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Volleyball Rules

Intramural Volleyball Rules
 

PLAYERS ELIGIBLITY

  1. Only Oakland City University students, faculty, and staff may participate in the intramural volleyball season and playoffs.  

  2. Each intramural volleyball team must be represented by a team captain. The captain is liable for his or her team’s etiquette, while participating in the designated activity.   Any and all questions pertaining to a specified activity will be addressed directly to the Intramural Director via team captain.   

  3. For those wishing to participate in the intramural volleyball program, each individual must complete a personal injury release form and an individual information form prior to the desired activity.

  4. Throughout the designated volleyball season, eligibility of an individual may be questioned. If that individual in question is found ineligible for participation, adjustment of the game’s outcome will not occur. However, if the transgressor is a participant in a single elimination event then the infringed body will advance accordingly.

  5. Those wishing to participate in intramural volleyball may only participate on one given team. Infraction of this guideline will result in the teams immediate forfeiting of the contest in which the transgressor participated. Also teams violating this guideline will forfeit the rest of the current season/ tournament and forfeit their playoff berth.

  6. Those individuals participating under an assumed name will be suspended from both the intramural volleyball season and playoffs. Team Captains will also be penalized for the individual’s infraction. Penalties may include suspension from one or more games. Penalties may also include denial of a playoff berth. 

  7. All team names must appear on the designated intramural activity form and approved by the intramural director. All team names must be designated appropriate prior to participation. Included on the form are spaces for team rosters, student’s identification number, and team captain’s signature. 

  8. Oakland City University athletes will not be permitted to compete in intramural activities in which they are currently participating.

  9. Men and women are eligible to participate in all activities, unless the activity is gender-specific. 

  10. Students participating in the intramural volleyball season and playoffs must have their Oakland City University identification cards with them at all times. Random checks may occur. First offenders will be issued a warning. Repeat offenders will be immediately ejected from the contest.

  11. All members of a team must have matching shirts/jerseys. If the team wishes to purchase their own shirts/jerseys, they must be matching in both color and symbol. Shirts/jerseys purchased by teams must be preapproved by the intramural director. If the team wishes not to purchase their own shirts/jerseys, then the University will provide matching pinnies for that team. 

  12. Hats and jewelry of any kind are not allowed. Individuals wearing earrings must either remove them prior to the contest or place tape over the earring. Elastic headbands, wristbands, knee braces and other injury support devices will be permitted during game play.

  13. Clothing must meet Oakland City University’s requirements. For further information see the following link: http://www.oak.edu/assets/ck/files/StudentHandbook.pdf   

  14. All students are required to wear a non-marking soled tennis shoe that is for gym use only. 

  15. In order for an individual to be eligible for the playoffs, that individual must play in at least one regular season game.    

NUMBER OF PLAYERS & PLAYER INFORMATION

  1. Teams wishing to participate in the intramural volleyball program must have at least six eligible players on their roster. The maximum number of players one team may have is eight. 

  2. A team consists of six players; therefore six players from each team must begin the contest for it to be an official match. Teams not able to meet the six player minimum will be issued a five minute grace period. If by the end of the five minute grace period, the six player minimum has not been met, than that team must forfeit the match. If both teams are unable to meet the six player minimum, both teams will receive a lose in their win-lose column. 

  3. A team must begin the contest with six players, but if their sixth player is ejected or is injured than that team may proceed with five players. A team may play with four players only if they have met the above requirements and if the intramural director feels that the contest is winnable for the depleted team. Teams that have been diminished to less than four players will be issued a forfeit. 

  4. In order for a team to be eligible for play, they must have an equal amount of males and females on their team roster.

  5. During game play there must be at least a 4 to 2 gender ratio on the court at all times. Exception may be made in the case of injuries to players.   

  6. If a team loses a member(s) for the season which significantly hampers their roster or gender ratio, the Cpt. of that team may seek permission from the Intramural Director to sign eligible replacement(s).

INJURIES

  1. Individuals participating in the contest that sustain an injury, where bleeding occurs, must immediately exit the contest and take the proper precisions to prevent further bleeding. 

  2. Individuals that have blood stained articles of clothing must change that article of clothing before they are permitted to reenter the contest. 

  3. If the individual leaves a contest because of bleeding the Intramural director on site must approve the individual for play before they are permitted to reenter the contest.     

