Volleyball Rules – NY

SETTING – Sets must be made with light fingertip contact. Indoor sets differ from beach sets in that a player is not allowed to cradle the ball or bring it below nose-level before pushing it back out. There is less contact time allowed in indoor volleyball sets than in beach. Beach volleyball sets are considered carries.

• Sets are generally made so that the ball travels in a vertical manner, but can be done laterally as well. However, a set that only travels laterally may be more of a throwing motion than an actual set, and may be considered a carrying violation since it is similar to a carry in that the player is guiding the ball in anon-firm manner.

HITTING – A player is allowed to use any part of their body to hit as long as it is not a carry, with the exception being that a serve must be put into play with their arm(s).

• There is no male/female hitting rule/order.
• Contact with the ball when spiking is legal only if a portion of the ball has broken the plane of the net or has completely crossed over to the hitter’s side of the net. Hitters may follow through over the net after legal contact as long as they do not make contact with the net. The ball must be cleanly hit when spiking with an open or closed hand.

BLOCKING – A defensive block does not count as one of the allowable contacts. A player is allowed to hit a ball immediately after having made contact with a defensive block and is not considered a double hit.

• A player may reach over the net to block a ball if:
  • Any portion of the ball breaks the plane of the net.
  • After the offense has come in contact with the ball 3 times.

REACHING OVER THE NET – A player can reach over the net as long as they do not touch the net, but the ball must break the plane of the net before they can make contact with it, unless the opposing team has already made their 3 contacts. Otherwise, reaching over the net is illegal when:

• Blocking or spiking a set if the ball has not broken the plane of the net.
• Interfering with a pass before it has broken the plane of the net.
• The ball has fully crossed onto the other side of the court (is no longer over the plane of the net) and the player who’s side the ball just came from makes contact with it.

CARRYING – Carrying is illegal. A carry generally is any use of an open hand(s) while making contact with the ball that is not in a firm manner, but can be called with a closed fist at the referee’s discretion. A player may not guide the ball in away similar to dunking a basketball or spiking a football.

FOOT FAULTS UNDER THE NET – If player’s hand or foot remains in contact with plane of center line  it is legal, but if half or more is beyond the line it is a violation. If any other part of the player’s body touches the opposing court it is also a violation

BACK ROW PLAYERS – Back row players are not allowed to spike at the net or run up to block. If a back row player wishes to spike(direct a ball into opponent’s court that is above the height of the net), their jump must commence from behind the 10-foot line otherwise it is a violation.

ROTATION –  Teams must rotate after every side out, this includes the first side out of the game. A team is not allowed to decide not to rotate for their first service. Teams may rotate in one of the following manners which must remain consistent for the entire 25-point game. Teams may change rotation method from game to game within a match.

•  Player for Player – A player who is out may substitute for a specific player who is on the court in any position. These two players may only substitute for each other during the course of the 25 point game. Once one player substitutes for the other, only this pair may substitute for one another throughout the course of the 25 point game. These two people may substitute an unlimited number of times.
• Rotating In – All substitutes will rotate into a set position on the court. No one may be skipped unless it is to adhere to male/female ratio which limits it to no more than 4 men on the court at a time but as many females. There cannot be a separate male and female rotation. Players usually rotate into the service position. Rotation must be done in the same order throughout the course of the 25 point game.

USA VOLLEYBALL RULES – Apply unless otherwise stated.

Number of Players/Team Size

TEAM – A team may rotate any number of players into the game. If a team plays with 4 players, the server is considered back row (diamond formation). When new players arrive they may come in as soon as they are ready in the back row in a non-serving position

ROSTERS – Rosters are limited to 10 players, but extra players can be added for an additional fee. However, no additional players will be added to the roster after the 2nd week. Waivers must be signed by all players and handed in before the start of the first game. PLAYERS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN ANY GAME WITHOUT SIGNING A WAIVER.

PICKING UP PLAYERS – Since occasionally teams may be short players and ZogSports wants everyone to be able to play every game possible, ZogSports permits teams to pick up non-roster, ZogSports players for a match. Before you get too excited, there is a limit to the number of players you can pick up, and there is a limit to 2 times per season; after that it’s a forfeit.

• A team needs to have the minimum of 4 players including at least 1 female in order for games to count.
  • 0 females -official forfeit, play a scrimmage.
  • At least 1 female – a team can pick up to the same amount of players as the other team. For example if a team has 4 players and the other team has 5, the team with 4 is allowed to pick up 1.
• All pickups must be identified at the start of the game. Teams can never pick-up non-ZogSports players. If it is found out that you did not inform the referee about picked up players prior to the start of the game, your team will receive a forfeit. DURING THE PLAYOFFS, ONLY PLAYERS ON YOUR ROSTER ARE ALLOWED TO PLAY.

• Playoff Roster Checks: If a team would like to check an opposing player’s roster status they may do so before their playoff game begins.  The team must make a request with the referee to check a specific player.  A player cannot request a check on an entire team.  Once playoff matches begin teams cannot request a roster check.

Game Times and Forfeits

Teams will receive a schedule that will list when their team will play each week. Teams will be given 60 minutes to play 1 match (3 games).

