A block touch changes the rally, but not the three-hit count.

What counts as a block

A block is an action by a player close to the net who reaches higher than the top of the net to intercept a ball coming from the opponent. The player does not have to send the ball straight down for it to be a block. A soft deflection, a touch off the hands, or a ball that rebounds upward can still be a block contact if the action meets the rule.

A block is completed when the ball touches a blocker. A player can attempt to block without touching the ball, but the special block-touch rules only matter once there is actual contact.

Why the team still has three hits

The most important practical rule is that a block contact is not counted as a team hit. If a front-row player blocks an attack and the ball stays on that team's side, the team may still use three contacts: for example, dig, set, and attack.

The blocker may also take the first contact after the block. That is why a middle blocker can touch the ball on the block, have it drop behind them, and then legally play it again as the team's first hit after the block. This is different from an ordinary player playing the ball twice in succession, which is covered in double contact and lift rules.

How officials read the play

1. Decide whether the contact was a block or an ordinary playing action.
2. Check whether the player was eligible to complete a block.
3. Check whether the blocker reached beyond the net too early or interfered with the opponent's play.
4. If the block was legal, treat the next team contact as the first hit after the block.
5. If the ball goes out after touching the block, award the rally according to the last legal touch and any blocking fault.

When repeated block contacts are legal

Quick, continuous contacts during one blocking action may be legal even if the ball brushes more than one hand, more than one blocker, or the same blocker more than once. Officials are looking for one blocking action, not a controlled second play of the ball.

Once the block action is over, the next contact is judged as the team's first hit after the block. If a player catches, carries, or throws the ball on that next contact, the normal ball-handling rules apply.

Who may block

Only front-row players may complete a block in standard indoor volleyball. A back-row player commits a fault if they complete a block or participate in a completed block. The libero is even more restricted: the libero may not block or attempt to block.

This is one reason rotation and role status matter near the net. A player can look like a normal front-court attacker but still be a back-row player in the rotation. For role-specific restrictions, see libero and back-row attacks and rotation and overlap.

When blocking across the net is allowed

A blocker may place hands and arms beyond the plane of the net, but not in a way that interferes with the opponent before the opponent's attack hit. The opponent generally gets the right to play its own ball first. The legal block contact beyond the net happens after the opponent has executed an attack hit, or when the ball is otherwise coming over in a way the blocker may intercept without taking away a playable opponent contact.

That is different from reaching over early and touching a set or pass while the opponent still has a playable ball. Those timing and protected-space issues overlap with net, center-line, and overreach rules.

You cannot block the serve

Blocking an opponent's service is a fault. The receiving team must let the served ball cross and play it under the normal receive rules. A front-row player cannot jump at the net and stuff, redirect, or screen the served ball as a block.

Serving faults can also happen before the receiving team has a chance to play the ball, such as a service foot fault, wrong server, or illegal ball crossing path. Those are separate from blocking and are explained in serving faults and let serves.

What happens when the ball hits the block and goes out

A block touch can decide possession even when the blocker barely changes the ball's path. If an attack contacts the block and the ball then lands out, officials normally treat the blocker as having touched it. That is the familiar touch-out or tool-the-block situation.

The call can change if the blocker committed a fault first, such as reaching over too early, blocking the serve, or an ineligible back-row player completing the block. Officials stop at the first fault in the sequence rather than judging only where the ball finally landed.

Things people often get wrong

• "The block is the first hit": not in standard indoor volleyball. The team still has three contacts after a legal block touch.
• "The blocker cannot touch it again": the blocker may make the first team hit after the block.
• "Any player at the net can block": back-row players and liberos have important restrictions.
• "Hands over the net are always illegal": legal blocking can involve reaching beyond the plane when it does not interfere too early.
• "A tiny touch does not count": a slight block touch can still affect out-of-bounds and challenge decisions.

Where rules can vary

This page describes standard six-player indoor volleyball. FIVB-style rules, NCAA, NFHS, professional leagues, youth competitions, beach volleyball, sitting volleyball, and recreational events can differ in wording, review procedure, substitutions, or local administration. For a formal match, use the current rulebook and referee instructions for that competition.

Source material

• FIVB Official Volleyball Rules 2025-2028
• FIVB Basic Rules
• NCAA Playing Rules
• NFHS Volleyball Rules