If you've ever been to a volleyball game, you know the confusion and frustration when the game is stopped due to a small mistake. The referee held up two fingers and the crowd booed and groaned in frustration. The second player to touch the ball, usually the setter, caused the double contact.
The NCAA announced on February 20th. new rules Double Contact Allowed — When a player's hand touches the ball at two different times in a row, or when the ball hits his body twice. The premise of the rule changes was to make the game more stable and smooth for both players and fans.
Double contact calls are often made multiple times during a game, are often subjective, and players and coaches constantly argue with referees over the call, causing delays in review. The NCAA collected data from the 2022 experimental rules that showed only a small amount of calls would be changed by the rule change.
Announcement has been addressed mixed reaction. While the rule changes may allow for uninterrupted gameplay, the previous rules required setters to develop better form and set with specific, quick contact to avoid tapping the ball twice with their hands. It was wanted. Critics of the rule change argue that by allowing double contact, the NCAA is blurring the distinction between great and mediocre setters.
Freshman Alden Roberts, a setter for the NYU women's volleyball team and an umpire for Big City Volleyball's recreational games, said the new rules will make officials' jobs easier.
“It's hard to call doubles because every umpire calls it differently,” Roberts said. “That's the spectrum of how bad that double was.”
He also said that if there is a double touch on a set, the setter will be able to run crosscourt and retrieve the ball without worrying.
While this may give less skilled setters more playing time, it seems unfair to setters who have perfected their settings throughout their careers. But Roberts said most teams would still want a setter who doesn't double to stabilize the set.
The new rules also clearly state that if this double contact causes the ball to go over the net instead of to a player on your team, it will be considered a fault. This means they lose the point and the other team gets the ball. Without this clarification, the setter could set up the ball with one hand and hit the ball over the net with the other. This would be extremely unfair both to the batter (since the setter would be hitting instead) and to the blocker, who would have to train for attacks from multiple sides of the net.
Roberts said he has no intention of changing his setting technique and believes other setters won't either. She doesn't think the new rules will affect the game next season, but she said it could have an impact in years to come. Young players can be taught a variety of techniques without putting too much emphasis on single-contact sets.
The NCAA also announced new rules for liberos, defensive specialists who play in the back row and wear different colored jerseys for each team. Before the rule change, teams could only nominate one libero, but now they can nominate two. Although this rule affects gameplay, new changes to the rule are not discussed as much because they have not caused much in-game or media tension.
Women's volleyball is scheduled to resume competition this fall, when the new rules will finally make sense.
Contact Alisia Houghtaling. [email protected].
