An Overview: Water Volleyball Basics

If you are looking for a fun game to play in the water this year, you may want to take a closer look at water volleyball. Water volleyball is a great way to spend time with family members and friends while also getting some exercise. At the same time, you may not play water volleyball that often. As a result, you may not be familiar with the rules. If you would like to learn how to play  water volleyball, it’s a good idea to start with the basics. What are a few rules you have to know to play water volleyball?

Water Volleyball Gameplay: Scoring Each Point

Water volleyball is a game that is played one point at a time. One team is responsible for serving the ball to the other team. The team that is serving has one strike to get the ball over the net. The ball has to land inbounds. If the ball lands out of bounds, the other team gets the point.

If the receiving team can field the ball in bounds, they can hit it amongst themselves for a total of three hits. On the third strike, the ball has to go back over the net. If the ball does not go back over the net on the third strike, the other team automatically gets the point.

The point continues until the ball either lands in inbounds where the other team cannot get it, for the ball lands out of bounds. If the ball lands inbounds and the other team does not knock it back over, the team that struck the ball gets the point. If the ball lands out of bounds, the team that hits the ball out of bounds loses the point.

Water Volleyball: Who Serves?

How do you decide which player on your team is responsible for serving? On your first service, you can choose who you want to serve the ball. After that, you rotate the serving player clockwise. The player that serves the volleyball is allowed to keep serving until their team loses the point. Then, the serve passes to the opposing team. When service returns to the other team, that team rotates all positions clockwise. That is how you decide which player on your team is responsible for serving the volleyball.

Get the Volleyball Over the Net

By your third strike, the ball has to get over the net and land inbounds on the other side. You do not have to wait until the third strike in order to get the ball over the net. Importantly, you are not allowed to touch the net. For example, you cannot pull the net down in order to make it easier to get the ball over the net. If you touch the net, the other team automatically wins the point. That point is over.

Water Volleyball Scoring

A single point is tallied after every play, meaning that even if one team serves the ball out of bounds, the other team gets the point. You can score every game to whatever you want; however, most water volleyball games are scored to either 11, 15, or 25 points. In most cases, you have to win the game by two. Most people play every match to the best out of three games; however, you do have a lot of leeway regarding how you would like to score it. Feel free to modify these rules to make them more applicable to your time constraints.

The Best Water Volleyball Equipment 

If you are thinking about playing water volleyball, you have to make sure you have the best equipment available. If you are looking for high-quality water volleyball equipment, take a look at the pool volleyball units from Dunn Rite. For example, you may want to consider the  DeckVolly Water Volleyball Unit. Another great option is the Provolly pool volleyball set. Do not hesitate to reach out to the professionals for assistance. Rely on the equipment from DunnRite for your next water volleyball match! 

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