Volleyball Tips – Beach Volleyball Rules

Today’s volleyball tip is going to cover some beach volleyball rules.  You may not be aware of the major rule differences in from indoor to sand volleyball but you will know them by the time you are done reading here.

1. The court is much smaller in beach volleyball.  You simply take 3 feet off of each side and you have the new court dimensions.
2. The net is the same height as it is for indoor.
3. The ball is very different.  It is a little bit lighter, a little larger, and a little less inflated.  Yes it is a rule to keep the ball less inflated than an indoor ball that feels as hard as a rock.
4. There are no rotation rules because there are only 2 people on each team.
5. The serve cannot be set.  You are not allowed to double the serve or any other ball that is not hard driven at you.
6. The are no open hand tips in beach volleyball.  You can roll shot the ball, but the comes from the palm and not the fingers.
7. You are not allowed to side set over the net.  Any set that goes over must be directly in front of you or behind you.
8. The block counts as one of your 3 hits.  You can block it and then hit it again but then your teammate must put it back over the net.
9. You switch sides on multiples of 7.
10. Games go to 21, rally point scoring.  The third game goes to 15 and you switch sides on multiples of 5 during the last game to 15.

These are the rules you must know before you step on the sand to compete with the beach volleyball players.