Re: What is the rule regarding the ball hitting the net?

[Todd <tdh@vbref.org>]

jbspats@aol.com (JBspats) writes:
> A bunch of friends and I play volleyball at the beach once a week.
> We're not too good and we all had an argument last week regarding
> the following: If the ball is in play and someone hits it into the
> net, can that same person hit the ball again off of the net?  Some
> of us were saying yes, you can hit it off of the net, but others
> were saying no.  Thanks...

In general, no.  That would be a double contact.

However, if the first contact was deemed a block, then the same player
could play the ball off the net as the team's first contact.  That is,
the opponent attacks the ball into your not-so-well-placed block
that's slightly off the net.  The ball ricochets off your block into
the net.  In that situation, you could play the ball out of the net,
because the first contact was a block.

See  
        http://usavolleyball.org/pub/rule_book.htm 

For more details.  In particular, see rule 14 of the indoor rules:



14.4 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HIT
14.4.1 The ball may touch any part of the body.
14.4.2 The ball must be hit, not caught or thrown. It can
rebound in any direction.
14.4.3 The ball may touch various parts of the body,
provided that the contacts take place
simultaneously. EXCEPTIONS:
14.4.3.1 During blocking, consecutive contacts
[Rule 19.4.1] may occur by one or more
blockers provided the contacts occur during
one action.
14.4.3.2 During the first hit of the team (not blocking
[Rule 19.2]), the ball may contact various
parts of the body consecutively, provided that
the contacts occur during one action.
14.4.3.2 Commentary: The first hit of the team
includes reception: (a) of the serve; (b) of an
attack-hit by the opponent [this may be a soft
or hard attack-hit]; (c) of a ball blocked by
one's own team and (d) of a ball blocked by
the opponents. During the team's first hit,
successive contacts with various parts of the
player's body are permitted in a single
action of playing the ball. These include
contacts involving “finger-action” on the ball
and contact with the foot. The ball, however,
may not be caught and/or thrown.


Best Regards,

--
                  Todd H.   tdh@vbref.org
USAV Regional Referee, Great Lakes Region, Palatine, IL
Todd's Volleyball Referee Page http://www.io.com/~tdh/vball/
"So you're a Ref and an engineer? Oh that explains it...."