Tournament Rules

2025 Tournament Rules

• Please keep your seating/team camp areas cleaned up and garbage thrown away at the end of each day.

• To keep everything moving, please be ready to play and keep warmup/hitting line time to a minimum. 

• All games are “call your own.” If there is a disagreement, REPLAY. 

• It doesn’t matter what type of game ball you use as long as both teams agree on it BEFORE play starts.

• Regular net and center line rules apply.  Touch the net = fault. Any body part touches the floor completely past the center line = fault.

• Teams comprised of 3 guys, 3 girls, and must alternate guy-girl in rotation/serving order.

• If teams are short a player due to injury/illness, they must abide to the ghost rule. When the missing player’s spot comes up in the serving rotation, it is an immediate sideout and opponent receives the ball and point.

• ***NEW*** In compliance with NCAA’s new second contact rule, double contacts (“ugly sets”) on the second contacts are allowed as long as the ball remains on your side of the net. A ball being set/pushed over the net on a second or third contact must still be clean.

• NO LIBEROS.  Teams with extra players may choose to have a backrow sub for a front row player, but they can only sub in and out for that one player (of the same gender) that set.

• Teams who receive first, must rotate to their first server on the first sideout. NO "NO-TATEs"

• NO "GIRL RULE" (a female does NOT have to touch the ball during a multi-contact rally).

• NO BACK ROW BLOCKERS. You may not bring a back row player up to block in any situation.

• To eliminate judgment:

• All balls contacting the basketball hoops/supports at either gym are considered part of the ceiling and are live and ALWAYS PLAYABLE. 

• All balls that contact walls, curtains, bleachers or the big air vents along the ceiling at UNI-WRC are considered out and the BALL IS DEAD AS SOON AS IT CONTACTS.

• Pursuit rule – For safety, a player pursuing a ball toward an adjacent court may NOT carry on to an adjacent court before, during or after playing the ball. STEP ON ADJACENT COURT, BALL IS DEAD.