New rule changes receive mixed reactions

Erik Boal

The National Federation of State High School Assns. was busy

revising a number of volleyball rules during the offseason, and the

changes have created a whirlwind of mixed emotions among local

coaches.

In January, the NFHS Volleyball Rules Committee concluded more

than five years of discussion by approving the use of the

rally-scoring format, which the California Interscholastic Federation

immediately adopted to take effect statewide for the 2003-04 school

year for contests at all levels.

And while many of the aforementioned coaches -- including

Crescenta Valley High’s Jennifer Ryan, who sits on the CIF Southern

Section Division I girls’ advisory committee -- felt the changes made

by the NFHS were inevitable in an attempt to create a similar

atmosphere to the club and college level, Ryan, along with some of

her peers, thinks the rule revisions take away some of the purity of

the high school game.

“I thought it was an inevitable move because there was a lot of

pressure from the club and college levels to make it happen. But I

think it does a disservice to high school volleyball, because

that’s your training ground,” said Ryan, who has served on the

advisory committee for five years.

“But it was bound to happen, so you just have to move on.”

The rally-scoring format -- in which points are awarded on each

play, regardless of which team is serving, versus the old sideout

system in which a squad could only score on its own serve -- had only

been previously used in the deciding (fifth) games of CIF playoff

matches, as well as by selected leagues in the deciding game of a

league contest.

Even a handful of tournament organizers adopted the format in an

attempt to create a more user-friendly schedule.

But when CIF Southern Section girls’ volleyball teams begin

regular-season competition in less than two weeks, gone will be the

days of sideout scoring and the first team to reach 15 points,

winning by two.

Instead, a faster-paced, best-of-five match, where the first four

games are played to 25 (no cap) and the deciding game is played to 15

(no cap) will now be the norm.

And several local squads got a sneak preview of how the new format

would affect the game during summer league competition.

“The players want a faster-paced game and rally scoring does

that,” said Cynthia Doyle, NFHS assistant director and a liaison to

the volleyball rules committee.

“It is felt that one of the positives in the introduction of rally

scoring is it will generate more spectator interest.”

*

According to data gathered from the NFHS, an average three-game

match played by rally-scoring rules takes approximately one hour and

a five-game contest approximately 90 minutes. Some five-game matches

played by local squads last year took more than two hours to

complete.

But spectator interest aside, coaches have four main points of

contention, some having to do with rally scoring, and others

surrounding additional rule changes made by the Volleyball Rules

Committee.

In past years, teams were allowed two timeouts per game with a

third being granted to each squad if the game progressed to a 14-14

tie.

Under the new rules, each squad gets only two timeouts per game.

But the revisions garnering the most attention are the new “let

serve”, “multiple contact” and “unsportsmanlike conduct” rules.

The “let serve” is a ball that, when served, hits the net without

touching the antenna and continues across into the opponent’s court.

In the past, such a serve would result in a sideout for the other

team, but in an effort to keep the flow of the game moving with

fewer interruptions, the “let serve” is now a live, playable ball.

“It’s going to impact the game quite a bit,” said Glendale Coach

Michelle Capozzoli, who was an All-CIF selection for the Nitros

before going on to play at Washington State University.

“You have the girls in a pattern to do it one way and now it’s

another way.”

There has also been quite a buzz about the “unsportsmanlike

conduct” rule, which, if enforced, allows officials to penalize a

coach with a yellow card if they feel they are “disrespectfully

addressing their own players” during the course of a match.

Although coaches understand the Volleyball Rules Committee’s

intentions, they believe the rule is subject to various

interpretations by officials, which could result in a source of

controversy throughout the season.

“Everything’s going to be new for a lot of the referees, too,”

Ryan said.

But without a doubt, the change that has generated the most

response has to do with the “multiple contact” rule, which permits a

player to use multiple contact when receiving a ball “on any first

team hit, whether or not the ball is touched by the block.”

So what was once considered a “double hit” or “lift” infraction

has now been recognized as a legal play, as long as it is on the

first ball received, which usually occurs above the head.

“I don’t mind the rally scoring because I think it makes for a

little more exciting game. But I don’t like the double contacts

being allowed because it doesn’t allow the kids to learn the basics

of volleyball,” Flintridge Prep Coach Sean Beattie sad.

“Overall, they had to [implement rally scoring] because it’s the

next logical progression and because so many of the kids were playing

club. But allowing the double contacts is almost like taking the

passing out of volleyball.”

Said Capozzoli: “You teach them the right way for so long and now

it’s going back to the wrong way. It’s almost like going back to your

first year of coaching.”

Added Hoover Coach Deb Cohen: “I really think it’s taking away

from the skill you need to play the game.”

*

But for Beattie’s mixed reviews and Capozzoli, Cohen and Ryan’s

disappointment with the changes, the new rules do have one proponent

in La Canada Coach Ted Grissom.

“I love what’s going on in terms of the changes. It’s a

progression that had to happen and it just happened to be now,” said

Grissom, who officiates Pacific-10 Conference volleyball matches in

his spare time.

“That’s all they’re playing right now and I like it because it

keeps the game going. I even wish we had the libero.”

Grissom and Ryan believe installing the libero -- a designated

back-row player that is allowed to replace any player in the back

row without counting as a substitution -- probably won’t come until

the 2005 season, although there are motions in place to have the

position implemented next year.

Until then, the coaches and the players, whether they like it or

not, will have to learn how to adjust to the current system.