CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, Ill. (WCIA) — There are major rule changes in women's college volleyball. It will change the way setters play on the court.
The NCAA has created a new double contact rule for setters. This means you can touch the ball twice and you don't have to make a perfect rotation. The new rules have received mixed reactions overall.
“When a setter or someone contacts the ball with an overhand, you want an even hand with no spin. This rule no longer calls it spin,” says Chris, head volleyball coach at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Tamas said.
Tamas added that he believes this rule will make players feel a little less anxious about putting their hands on the ball, leading to better settings.
Brooke Mosher, a setter for the U of I team, says she has spent her entire athletic career perfecting her technique.
“I think some of the skills setters have worked so hard to learn are going to be lost,” Mosher said. “Now, it's not a little demoralizing to have that just taken away, but it's kind of tough to have it just go away. All the effort I put into it.”
Tamas said it's a move away from tradition but could help improve the game overall.
“The purists out there say there should be no spin. There is no greater skill than this,” Tamas said. “I would argue that double contact is useless. And it robs the referee of judgment.”
He said there's too much variation in who calls doubles and what Central High School head coach Justin Tomaska agrees.
“So typically one of the biggest conversations we have with officials is subjective calls around doubles, lifts, carries, things like that,” Tomaska said.
Every time double contact is called, the flow of the game stops, but whether the new rules are fully accepted or not, we don't think the perfect setup will go anywhere.
“So college coaches want to see the best athletes. They want to throw the best ball. So double contact is usually the best ball to play. “Yes,” Tomaska said. “So they still want to see volleyball as clean as possible.”
Some other new rules include the addition that teams can have two liberos in each game, but only one can be on the court at a time. Internet interference can be challenged through video. Nose rings and ear cuffs will be allowed.
