Sitting Volleyball

Lessons

Senior 6 · Physical Education

Sitting Volleyball

3 lessons

Lesson 2 of 3

Faults at the service, in attack and at the block

30 min

Two rules that turn standing volleyball upside down

In standing volleyball you may not block or attack the opponents' serve. In sitting volleyball you may do both: the net is so low that a front-row player sitting close to it can reach a serve as it crosses. The second big difference is lifting. A player who rises off the floor to gain height while playing the ball commits a fault, because the whole game depends on everyone staying seated. This lesson sorts the faults a referee must judge into four groups: faults in playing the ball, faults at the service, faults in attack and faults at the block, with the net faults that go with them.

Definition

Lifting: the part of a player's body between the buttocks and the shoulders losing contact with the court during a playing action, or a player standing up, raising the body or taking steps.

Attack hit: any action, other than a serve or a block, that directs the ball towards the opponents.

Block: the action of front-row players close to the net who intercept the ball coming from the opponents by reaching higher than the top of the net.

Screen: players of the serving team hiding the server or the flight of the ball from the receivers, for example by waving their arms or sitting grouped together.

Crossing space: the part of the net's vertical plane above the net, between the antennae and their imaginary extensions, through which the ball must cross to the opponents' court.

Rules 9 to 11: playing the ball, lifting and the net

A team has at most three hits to return the ball, not counting a block touch. The faults are the same as in standing volleyball: four hits, catch (the ball is held or thrown), double contact (one player touching the ball twice in a row) and assisted hit (taking support from a team-mate or an object to reach the ball).
Lifting: during every playing action, some part of the body between the buttocks and the shoulders must touch the court. Two exceptions: a defensive action on a ball that is not entirely higher than the top of the net may be made with the buttocks lifted, and a short loss of contact is allowed as a reaction after the action. Lifting is never allowed in an attacking action, and standing up or taking steps is always forbidden.
A player may touch the opponents' court beyond the centre line with any part of the body, and may reach under the net, as long as this does not interfere with the opponents' play.
Touching the net is a fault only when it interferes with play: touching the top band or an antenna while playing the ball, using the net for support, or holding it.

Rule 12: the service

Serving fault	Rule
Serving out of the rotation order	12.2
Not hitting the ball within 8 seconds of the 1st referee's whistle	12.4.4
Hitting the ball without tossing or releasing it (allowed only for a player with a classified hand impairment), or tossing it more than once	12.4.1, 12.4.2
At the hit, the server's buttocks touch the court, including the end line, or the floor outside the service zone. The feet, legs and hands may touch the court.	12.4.3
The served ball touches a team-mate, fails to cross through the crossing space, lands out, or passes over a screen	12.6.2
Screening: before the hit, a player of the serving team raises the hands above the head, or a back-row player raises the arms above the shoulders	12.5.3

A served ball that touches the net and still crosses into the opponents' court is in play. A serve hit before the referee's whistle is cancelled and repeated.

Rule 13: the attack hit

Every attack hit ends when the ball has completely crossed the net or is touched by an opponent. Tipping is allowed if the ball is cleanly hit, not caught or thrown. Hitting the ball in the opponents' space, or hitting it out, is also an attack fault.

Rule 14: the block

Legal at the block	Blocking fault
Front-row players block, with part of the body higher than the top of the net at contact	A back-row player or the Libero completes a block or takes part in a completed block; the Libero even attempts a block
Blocking the opponents' serve	The blocker touches the ball in the opponents' space before their attack hit
Reaching over the net after the opponents' attack hit, without interfering	The blocker lifts the buttocks while playing the ball or taking part in a completed block
Several quick contacts by blockers in one action; the block touch does not count as one of the three hits	The ball is sent out off the block, or is blocked in the opponents' space from outside the antenna

A blocker who lifts the buttocks but does not touch the ball has not committed a fault.

Worked example

Worked example 1: two back-row attacks. Player number 9 is in position 6 (back row). The ball is set well above the net.

Her buttocks are 2.3 m from the centre line, behind the attack line at 2 m, when she hits it hard into the opponents' court. A back-row player may attack a ball above the net from behind the attack line: legal, and her team scores.
On the next rally she slides forward and hits a similar ball with her buttocks 1.8 m from the centre line, inside the front zone, while the whole ball is above the top of the net: back-row attack fault, a point and the serve to the opponents.
Had part of the ball been lower than the top of the net, the same hit from 1.8 m would have been legal.

