Introduction to Volleyball Scoring

Understanding the ins and outs of volleyball can be a tough task if you’re new to the game. One of the first and most important things that you should learn is how volleyball scoring works. For starters, a team can score in volleyball in the following ways:

• The ball lands on the opposing team’s side of the court within the boundary lines
• The opposing team hits the ball out of bounds
• The opposing team commits a service error
• The opposing team makes contact with the ball four or more times in a row
• The opposing team touches the net / crosses the centerline of the court
• The opposing team contacts the volleyball on the other side of the net before the attack

How does volleyball scoring work?

Well, the short answer is that it depends on the type of scoring that you use. There are two different ways in which volleyball is scored: side-out scoring and rally scoring.

Sideout Scoring

If you’re not sure how volleyball scoring works, then you probably do not know the term “side-out”. A side-out in volleyball is when the receiving team wins the rally and is afforded the opportunity to serve the ball next.

In side-out scoring, you are only able to score a point when you are serving the ball. This means that the receiving team cannot score but instead can only win the opportunity to serve by winning the rally. Essentially, the serving team is on offense while the receiving team is on defense. This type of scoring can lead to extremely long matches because the two teams could end up just trading serves instead of actually scoring points!

Sideout scoring is usually played to a score of 15 in a “best of three” match. This means that whichever team wins two games first, wins the match. In order to win a game, you must score 15 points before the other team. Depending on the league, you may need to win by 2 points, therefore, the score may end up being something like 17 – 15 or 19 – 17.

While it used to be the main way in which volleyball matches were scored, it has since been replaced by rally scoring.

Rally Scoring

Rally scoring is much more commonly used and is a bit different than side-out scoring. In rally scoring, the team that wins the rally will be awarded a point (regardless of if they served or not). This means that both the serving team as well as the receiving team can score a point every time.

Rally scoring is usually played to a score of 25. Similar to side-out scoring, rally scoring is usually played in a “best of three” match format. This type of scoring creates a much more consistent game flow without the delays associated with side-out scoring.

How does indoor volleyball scoring work?

Well for starters, let’s take a look at the history of volleyball scoring. Prior to 1999, volleyball was almost always played by way of side-out scoring. In order to make the length of matches more predictable, the FIVB (Fédération Internationale de Volleyball) changed over to rally scoring.

The change to rally scoring made it’s way into the NCAA by 2001 and continued into most of the volleyball leagues around the world after that. Not only was this a great advancement to the game, but it also made volleyball much more viewer-friendly!

Now that you have a basic understanding of the history, let’s dive into the specifics of scoring!

Olympic / FIVB / NCAA Volleyball Scoring

-As mentioned above, scoring used to be side-out scoring but it is now rally scoring.

-Matches are played to the best of five. This means that the first team to win 3 sets, wins the match.

-The first 4 sets of the match are played to 25 points. If there is a fifth set, it is played to 15 points.

-In order to win a set, the team must win by 2 points and there is no cap. This means that theoretically, the set can end up at a score of 99-97 (let’s hope that doesn’t happen because everyone would be super tired!)

High School Volleyball Scoring

While a lot of the same principals apply, high school volleyball scoring is a bit different than at the college and professional levels. Take a look below to get a better understanding of how scoring works at the high school level. Please note, this may vary depending on where you go to school and the rules in your particular league.

-Scoring is usually rally scoring

-Matches are played to the best of three

-Sets are played to a score of 25 points no matter what. This means that if a third set is necessary, it will also be played to a score of 25 points.

-Similar to the professional level, teams must win by two in order to win a set with no cap on total points.

How does beach volleyball scoring work?

To start, let’s take a quick look at the history of beach volleyball scoring. Similar to indoor volleyball, beach volleyball went through a few rule changes in the late 1990s. The first major change was moving to a smaller volleyball court size (it was tough to cover that much room with just two players!).

The second was changing over to rally scoring in order to make the length of matches more predictable. This was adopted by the FIVB in 2002 and has since been used throughout professional volleyball leagues all over the world!

Before we get into the overview of beach volleyball scoring, it is important to mention one very important rule that is different in beach volleyball. That rule is teams must switch sides after every seven points. The reason for this is to completely take out environmental advantages such as wind or the sun.

Indoor volleyball doesn’t have to deal with this but think about how much playing outside could impact the outcome of a game. The sun could be shining in your eyes or the wind could be heavily blowing in one direction or another. By switching after every seven points, you are literally taking the “elements” out of the game.

Take a look below for more information on how beach volleyball scoring works!

Beach Volleyball Scoring

-Similar to indoor volleyball, scoring used to be side-out scoring but is now rally scoring

-Matches are played to the best of three (first team to win two sets)

-The first two sets are played to a score of 21 points. If a third set is necessary, it is played to a score of 15.

-Teams must win the set by two points with no cap of total points.

-Teams switch sides after every 7 points to eliminate environmental advantages

-The same scoring rules apply for Olympic beach volleyball, AVP beach volleyball, and NCAA beach volleyball

Conclusion

As you can see, there is quite a bit to cover when discussing volleyball scoring. Understanding the rules is essential to becoming the best volleyball player that you can be.

In this article we covered rally scoring, side-out scoring, how each type of scoring is applied to volleyball today, and even the history behind scoring. As always, if you have any questions about this article then drop a comment below. If not, get out there and improve your game!