Playing in Europe the summer after my junior year at Minnesota was the first time I understood that “knowing the rules” and “knowing the FIVB rules” are two different things. Back home, refs had some flex on ball-handling. First-contact shanks that kept rallies alive usually got waved off. In our first match in Ankara, I set a ball with a little too much carry on a fast-paced reception, and the whistle blew immediately. My teammates looked at me like I’d made a rookie mistake. Actually, in a way, I had.
The full picture of volleyball rules runs deeper than most players realize until they play under a different federation’s standards. The FIVB Official Volleyball Rules 2025-2028, approved at the 39th FIVB World Congress in 2024, introduced specific, verifiable changes that affect everything from how challenges get used to whether your libero can stand in the serving spot.
If you’ve been watching VNL 2025 or following VNL 2026 and wondering why things look different from what you remember, this is where it starts.
What changed in 2025-2028 vs. the previous cycle
| Rule area | Previous (2021-2024) | Current (2025-2028) | Match impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Video Challenge | Mid-rally challenges permitted | Post-rally only; bookmark system introduced for 2026 testing | Eliminates mid-play stoppages |
| Ball Crossing (Rule 10.1.2) | Ball had to pass through the crossing space between the antennas | Ball sent into opponent's free zone via external space on 2nd/3rd hit is out once it crosses the net plane | Cleaner boundary rule for sharp cross-angle attacks |
| Serving Team Positions (Rule 7.4) | Players locked into rotational positions until ball contact | Serving team may move toward defensive positions during the serve; receiving team rotation defined at the whistle | Reduces post-serve positional scrambles |
| Screening (Rule 12.5) | Vague guidelines on player positioning during serve | Players must not use coordinated body movements to screen the serve | Removes the "natural movement" gamesmanship argument |
| Double Contact (Setting) — Trial | Any two contacts during a set = fault | Double contact allowed if ball stays same-side court; faults only on separate touches or ball crossing over | Tested at VNL 2025, under review for wider adoption |
| Libero serving | Allowed in one rotation per set (introduced 2021) | Continues unchanged in FIVB play | One rotation, one position per set |
| Service clock | 15 seconds | 15 seconds (unchanged) | No change |
| Roster size (2026 trial) | 12 players per match | 12-14 players; at least one libero required; optional second libero declared up to 1 hour pre-match | More roster depth at elite level |
| Substitutions (2026 trial) | 6 per set | Testing 8 per set | Expanded tactical options |
The challenge system shift is the change most visible to fans. Under 2021-2024 rules, teams could stop a rally in progress to request video review. You’d see a coach call it while a ball was still in play. The 39th FIVB World Congress closed that window. Challenges now happen only after the rally concludes, and teams can review any action from that completed rally, including the serve.
Bookmark System
For VNL 2026, the FIVB approved an evolution called the bookmark system: a team marks an action mid-rally that they may want to challenge if they lose the point. The review only proceeds if they lose the rally.
Now, if both teams bookmark actions in the same rally, the sequence is reviewed chronologically and the first fault observed, wins. And if there is, no bookmark, it’s no challenge. This is currently under trial within the FIVB Strategic Vision 2032 framework.
The rules that matter most, by gameplay phase
Serving
The service clock stays at 15 seconds, measured from the moment the first referee whistles and signals the serve. What changed under Rule 7.4 is what the non-serving players can do while the serve is in motion.
Previously, players were locked into their rotational positions until ball contact. The 2025-2028 cycle lets the serving team shift toward defensive positions during the serve. The FIVB rationale: the old “everyone freeze” approach was creating artificial positional clustering that interrupted the natural flow into transition defense. The receiving team’s rotation is now formally set at the referee’s whistle rather than at ball contact. If you’re playing setter in a 5-1 and your serve receive formation starts breaking earlier than it used to, this rule is why.
Screening (Rule 12.5) got tighter language. Players cannot use coordinated jumps, arm movements, or grouped positioning to block the receiver’s view of the serve. The 2021-2024 language was vague enough that teams occasionally used “natural” pre-serve movement to argue ambiguity. The 2025-2028 version removes that argument. The receiving team is entitled to a clear sightline to the serve.
Receiving and ball handling
This is the area that produces the most referee inconsistency complaints at every level, and the 2025-2028 rulebook takes a deliberate stance on it.
The FIVB guidelines give referees explicit judgment latitude on first-contact ball handling. The language around “catches” and “throws” specifically exempts hard defensive contacts where the ball compresses but rebounds cleanly. That latitude is intentional. The rules are built around promoting flowing play, not stopping every reception that looks imperfect. When a ref doesn’t call a lift on a sprawling dig, that is the rulebook working as written.
