We could be influenced by players saying “no touch,” coaches yelling at us because they disagree, or hearing fan reaction.We could be fooled by the deflection of the ball once it’s been in the net or touched by the blockers.We may be affected by the match equipment (a shaking net).We are affected by the number of blockers (lots of hands).We are in line with the net, which is not always the best angle.

We may be behind the hands (depending on position).The type of play, or offense, that a team runs can make seeing blocker touches difficult:Īdditional factors that impact referees’ decisions: The angle and speed of the attack can make it difficult to determine whether the block touches the ball: The speed (or level) of play can make it difficult to determine if an attack was touched by the block. Unless a ball is clearly blocked or is clearly contacted four times, allowing play to continue is the best decision because it will be the correct decision 80-90 percent of the time. In fact, one study put the numbers closer to 90 percent! As an amateur statistician, I like those numbers and coaches should too. In these studies, blockers touched the ball on these “close” plays more than 80 percent of the time. The results indicated that it is far from a 50-50 play. The primary objective was to review video of these “close” plays and determine how often the blockers contacted the ball. Statistics on this play (some may say a 50-50 play):įIVB, the international governing body of volleyball, conducted some studies on attacked balls that were “close” to the top of the net tape. Of course, it’s an important piece (a big decision) so let’s cover some recent statistics, what affects our view and decisions, and how we can improve our decision-making on determining first hit or four hits.

The coaches, spectators and players don’t see the game as we do and fail to recognize that the final piece for both referees is only a small part of their job.

Can he or she confidently assist the first referee in determining whether the blockers touched the ball or not?Īs you can see, both referees have a constant flow of information - known as the progression of play - in which they evaluate, anticipate, communicate and make decisions.

Is he or she anticipating and prepared to whistle (if necessary) centerline violations by either team?.

Can he or she identify which players are blocking and did they make contact with the net during the action of playing the ball?.

Is he or she in position and ready to help the first referee determine if the libero was on the attack line or in the front zone and used finger action to send the ball to a teammate who makes an attack on the ball (that attack being higher than the top of the net)?.

Is he or she in position to view the attacker’s last point of contact to assist with back-row attacks?.

Does he or she need to help with caught and thrown contacts or egregious double contacts when partners are blocked from seeing the contact (this should be discussed in prematch)?.

Did the blockers touch the ball or not, resulting in four hits on the attacking team?.

Was the final contact legal (often the third contact)?.

Where was the attacker’s last point of contact if a back-row player?.Is the attacker a front-row player or is he or she coming out of the back row?.Can the setter dump the ball over (if front row) or should he or she be prepared for a possible violation (if back row)?.If the setter is setting the ball to a teammate, was it a legal contact?.

Acc volleyball referee hand signals