The serve, the rules and playing a game

1Why this matters

You can now pass and set. To play a real game you also need to start each rally with a serve, know the rules the referee applies, keep score, and follow your coach's instructions. This lesson brings it all together so that your class can play full games, on a proper court or on a patch of ground with a rope for a net.

2The underarm serve, step by step

Every rally starts with a serve from behind the end line. The underarm serve is the most reliable serve to learn first.

1. Stand behind the end line facing the net. For a right-hander, the left foot is forward and the weight is on the right (back) foot.
2. Hold the ball in your left hand, at waist height, in front of your right hip.
3. Swing your right arm straight back, then forward like a pendulum, keeping your eyes on the ball.
4. Hit the ball below its centre with the heel of your hand (or a flat fist), just as the holding hand drops away. Do not toss it high.
5. Move your weight onto your front foot and follow through towards your target.

Serving rules: serve within 8 seconds of the referee's whistle; hit the ball with one hand or arm; do not step on or over the end line until you have hit it. Stronger players later learn the overarm serve.

3The rules of a game

• Teams: six players on court per team.
• Net: 2.43 m high for men and 2.24 m for women. Junior and school games use lower nets.
• Contacts: a team may use at most three contacts to return the ball, and no player may touch it twice in a row.
• Faults: catching or throwing the ball; touching the net while playing the ball; stepping completely over the centre line, under the net, into the opponents' court; the ball landing outside the court; the ball touching the antennae or passing outside them.
• In or out: a ball that touches any part of a line is in.
• Scoring: every rally wins a point for one team, whoever served (rally-point scoring). A set is won by the first team to reach 25 points with a lead of at least 2. A match is the best of five sets, and a fifth set is played to 15. School matches are often the best of three sets.
• Serving order: the team that wins a rally serves next; a team that wins back the serve rotates clockwise first.

4Playing to instructions

• Calls: "Mine!" when you will play the ball; "Out!" for a ball you judge will land outside; the setter calls the attacker's name.
• Coach's conditions: for example "use all three touches every time", "serve only to zone 5" or "the second touch must be an overhead pass".
• Fair play: shake hands under the net before and after; own up honestly if you touched the net; accept the referee's decision.
• Class adaptations: smaller teams (for example 4 against 4) on a smaller court give everyone more touches, and beginners may be allowed a second serve.

Worked example: keeping the score

In set 4, Team A leads 24–22 and needs one point to win. Then:

1. B wins a point: 24–23.
2. B wins a point: 24–24. Neither team can win at 25 now without a 2-point lead.
3. A wins a point: 25–24. This is not enough, because the lead is only 1.
4. B wins a point: 25–25.
5. A wins a point: 26–25.
6. A wins a point: 27–25. A leads by 2 and wins the set.

The match so far: set 1, 25–20 to A; set 2, 23–25 to B; set 3, 25–18 to A; set 4, 27–25 to A. A has won 3 sets, which is a majority of five, so A wins the match 3–1, and no fifth set is played.

Practice

Solution. Stand behind the end line, left foot forward; hold the ball at waist height in front of the right hip; swing the right arm back and forward; hit the ball with the heel of the hand as the holding hand drops away; transfer the weight forward and follow through.

Solution. It is a fault; the other team wins the point (and the serve).

Solution. In. A ball touching any part of a line is in.

Solution. No. The leading team must be 2 points ahead, so play continues until one team leads by 2, for example 26–24.

Solution. 3 sets.