Philippine Volleyball Rules

Volleyball dates back to the late 19th Century where it was invented by William Morgan, who originally named the game “mintonette.” It was created to combine various aspects of tennis, baseball, handball and basketball. The Philippines had an early impact on how volleyball was played internationally, as they introduced the “set and spike,” a tactic where one player sends the ball up in the air and then another player hits it diagonally to an opponent’s area. Today, there are many rules that govern the game of volleyball in the Philippines.

Players

Indoor volleyball only allows up to six players on the court at once. Within the Philippine Volleyball League—or PVL—teams are allowed to have a total of 12 players. Because the league is co-ed, teams must keep a gender ratio of two women and four men on the court. The starting lineup that a team must submit prior to the game dictates the rotational order of the players.

Within the PVL, teams are allowed to play with as few as five players. However, they are never allowed more than four men. Three men are also not allowed to occupy the front zones when attacking the ball.

Scoring

When two teams play, the game is called a “match.” Each match is made up of three different sets. In Philippine volleyball, each set is won by the team that scores a total of 25 points and maintains a two-point lead at the end. Three sets must be played to equal a complete match.

Game-play

One of the essential rules of volleyball is that the ball cannot be hit twice consecutively by the same player. When attempting to hit shots, players are also not allowed to use another object or person for support when attempting to reach the ball.

Volleyball is played with three people in the front and three people in the back. The front three zones are designated as Zone Two, Zone Three and Zone Four, while the back are Zones One, Zone Five and Zone Six. The player on the back that has rotated into Zone One is the person required to put the ball into play.