Collegiate volleyball tournaments are known across the globe for their complexity and intense competition that makes athletes stand out on the volleyball turf. Concluded last year in December, the NCAA was among the most memorable tournaments last season. However, the tournament is getting more competitive for the participants.

Being a knockout tournament last season, the NCAA proposed teams to secure their spots at the championship through various volleyball conferences. In a recent revelation, the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Rules Committee has been under the spotlight for proposing a new set of rules for the 2024 season.

Officiating double contacts

The NCAA Women’s Volleyball Rules Committee held a meeting in Indianapolis this week. All the members of the team recommended that players be allowed to contact the ball at least once with any part of the body. This can be done only through a single attempt; as for the next contact, the ball must be played to a teammate. In case the ball is played over the net, it will be a fault, and the team will lose points.

In a recent interview with NCAA Volleyball, Lyndsey Oates said, “We believe we won’t lose skill training because it is not significantly advantageous to the team that would have been called for double contact.” The coach of Northern Colorado, chairperson of the panel, added, “Our goals with all the proposals were to continue to make volleyball an exciting game to watch and play.”

The change about double contacts was debated thoroughly before the team or panel decided to propose the recommendation as a change. The primary reason behind this is clashes between the coaches and the officials during matches regarding double contact. Therefore, to make the game exciting for spectators and athletes, the committee decided to promote the continuation of play. But, this is not the only change proposed by the committee.

The other proposals on the plate

The Committee has also proposed to limit the involvement of liberos in each set of the game. Now teams can only come up with two liberos for each set and only one amongst two will be allowed to play at a time and in a particular position. In addition to this, the committee recommended referees issue a red card to stop the encroachment of spectators in the playing area in case the host fails to resolve the issue.

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Along the same lines, teams can challenge interference above the net to the list of plays in a video review. Apart from this, athletes are also allowed to wear small, snug-fitted nose rings along with ear cuffs on volleyball turf in the new jewelry rule.  In addition to this, the team has to note that all protests that occurred during the match are to be resolved during the match only.

Interestingly, this time, the committee has also approved an experimental rule where the women’s team can use the men’s international volleyball non-smooth cover during the off-season this spring. The panel will be discussing the proposals in the second week of February.

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