WARM UP – There is no designated warm-up time. Warm-up time is to be included in the allotted amount of time that teams will have for their match. Teams will decide if they wish to warm-up or not. The longer teams choose to warm-up the less time they may have to complete their match. If a game is stopped early due to time constraints the score at the time of stoppage will be final and reflected in the standings.

FORFEITS – Please don’t forfeit. Your teammates and opponents count on you to have a full team and competitive game. Each team must have at least 4 players including 1 female to start a game. Teams will forfeit games if they don’t have enough players after a certain amount of time into the hour:

• 10 minutes -Team forfeits game 1.
• 20 minutes -Team forfeits all 3 games.

No one may play without signing the waiver. If it is found that someone is playing without having signed a waiver the team will receive a forfeit.

Funky NYC Gym Rules/Obstructions

Due to the differences in locations, there are several additional rules regarding facilities:

• If ball hits an object above 15 feet and goes over the net it is considered out of bounds.
• If the ball hits the wall it is considered out of bounds.
• If the ball hits a ceiling and comes back to the original side, it can still be played as part of the original 3 hits.
• If ball hits something below 15 feet, such as lowered backboard, support ropes, or objects attaching equipment to the ceiling it is a dead ball and the referee’s judgment as follows:
• If someone could have played the ball (had it not hit the obstruction) it will be ado-over.
• If the ball could not be played, the point/serve goes to the other team.

Rules

Referees will have a copy of the rules with them at each location. If there is a question or discrepancy, please ask the referee to check the rules if necessary. We also urge all teams to bring their own copy of the rules with them just in case.

Standings

The updated standings will be posted weekly. The standings will display each team’s rank within its division. Rank is based on winning percentage.

Playoffs

Playoffs begin immediately following the end of the regular season.

• Typically last between 1 and 2 weeks.
• It is probably that teams to have more than one match in a given day.
• No players will be allowed to be picked up during playoffs.
• All players must have signed the waiver by the first week of the season and be on the team’s roster in order to be eligible for playoffs
• Teams that have violated the forfeit policy during the course of regular season (2 forfeits) will not be eligible for playoffs.
• Playoffs are single elimination and games are a best 2 out of 3. Games will be played with the same scoring as the regular season.

SEEDING / TIE BREAKERS – Teams are seeded according to winning percentage. The tie breaker procedure is as follows:

1. Head-to-head competition (among all tied teams)
2. Record against other teams in or tied for playoffs (winning percentage – i.e., 0-1 is same as 0-2, but 1-3 is better than 0-1)
3. Number of wins
4. Record against next best common opponent
5. If team forfeited loses tie breaker if others don’t resolve seeding
6. Coin toss

Any questions regarding rules, policies, or eligibility of players must be addressed before the start of the game. Any team that would like to challenge the eligibility of an opposing player must do so before the start of the game. No protests will be considered valid after a game has started.

Waivers

In order to participate in the league, each participant must sign the team waiver. Waivers are provided and must be completed and handed in no later than the first night of play. Players not present the first week of play will still be required to sign a waiver with ZogSports staff before participating. Players must sign the waiver in order to be eligible for playoffs.

Game Cancellation

Games may be cancelled due to dangerous weather conditions, facility constraints, or other unforeseeable reasons. ZogSports will not cancel games unless absolutely necessary so players should always assume games are on unless they receive an email. If the games are cancelled, ZogSports will post it on the Weather Page of the website (https://play.zogsports.com/weather-alert-hotline) and post an alert on the ZogSports Weather Alert Hotline at (332) 213-9023. ZogSports will email all of the captains to let them know. It is then the captain’s responsibility to inform all teammates of the cancellation.

Sportsmanship

In ZogSports leagues teams are playing for their cause (a charity) and for fun. This is asocial league and the goal of ZogSports is to have a good time. We hope that everyone keeps this in mind when playing. We know that some games will become every intense, but players can still be competitive and be a good sport. Thus, any behavior deemed unacceptable by ZogSports may result in suspension and/or ejection from a game or the league. Abuse of staff and/or referees will not be tolerated. ZogSports reserves the right to remove a player from a game or a league if it is deemed that the player is bringing down the quality of the league. No fighting will be tolerated. Fighting will result in an automatic ejection from any game and in most cases ejection from the league for the rest of the season.

Forfeit Penalties and Notification

PENALTIES – The following penalties apply for forfeiting matches.

1. First Offense – Loss of match (all 3 games) and warning issued.
2. Second Offense – Loss of match and removal from the playoffs.
3. Third Offense – Loss of match and possible removal from the rest of the schedule.

FORFEIT NOTIFICATION

To forfeit, please fill out this form.

Forfeits ruin the experience for everyone. ZogSports exists to give you an opportunity to play and build community and forfeiting is a huge bummer. If your team absolutely needs to forfeit, you must let us know in advance so we can contact your opponent so that they don’t unnecessarily travel to the gym/field.

If you do not inform us of a forfeit your team could face penalties in your league’s standings. Once ZogSports is notified of your forfeit, it is final (you cannot change your mind) and the other team will be notified.

There is no additional penalty if a team shows up short-handed (needs to add other ZogSports players to field a full team) and has to forfeit the game, since the team did make an effort to get enough people together to play.