Light Volley rules
The complete Light Volley rulebook: ball, court, net, rotation, scoring, and how it differs from traditional volleyball.
Light Volley differs from volleyball in the size of the ball, the size of the court, the number of players on court (5), and the team rotation on every point. Otherwise, standard volleyball rules apply, except for the cases listed below.
Object of the game
As in traditional volleyball, the object of the game is to land the ball in the opponents' court, with three touches per team available.
Ball size
the ball has a diameter of 25cm and a weight of 125g: it is therefore bigger than the official volleyball (21cm) and lighter (145g less).
Number of touches
a team can make at most three touches; the block touch does not count as a touch. A player may hit the ball twice with different parts of the body in a very short span of time (a "double hit" is not considered a fault).
Court size
each half-court is 6x6 metres; a line drawn 2m from the net marks the boundary between the front row and the back row
Net height
the net is set at 1.9m for women, 2.1m for men, and 2m in mixed play
Mixed teams
a mixed team must have at least two women
Scoring
the team that wins a rally scores a point. The match is played best of three sets. Each set is played to 21 points and the deciding set to 15 points. If the score reaches 20-20 (or 14-14 in the deciding set), a two-point advantage is needed to win.
Team rotation
every time a team wins a point, it must rotate clockwise; as a result, no athlete serves more than once in a row.
Hit above the net
the ball may be hit above the net only from the back row (attack); only in this case may players near the net stop the ball by jumping (a block). A block touch is therefore only possible to counter a ball intentionally sent into the opposing court.
Serve reception
the serve reception cannot be made by jumping or by hitting the ball above the head to send it into the opposing court
Front-row attack
a front-row player may hit the ball above the net tape and send it into the opposing court only to counter an opponent's attack, i.e. only to stop a ball hit over the net that is landing in their own court.
Attack hit above the net
an attack hit above the net, in order to score the point, is valid only if made from the back row.