What tightened: attack-phase ball handling. Rule 9.2.2 is applied strictly for attack contacts. The ball cannot be caught or thrown. The 2025 refereeing guidelines specifically call out attack-phase tipping: if a tip ball doesn’t instantly rebound from the fingers, if the hand accompanies the ball or changes the ball’s direction more than once, that’s a fault, and referees are instructed to call it. The “soft tip gray zone” that some attackers exploit gets cleaner enforcement here. If you want to understand what a legal lift call actually looks like versus a hard dig, that distinction matters on every back-court contact.
The double-contact trial tested at VNL 2025 is worth tracking. Under the trial, a double contact during the setting action is not automatically a fault if the ball stays on the same side of the court. Faults are only called for two clearly separate touches or for any double contact on a ball played over the net. Catches, lifts, and carries remain faults regardless. This has not been written into the permanent 2025-2028 rules. The FIVB is reviewing VNL 2025 data before deciding on wider adoption for 2026 and beyond.
Ball crossing the net (Rule 10.1.2)
The external space clarification fixed a rule that had become inconsistently applied at every level. Under the updated language: a ball sent into the opponent’s free zone totally or partly through the external space (outside the antennas), when coming from the team’s second or third hit, cannot be played back. It’s judged as out the moment it crosses the net plane.
The previous version created arguments about whether a ball that skimmed outside an antenna before re-entering the playing space was in or out. The standard is now unambiguous: second or third hit outside the antennas means out when it crosses. The net’s boundary specifications define exactly where that plane sits.
Setting
The standard ball-handling criteria for setting are unchanged: the ball must not visibly come to rest in the hands, and contact must be simultaneous if two hands are used. The double-contact trial described above is the only active change being tested for setting contacts.
The libero’s setting restriction is unchanged and still catches teams off guard regularly. A libero acting as setter who uses an overhand finger action while in front of the attack line, and whose set is then attacked above the net height by a teammate, commits a fault. Bump-setting from the front zone is legal. Most players learn this distinction the hard way.
Attacking and blocking
Back-row attack rules are unchanged: a back-row player can attack from behind the 3-meter line, jumping from behind it and landing anywhere. Front-row players have no attack-line restriction. Blocking contact rules are similarly stable. The change in 2025-2028 is that block touches are now specifically included in the video challenge regulations. A clear and visible contact must appear on video to overturn the original decision; if footage is inconclusive, the original call stands.
Scoring
Rally point scoring is unchanged. Every rally produces a point. Sets go to 25 (deciding set to 15), with a 2-point margin required. How volleyball scoring works is a separate topic. This article covers only what changed in the 2025-2028 FIVB rules cycle.
FIVB vs. NCAA vs. USAV: where the rules diverge
Substitutions
FIVB allows 6 substitutions per set. Each player can only enter in their original rotation position and can only be substituted once per set. The 2026 trial tests expanding this to 8 subs at elite competitions.
USAV allows 15 substitutions per set and allows unlimited individual re-entries by a substitute within that limit. A player can go in and out multiple times across a set.
NCAA women’s volleyball follows a structure closer to USAV. NCAA men’s volleyball falls under USAV guidelines and, by extension, closer to FIVB standards.
NFHS (high school) follows its own rulebook, typically closer to USAV than FIVB.
Libero serving
FIVB: The libero may serve in one rotation per set, in the position occupied by the player the libero is replacing. One serving position per set, one player.
USAV and NCAA: Generally mirror the FIVB on this, with the serving rotation noted on the lineup sheet.
Some NFHS states and older USAV tournaments still don’t allow libero serving. Check your specific competition regulations.
The libero serving allowance is not new to 2025-2028. It was added at the 2021 FIVB Congress. If someone on your team thinks the libero can’t serve, they’re citing a rule that changed four years ago. The libero’s back-row replacement rules are a separate matter and are unchanged: unlimited replacements per set, no substitution count, entry and exit between the attack line and end line only.
Coach interaction
FIVB: Only the head coach can request game interruptions (timeouts, substitutions) or address officials. An assistant cannot call a timeout or speak to the second referee during play.
USAV: An assistant coach may stand to instruct players within the same location restrictions as the head coach.
NCAA: Only one coach at a time may address officials to clarify a non-judgment call. Coaches may not delay resumption to discuss a judgment decision.
