July 25, 2001

COLLEGE PARK, Md.- For fans that travel to Ritchie Coliseum to watch the Maryland volleyball team this fall, there will be several new changes to the rules of volleyball. The National Association of Girls and Women in Sport (NAGWS) has implemented several changes including the use of rally scoring throughout the entire match and new service rules.

Rally scoring will be used in all games of the match -no matter which team serves, the team that wins the rally scores a point. In a five-game match, games one through four are won when one team reaches 30 points and leads by two points, a deciding game (Game five) is won when a team reaches 15 points and leads by two points.

This is a drastic change from the past when games were to 15 and rally scoring was only used in game five. The following is a summary of the rule changes for the upcoming season.

1. Scoring and Results of the Game
Rally scoring will be used in all games of the match -no matter which team serves, the team that wins the rally scores a point. In a five-game match, Games 1 through 4 are won when one team reaches 30 points and leads by two points, a deciding game (Game 5) is won when a team reaches 15 points and leads by two points.

2. The Service
, A served ball that contacts the net and continues to the opponent's side of the net will remain in play.
, The server is only allowed one toss for service after the service beckon from the first referee (a server used to be allowed one "re-toss").
, The server now has eight seconds to contact the service after the service beckon (the old rule allowed only five seconds).

3. Adjacent Courts
It is now illegal for a player to enter an adjacent court before, after, or while playing the ball. The free space around an adjacent court is a playable area.

4. The Ball
Volleyballs no longer have to be white! If a colored volleyball is used, at least one-third of the surface of the ball must be white or light. All volleyballs used in a match must have the same specifications.

5. Coaching Behaviors
When the ball is out of play, the coach is allowed to address the referee for the purpose of quickly clarifying a ruling, or confirming the number of substitutions or time outs their team has used. However, coaches should not enter the substitution zone (the area between the attack line and the center line) when instructing players on the court, and should not enter or remain in the substitution zone while the ball is in play.

6. Experimental Rule
Some conferences will now be using an Experimental Rule which allows a player to retrieve a ball that has crossed over or outside the net antennas to the opponent's out-of-bounds area, and bring it back to their teammates for continued play. The return path of the ball must also be over or outside the antennas, and the player who is retrieving the ball must not touch the opponent's court.