INDIANAPOLIS, IN (January 31, 2025) — Multiple contacts by one player
attempting to play the ball will now be allowed on second contact if the
next contact is by a teammate on the same side of the net. This
elimination of a judgment call by officials highlights the 2025-26 high
school volleyball rules changes.
In all, six
rules changes were recommended by the NFHS Volleyball Rules Committee at
its annual meeting January 12-14. All rules changes were reviewed and
approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.
Rule
9-4-8c was added to the section on multiple contacts, adding second
contact to the list of permitted instances, joining a team’s first
contact and after a player touches the ball on a block. In addition to
eliminating an official’s judgment call, the change allows for play to
continue and does not create an advantage for the offending team.
“In
addition to the impact this judgment call has had on the flow of the
game, the multiple contact fault has consistently been a point of
contention between coaches and officials,” said Lindsey Atkinson, NFHS
Director of Sports and liaison to the Volleyball Rules Committee. “It is
the committee’s belief that the elimination of this fault will
contribute to less disputes between coaches and officials and ultimately
benefit the overall environment of the match.”
Another
major revision involves the addition of Rule 3-2-1 NOTE and the use of a
textured ball. Beginning in 2026-27, state associations will be
permitted to adopt the use of a textured ball – commonly utilized in
boys volleyball – for boys or girls matches. This state association
adoption would also remove restrictions on color and shape of panels for
a textured ball. Rule 3-2-1 panel color, number and shape requirements
for a smooth ball remain.
Two rules regarding
uniforms were modified to address undergarments and number placement.
Rule 4-2-4 was amended to note that, beginning in 2029, uniform numbers
must simply be centered on the upper half of the uniform. This removes
the requirement for the number to be 5 inches from the top and bottom of
the garment and the need for officials to measure the distance.
Undergarments
were addressed in a change to Rule 4-2-1, which now allows players to
wear solid black, white or gray undergarments under the uniform top or
bottom if the predominant color of the team uniform cannot be matched.
However, all team members, other than the libero, must still wear the
same color undergarment.
Officials will no
longer be required to carry a lineup card as part of their
uniform/equipment thanks to edits to Rule 5-3-2b and 5-5-3b(9). The
lineup card could still be used by newer officials as a training tool,
while veteran officials may use the coaches’ submitted lineup sheets to
check the starting lineup.
In a change to Rule 10-4, the penalty
for an illegal libero replacement will be determined before or after the
contact for serve. If identified before contact, an unnecessary delay
is administered. If identified after service contact, an illegal
alignment results in a loss of rally/point. Prior to this change, the
penalty was determined whether the official had signaled for a serve.
A
complete listing of the volleyball rules changes will be available on
the NFHS website at
www.nfhs.org. Click on “Activities & Sports” at
the top of the home page and select “Volleyball.” The print version of
the 2025-26 Volleyball Rules Book will be available for purchase in late
April at
www.NFHS.com, and the digital version will be available in
April via NFHS Digital at
www.NFHS.org.
According
to the most recent NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey,
volleyball is the second-most popular sport for girls (trailing track
and field) with 479,125 participants in 16,849 schools nationwide. In
addition, there are 85,255 boys participating in the sport at 3,805
schools.
