Rule 5-4-3-C-6 the First Referee (R1) Is to Determine Illegal Hits

BALL HANDLING

Rule 5-4-3-c-6 The first referee (R1) is to determine illegal hits.

Rule 5-4-3-a The second referee (R2) shall assist the R1 by ruling upon situations that are clearly out of the first R1’s view.

of the Officials Manual states: “The R2 shall assist with ball-handling violations only when they are clearly out of the R1’s view, such as when a player has his/her back to the R1, plays a ball near the floor, etc.” If assistance is provided, it should be done so with a visual, informal signal.

Informal signals, not a whistle, should be used to communicate the violation to the first referee. (See Informal signals on pages 86-87 of the Officials’ Manual. How these calls are to be communicated should be addressed in the referee’s pre-match conference.

In order to make the call, officials must see the actual contact.

Do not follow a moving ball. Instead, look ahead of the ball to the court area where the ball is going.

Do not track the ball after it goes above your eye level (head-bobbing) except in the instance where you need to be mindful of the ball contacting the ceiling, etc. The official needs to keep his/her head as level as possible at all times.

Anticipate and focus only on the player’s body parts making contact with the ball.

If the player pins the ball against the cable or net there is prolonged contact, thus an illegal hit.

UGLY is not a ball-handling violation. However, the chances of it being illegal increase significantly if it is ugly. Do not fall back on this old adage as a crutch for not making the call.

During contact, the hand must move continuously forward without changing course from its original direction.

Vision is the only measure for judging an illegal hit.

An illegal hit occurs when the ball visibly comes to rest or has prolonged contact with a player during contact.

Holding, catching, throwing, lifting and pushing are illegal hits because of prolonged contact with the ball.

EVERY hit during a match requires interpretation or judgment as to whether a hit is legal or illegal. An official should not become confused and call a ball handling violation on a technique that looks or sounds different. The sound of the contact should not influence the decision of an official.

An official should not permit the ball to have prolonged contact with the arm(s) of a player.

The player’s arm, forearm, hand, or fist should not remain in contact with the ball when executing a spike or the result may be prolonged contact.

A player shall not change direction of the ball by holding or guiding it during contact.

First Hit Multiple legal contacts on a first hit are allowed. They tend to occur mostly on serve reception or a hard driven spike, but can happen, and are legal on any first hit regardless of ball velocity.

Do not confuse prolonged contact with the arm on a first hit as multiple contacts. Prolonged contact is illegal on the first, second, or third hit. The proper signal is Signal #3, illegal hit.

Remember, a block is not a hit. The next hit after the block is considered the team’s first hit. The teams first hit can be by the player who just blocked the ball.

Pancake Save – usually occurs on the first hit as a player stretches for a ball that is heading for a hole in the defense. If you see a team do it, they likely practice it. Make your decision as to whether or not the ball hit the floor and sell your call!

A hard driven spike hitting the chest is legal if there is no prolonged contact. There must be prolonged contact to deserve a whistle.

Second Hit Rule 9-4-8 - Multiple Contacts are more than one contact by a player during one attempt to play the ball.

Focus on the setter’s hands contacting the ball.

If using two-hand finger action, the hands must contact the ball simultaneous; otherwise this is a DOUBLE HIT. Third Hit Spike – Forcibly hitting the ball into the opponent’s court with one hand over-head action.

Tip – fingertip attack on the ball, which directs the ball into the opponent’s court. You see this often when a player tries to “tip” the ball over a block with the intent of the ball landing on the floor behind the blocker or open floor area. You may also see a tip used when a player has been continually blocked.

Overhead pass – two handed finger action directing the ball over the net. The hands must contact the ball simultaneous; otherwise this is a double hit. This can happen on any hit, but tend to occur on a third hit off a broken play. It is seen often from a team that does not have a strong attacking offense. Good judgment must be used on whether or not the ball was pushed over the net by bringing the ball back to the chest and thrust out.

All of the above is easy to read, but difficult to apply. Reacting to an illegal hit with your whistle only comes with practice, practice, and more practice. Get out and watch veteran officials. After the match, ask them questions you may have about certain plays. Attend your association meetings.