Worked example

Worked example 2: lifting, or not? Decide each case.

A blocker pushes up off her hands to reach higher, her buttocks leave the floor, and the ball rebounds off her hands: she played the ball with the buttocks lifted, so it is a lifting fault.
The same blocker lifts, but the ball passes beside her without touching her: no fault, because she did not play the ball.
A back-row defender digs a hard spike at chest height and her buttocks leave the floor for a moment: a defensive action on a ball that is not entirely above the net, so lifting is allowed.
A front-row attacker raises her buttocks as she spikes: lifting is never allowed in an attacking action, so it is a fault.

Worked example

Worked example 3: a blocked serve. Team A serves. Team B's front-right player, sitting close to the net, blocks the serve straight down into Team A's court. Is the point good?

In sitting volleyball, blocking the serve is permitted (Rule 14.5).
The blocker is a front-row player, part of her body was above the top of the net, and she stayed seated.
Point to Team B, which now rotates and serves. The same play in standing volleyball would be a fault.

Video: "Sitting Volleyball Highlights | Day 6 | Paris 2024 Paralympic Games", Paralympic Games. Watch the blockers at the net: their arms reach above it, but they must stay seated as they touch the ball. Look also for serves that are attacked or blocked straight back.

Tip

Ask two questions at every hit. Who played it (front row, back row or Libero)? Were the buttocks on the floor? Most sitting volleyball decisions follow from those two answers.

Warning

Common mistakes. Blocking or attacking the serve is legal in sitting volleyball. A back-row player's position is judged by the buttocks, so legs stretched into the front zone do not matter. Lifting without touching the ball is not a fault. Touching the opponents' court beyond the centre line is allowed with any part of the body if it does not interfere. Safety: players slide on the floor with bare hands, so the floor must be clean, dry and free of splinters, and long trousers are allowed to protect the skin.

✦

Practice

List the four faults in playing the ball that sitting volleyball shares with standing volleyball.
How long does the server have to hit the ball after the whistle?
At the service hit, the server's heels are on the court but her buttocks are behind the end line. Is the serve legal?
A team-mate of the server raises both hands above the head before the serve. What fault is this?
The Libero, sitting behind the attack line, spikes a ball that is entirely above the net. Decide.
A front-row blocker touches the ball on the opponents' side before their setter has played it towards them as an attack. Decide.
Use the flowchart to decide: a back-row player in the front zone hits a ball whose lower part is below the top of the net, with buttocks on the floor.
Explain why the rules allow lifting in a defensive action on a low ball but never in an attack.

Show answersHide answers

Four hits, catch, double contact and assisted hit.
8 seconds.
Yes: only the buttocks must be in the service zone; the feet and legs may touch the court.
Screening (Rule 12.5.3): no player of the serving team may raise the hands above the head before the service hit.
Fault: the Libero may not complete an attack hit on a ball entirely above the top of the net, from anywhere.
Blocking fault: the blocker touched the ball in the opponents' space before their attack hit.
Legal: part of the ball was lower than the top of the net, so a back-row player may attack it from the front zone.
A quick lift to save a low ball gives no height advantage over the net and keeps rallies going, which helps both teams; lifting to attack would let a player hit down from above the net, an unfair gain in height over seated opponents.

Remember

Some part of the body between the buttocks and shoulders must touch the floor whenever a player plays the ball (except a quick defensive lift on a low ball).
Serve: within 8 s, buttocks in the service zone, no screening.
The serve may be blocked and attacked.
Back-row players attack a ball wholly above the net only with the buttocks behind the attack line.
Only front-row players block; lifting while touching the ball at the block is a fault.

Sources and credits

Official Sitting Volleyball Rules 2025–2028, World ParaVolley: Rules 9 to 14 and Diagram 8 summarised, not copied.
Photo: 221000 - Sitting volleyball Australia defends - 3b - 2000 Sydney match photo, Sport the library, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Video: "Sitting Volleyball Highlights | Day 6 | Paris 2024 Paralympic Games", Paralympic Games, embedded from YouTube.
Attack-hit flowchart, tables, worked examples and practice: written by Ganzaa.

This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.

1Two rules that turn standing volleyball upside down

2Rules 9 to 11: playing the ball, lifting and the net

3Rule 12: the service

4Rule 13: the attack hit

5Rule 14: the block

Two rules that turn standing volleyball upside down

Rules 9 to 11: playing the ball, lifting and the net

Rule 12: the service

Rule 13: the attack hit

Rule 14: the block