Double touch and catch
They are the two most debated fouls because they depend on the eye of the beholder. A double touch is when the ball touches the same player twice, or different parts of their body in two separate actions. A catch is a contact where the ball comes to a rest instead of rebounding: the classic "carried" set.
There is an exception worth learning: on the team's first touch, the ball can touch multiple parts of the body consecutively, provided the contacts occur during a single action. Therefore, a reception that bounces from a forearm to the shoulder is legal, whereas the same thing during a set is not. Also, a block touch does not count as a team touch: after the block, three touches remain.
In amateur play, the advice is to be strict on overhead sets only if the team plays well, and tolerant if they are learning: the key is to use the same standard for the whole match and for everyone.
Net touch and penetration
A net touch is only a foul if it occurs between the two antennae and during the action of playing the ball. This includes: a blocker touching the top band while the ball is passing, or an attacker landing and touching with their forearm. It is not a foul to touch the net after the rally is over, to touch it outside the antenna, or to brush it with your hair.
Penetration under the net has two different criteria. With the foot, you can step into the opponent's court provided that some part of the foot remains in contact with or directly above the centre line. With other parts of the body, you can touch the floor beyond the line as long as you do not interfere with the opponents' play: a hand placed on the floor after a dive is not a foul if no one was playing there.
Above the net, you can complete your follow-through beyond the vertical plane, provided the ball was hit in your own space. However, you cannot touch the ball in the opponent's court before or during their attack hit.
Back-row attack
This is the foul that is almost never called in amateur tournaments, yet it changes the game. A back-row player can attack from behind, but if at the moment of take-off they have touched or crossed the attack line, they cannot hit a ball that is entirely higher than the top edge of the net. Note: it is the foot at take-off that counts, not where they land. If the ball is lower than the top of the net, however, they can hit it from wherever they want.
Two useful corollaries: a back-row setter cannot spike a high ball above the net while standing inside the 3 metres line, and the libero cannot complete an attack on a ball entirely above the net from any position.
Service faults
- Eight seconds: the service must be hit within 8 seconds of the whistle.
- Only one toss: the ball can only be tossed or released once. Catching it and starting over is a foul.
- Foot on the line: at the moment of the hit, the server must not touch the endline or the floor beyond it. Landing inside after the hit is legal.
- Service order: the wrong player serves. The point goes to the opponents, the order is corrected, and any points scored during the incorrect order are cancelled.
- Outside the crossing space: a ball that touches the antenna, or passes the net outside the antennae, is out.
In, out and the ceiling
A ball that touches the line is in: the lines are 5 cm wide and are part of the court. The ball is out when it touches the floor outside the lines, an antenna, the cables, the posts or the ceiling. This last point is what causes the most arguments in the sports hall: in the official rules, a ball touching the ceiling is out, but in low-ceiling venues, many amateur tournaments allow a ball that touches the ceiling above one's own court and falls back into one's own half. It is a perfectly reasonable house rule: write it down, and specify what happens if the ceiling is touched above the opponent's court.
Calling fouls without a referee
In a self-refereed match, three conventions work well, if agreed beforehand:
- Net touches and penetration are called by the player who commits them. It sounds naive, but in reality, it is the only way to avoid arguments, because the player who touches the net feels it.
- In or out is called by the team in whose court the ball lands, i.e. those who see it best.
- When in doubt, replay the point. A replayed point costs thirty seconds; an argument costs ten minutes and ruins someone's day.
Add the procedural rule that matters most of all: any challenge must be made immediately, before the next service. After that, the score stands.