed we were cheating and doing "illegal backrow attacks". What he saw was actually our big middle, who was also one of our best defensive players, pulled back for serve receive. She would pass the ball then come to the front and would usually get the set, so it looked like she was a backrow player to someone who doesn't know volleyball. I actually emailed the writer and asked that he correct the slanderous comments about our team, and even offered to send him a clip of the game so he could see what I was explaining. He insisted he was right and refused. Ridiculous !!

[cobweb]

Crash, hope all is well, especially that new baby!!!

I like the Marietta Times guy, he does a nice job of newspaper reporting on volleyball. He takes the time to engage the girls and coaches, then writes an article and does not simply reiterate meaningless stats.

It is a shame that he was not more aware of the rules so that he would not have been misguided by a front-row player positioned back on serve return coverage.

The Saints are having a great season, best of fortune in the tourney. I would love for the trophy to come home to an "easter", as opposed to a "wester", high school in Div. 4.