To win a set, a side must win by two points or more, and because there is no predetermined limit, the game might theoretically continue on indefinitely! Volleyball England, England's recognized national regulating organization for volleyball, beach volleyball, and sitting volleyball, has established the following rules: A set is won when one team achieves two points or more over the other. However, due to the unlimited number of points that can be scored in a set, a very large number of games may not be necessary to determine a world champion.
However, as a guide, most men's teams will agree that a player needs to win about 75% of his sets in order to be considered one of the best in the world. This means that if his rival wins about 95% of his sets, then he is not rated very highly.
In fact, only three players have ever been awarded gold medals at the Olympic Games who were not considered elite performers on their own clubs or countries' teams: Armin Haryani (Germany), Karch Kiraly (Canada), and Yoo Jae-Hong (South Korea). All three of these players are considered among the all-time greats of the sport.
So in general, if your favorite player isn't ranked high enough to win lots of matches, then he/she isn't going to get any major awards like MVP or Rookie of the Year either.
Volleyball differs from other sports in that the first four sets are played to 25 points, while the fifth set is only played to 15 points if the match goes to a fifth set. In practice, however, there will be a time when one of the teams will be forced to call it a day.
In order to win the match, your team needs to win at least five games. If your team wins four or five games, then you can say that you won the match. If your team loses three games, then you can say that you lost the match. If your team wins two games, then you can say that you were tied up for the match. If your team loses one game, then you can say that you fell short of winning the match.
A match has several phases. During these phases, each team will have a chance to score points by hitting the ball over the net into the opposing team's court.
The first phase is usually called the opening phase and lasts for about five minutes. In this phase, both teams will send members into the center of the court to hit as many balls as they can over the net. The team that hits the most balls will usually be given an advantage during the game.
The games are played to 21 points rather than the 25 points used in indoor volleyball. The winning team must have a two-point advantage to win the set, and there is no time restriction. As a result, the first team to lead by two points after a total of 21 wins the set. The best of three sets is used to determine the winner of beach volleyball. There is no limit on the number of sets that can be played.
In addition to winning the match, teams also work to gain points during rallies. A player receives one point for hitting down the line, and another when he or she returns an opponent's spike over the net into the court. If a player is attacked while off guard, he or she has the option of blocking or jumping over the net to start the rally over. If a block occurs, the attacker gets a free pass if he or she so chooses.
Teams will often use these points together with the advantage rule to their advantage. For example, if a team is serving and needs five points to win the game, they can let the opponents get close without scoring and then hit away every time they have an opportunity. This would give them plenty of points but not enough to win the game. Or they could wait until their opponents were close and then score five points in a row to win the game. Either way, they're trying to win even though they may not have the advantage.
The fifth set is played until one side achieves 15 points with a two-point advantage, according to USA Volleyball regulations. If the teams are deadlocked at 14–14 at the conclusion of the set, the team that wins the following point must win another point to win the set by a two-point margin. Otherwise, the set will go into a tiebreaker procedure.
There is no limit on how long a set can last. However, if a match goes beyond five sets, a third judge is used to determine who wins each set 11-9, 10-8, and so on. The team that wins the most sets is the winner of the match.
The fifth set was originally designed as a way for both teams to earn some extra money during practice sessions. Today, professional volleyball leagues around the world include set numbers in their playoff systems to ensure that all games are worth the same amount of prize money. In the United States, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) uses the fifth set to determine which team moves on to the next round of competition. Other international sports organizations use their own criteria for determining the final outcome of a match.