 SCORING & TIME REGULATIONS

1.      Each contest will consist of two twenty-five point matches and one fifteen point match. The first two matches of the game will be to twenty-five.  The third game will be to fifteen.    
2.      The first two matches will have a cap of twenty-eight points and the last match will have a cap of eighteen.
3.      All matches will be played in the rally scoring style.
4.      A team must win two out of three matches in order to gone the victory.    
5.      Each team will be issued one full time-out (1 minute) for each match played. Time-outs may not be carried over to other matches; those time-outs not used in the other matches will be rendered ineffective. 
6.      Between each match there will be a two minute break time. 
FORFEITS 
1.       All intramural activities are to commence on the date and time in which it was designated to occur. Failure to do so will result in the individual’s or team’s forfeit of the match. Each individual or team will be allowed a five minute grace period before having to forfeit their match. 
2.      If the opponent of the forfeiting body vacates the premises prior to the declaration of the forfeit, than they too will be assigned a forfeit.   
3.      School cancelations and weather delays will not result in the individual’s or team’s forfeiting of a match and will be made up at a later date. 
CARDING & SPORTSMANSHIP
1.      A yellow card may be issued to a player acting in an inappropriate/unsportsmanlike manner. Yellow cards may be given to players for the use of profanity, lewd gestures, excessive complaining, and anything deemed inappropriate by the university handbook. 
a.        A player who has received a yellow card must immediately exit the game and will remain out for the remainder of the match being played. If the yellow carded player cause his or her team to fall below the minimum amount of players needed to conduct a match, the team must forfeit that match.    
b.      Receiving a yellow card results in the loss of serve and a point for the other team. 
2.      A red card may be issued to a player who has already received a yellow card or has committed a violent act toward another individual. 
a.       Receiving a red card results in the loss of serve and a point for the other team.
b.      The individual given a red card is immediately ejected from the contest and is suspended one or more games, depending on the severity of the situation.         
SUBSTITUTIONS
1.      Substitutions will only be recognized upon a dead ball situation.
2.      Teams must choice between the center block substitution method or the one-for-one substation approach prior the start of the contest. 
a.       Teams utilizing the center block substation method will be restricted to that method of substitution, with the exception of injury to an individual player. If injury does occur a one-for-one substation will be allowed.    
b.      Teams utilizing the one-for-one substation approach will also be restricted to that method of substation for the duration of the contest. Teams using the one-for-one substation will be allowed only one request for substation at a dead ball situation, but may request more than one player for substation during a dead ball. 
c.       Players will be limited to three substitutions; the only exception to this rule is in the case of injury or illness.      
BALL POSESSION

  1. Prior to the start of the first match of the contest a coin flip will decide who gets possession of the ball first. The winner of the flip has the option of serving first or giving the other team the opportunity to serve. 

  2. The possession of the ball, in the second match, will be given to the team that first received the serve in the beginning match. 

  3.  In the case of a third match, the referee will conduct another coin toss to determine who will receive possession of the ball. 

TEAM CAPTAINS
 Designated team captains will be an intermediary between his or her team and the intramural director. 
1.      Team captains are responsible for his or her team’s comprehension of tournament and season rules and regulations. Intramural rules and regulations for the designated event will be given directly to the team’s captain upon the completion of both the personal injury release forms and the team registration form. 
2.      Team captains are to inform players that they are responsible for any and all injuries that may occur while participating in an intramural activity. It is the team captain’s responsibility to have an emergency contact number ready for each and every player on his or her team when needed.
3.      It is the team captain’s obligation to inform his or her players of time changes, locations, and other material that is relevant to their participation. 
4.      Team captains are responsible for their team’s conduct before, during, and after a contest. If there is an expulsion of a player, the team’s captain is to report to the intramural director’s office the following day to discuss what transpired. 
GAME PLAY
1.      Once the ball has been served, a team has a maximum of three opportunities to hit the volleyball into the opponent side of the court. Anything more than three hits will be a deemed an infraction and the other team will receive the serve as a result of this violation. Blocking the ball does not count as one of the three hits needed to advance the volleyball.   
2.      Blocking a served ball is illegal and will result in a point for the serving team. 
3.      Serves that have struck the net and advanced to the opponent’s side of the court are considered to be in play and should be dealt with accordingly.   
4.      Passes should be clear and clean according to volleyball regulations, lifting and throwing the volleyball will not be tolerated. 
5.      A player may spike the ball from the back row as long as the player jumps from behind the designated area (3 meters or 10 feet from the center of the court). 
6.      Players are allowed to reach over the net to block the balls advancement.
7.      Players are not permitted to touch the net at anytime. Any violation of this rule will result in a loss of serve or point for the other team. 
8.      For further information see the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) rulebook.
*Rules regarding the 'infamous' Tichenor ceiling net
1.  If the ball is served and hits the ceiling net the side it lands on receives the point and possession.  (i.e., if Tm A serves the ball, and Tm B hits back, and the ball hits the net as it returns to Tm A's side, then Tm A receives the point)
     a.) If it hits the net (TM A) and stays on the servingt/same side (TM A) then the ball is still playable.
2.  If Tm A serves to Tm B, and Tm A's serve hits the ceiling net on Tm B's side/area, then Tm B receives point and possession. 
OTHER INFORMATION
  1. Referees will be the sole judge of all matters pertaining to the volleyball court; all judgments are final.

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