Roster size
FIVB standard: 12 players per match. The 2026 trial expands this to 12-14.
USAV: 12 players. Club tournament regulations sometimes vary.
NCAA: Rosters are not submitted before the match. Designated coaches are listed on the first-set lineup sheet.
Why refs call things differently, and why that’s actually correct
The most common complaint on volleyball forums, and in my own gym, is that refs at different levels call ball handling inconsistently. Same lift situation, different call depending on the tournament.
That inconsistency isn’t lack of knowledge or mistake. It’s something built into the design.
The FIVB rulebook gives referees explicit judgment latitude on ball-handling violations. The guidelines distinguish between reception contacts (where imperfect contact is expected and tolerated if the ball rebounds cleanly) and setting and attack contacts (where stricter standards apply). When that latitude travels down to recreational and scholastic levels, referees interpret it differently based on their training, the level of play, and what they’ve been instructed to prioritize at that specific competition.
The 2025 FIVB Refereeing Guidelines state the objective plainly: promote flowing play. A rally that continues is better for the sport than a stoppage for a marginal lift call. That’s not the ref losing control. That’s the ref executing the philosophy behind the rules.
Where it gets genuinely inconsistent: when refs apply attack-contact standards to reception contacts, or vice versa. The ball that comes off a pancake dig with some double-contact is in a completely different rule space than the same ball getting set with two hands and a clear carry. Same visual result, different standard. Understanding that distinction tells you when to politely ask for clarification after a call and when to drop it.
FAQ
Yes, in FIVB play. The libero may serve in one rotation per set, specifically in the serving position of the player they’re replacing at that moment. This was approved at the 2021 FIVB Congress and continues unchanged in the 2025-2028 cycle. Check your specific competition regulations, as NFHS and some domestic club formats have not adopted this.
The ball may touch any part of the body. It must rebound clearly, not be caught, thrown, or accompanied by the hand. For first-contact reception, referees have judgment latitude. For attack contacts, Rule 9.2.2 is applied strictly with no tolerance for carries or redirected tips.
Standard FIVB: each team gets two challenges per set. If a challenge is successful, the team retains it. Challenges can only be requested after the rally concludes. The 2026 bookmark trial adds the ability to mark potential challenge moments during a rally before requesting the review at rally’s end.
15 seconds from the referee’s whistle. The server must contact the ball within that window, or it’s a service fault.
How does the external space rule work?
On a team’s second or third hit, if the ball passes outside the antennas into the opponent’s free zone, it’s judged as out the moment it crosses the net plane. It cannot be played. This closed a gap that had produced inconsistent calls on sharp cross-angle attacks grazing outside the antenna line.
What’s different about the screening rule now?
Rule 12.5 requires that the serving team’s players not use coordinated movements, including jumps, arm raises, and group clustering, to obstruct the receiving team’s view of the serve. The 2021-2024 version left enough room that teams could argue intent. The 2025-2028 language removes that argument.
Does the libero count against substitutions?
No. Libero replacements happen in a designated zone between the attack line and end line, they’re unlimited per set, and they don’t count against the team’s substitution limit. This is consistent across FIVB, USAV, NCAA, and NFHS.
How does FIVB differ from NCAA on substitutions?
FIVB: 6 subs per set, each player replaced once, returns only to original position. NCAA women: more flexible, closer to USAV. NCAA men: follows USAV, which mirrors FIVB more closely. USAV: 15 subs per set, unlimited re-entries per player within that limit.
Where to find the official rulebook
The FIVB publishes the complete Official Volleyball Rules 2025-2028 at fivb.com, available in English, Spanish, French, and Arabic. The companion Casebook 2025 provides case-by-case application examples and is the document coaches and officials should use when working through edge situations the main rules text doesn’t resolve.
For domestic competition, USAV publishes its own rulebook at usavolleyball.org. It modifies FIVB rules in specific areas and is the controlling document for USA Volleyball sanctioned events. NCAA rule changes are updated every two years through the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel.
The gap in substitution rules remains the most significant divergence for anyone moving between domestic club play and international competition.
Understanding how international volleyball rules have evolved across cycles helps explain why certain rules exist at all. Rally scoring, the libero position, the challenge system: each was a deliberate answer to a problem the sport had at a specific moment in its history.
If you’re verifying your court setup before a match, FIVB court specifications cover every measurement the rulebook mandates, from playing area to free zone to antenna placement. Those specs are unchanged in the 2025-2028 cycle.
Keep playing, Ryan Walker