The official rules are the USVBA Rules except as noted below. The USVBA rules are the rules used by the Public Middle and High Schools in Long Island, which follow Section XI rules. The CMSAA follows the USVBA rules with the addition of the following modifications. A- SPORTSMANSHIP 1. Sportsmanship and appropriate conduct has to be displayed at all times by Coaches, Players and Fans. 2. Everyone is expected to adhere to the rules, exhibit good Sportsmanship and Christian values. 3. A Prayer in the middle of the court must precede every game. The Home team is responsible to lead all the players and visitors in the prayer. 4. Team players will be asked to assist in determining opposing school teams players that, together, displayed the most Outstanding Sportsmanship during the course of the season. B- DIMENSIONS 1. The playing court is a rectangle, measuring 60 feet x 30 feet, surrounded by a free zone which is a minimum of 10 feet
wide on all sides. 2. The net height shall be 7'. 5. C- GAME RULES 1. Warm-up periods shall generally consist of ten minutes of shared court time, plus 5 minutes for each team to have the full court. (Coaches should confer and determine equitable adjustments, as certain facilities and time constraints allow.) 2. Six players on the court at all times; players are in assigned positions which rotate throughout the game. At no time may more than half the players be boys. 3. Each team is allowed 2 one-minute timeouts each game. 4. Substitutions must be requested before the service signal. Teams are limited to a maximum of 18 substitution moves during the course of one game. When a player is removed for a substitution, he / she may only
re-enter in the same position, wherever that position currently is in the rotation. 5. Teams must change sides after each game. Should the teams be tied after the first two games, teams will change sides yet again after one team achieves 13 points. 6. Both teams must file a Game Report with the CMSAA within 24 hours of the match, including scores and significant events / comments, if appropriate. D- SCORING 1. Rally Scoring, for every serve there is a point (team need not be serving to get the point. 2. Games are played to 25 points. Team must win by 2. 3. The teams play 3 games, a team must win 2 out of 3 to be declared the winning team. E- SERVING
1. Flip coin for first serve. 2. Players rotate clockwise when they win the serve. 3. Every player must be in correct serving order at the serving contact and then every player can switch positions. The back row players can move to the front but may not spike, they can set or pass. Players on serving team caught being out of rotation will cause team to lose serve; players on receiving team caught out of rotation will lose last point. 4. A player cannot block or attack a serve when standing in the front row. 5. The Let serve is allowed. (The ball can touch the net on a serve). 6. The server shall be permitted two tosses only once per term of service. If the first toss the ball is not hit, must let the ball drop to the floor.
7. GIRLS ONLY The serving line shall be 3 feet into the court. 8. The server s foot can touch or go over the end line on a serve after contact with the ball. The server has 8 seconds to serve after the referees whistle. 9. Players must wait for the official to signal service. F- RECEIVING 1. Maximum of three hits per side before the ball must be sent over the net. 2. A block does not count as a contact. The same person can block a shot and then pass it and it will only count as one contact. 3. A player may not hit the ball twice in a row unless the first one is a block. 4. If any part of the ball touches any line the ball is in bounds.
G- ADDITIONAL FAULTS: 1. Touching the net with any part of your body. 2. Reaching over the net and contacting the ball before the offense does if the offense is attempting to spike the ball. 3. Stepping over the centerline between the two courts in a manner such as to interfere with the opposing team, or to the extent that entire body is beyond centerline. 4. Momentarily holding the ball in hand on the set (Carry) 5. Contacting the ball below the waist with the hands separated. H- REFEREES 1. Referee will be assigned through a professional service contracted by the CMSAA. 2. If determined appropriate, referee will issue yellow or red cards in recognition of behavior violations. To
players, Yellow Card = warning; Red Card reflects unsportsmanlike conduct. To coaches, Red Card = warning; Red + Yellow atop it = ejection for remainder of that game (can return thereafter); Red and Yellow apart = ejection for remainder of event. All issuances of Red and Yellow cards are to be reported to CMSAA as component of Game Report. I- CANCELLATIONS / FORFEITURE 1. Only cancellations and changes of time due to School conflicts are acceptable, and they have to be notified to the league and the opposing team (via the appropriate coordinators) one week in advance 2. If canceling due to inclement weather, the home team should give notice to the visiting school and CMSAA official by 1 pm the day of the game. 3. Team not arriving within 30 minutes of scheduled game-time assessed loss of entire match via forfeiture. J-Division title The winner of the division (girls/coed) is the team with the best win/loss record after an 8 game season. If teams are tied, head to head competition is the first tiebreaker.