Volleyball signals explain the ruling, not the argument.

How an official ruling is built

1. Decide whether the rally is still live or a fault, ball out, interruption, or completed rally has occurred.
2. If a whistle is needed, the first or second referee stops play under that official's area of responsibility.
3. The referees use the official signal sequence to show who serves next, what fault was called, and which player was responsible if that detail matters.
4. Line judge, scorer, assistant scorer, or challenge information may help the decision, but the first referee keeps final authority over the match ruling.
5. If a competition uses video challenge, the challenge process can confirm or correct eligible decisions under the event protocol.

This page covers standard indoor volleyball

The explanation follows standard six-player indoor volleyball, especially FIVB-style rules. NCAA, NFHS, professional leagues, youth events, sitting volleyball, beach volleyball, and recreational tournaments may use different staffing levels, mechanics, scorer duties, or review procedures.

The practical structure is still similar: the referees control play, the table crew controls the score and administrative record, and line judges assist with boundary and antenna-side decisions.

Who the volleyball officials are

A full formal referee team can include the first referee, second referee, challenge referee, reserve referee, scorer, assistant scorer, and four or two line judges. At lower levels, some of those roles may be absent or combined, but the match should still have a clear official responsible for final rulings and a clear scorekeeping process.

The first referee works from the stand at one end of the net. The second referee stands near the opposite post, facing the first referee. The scorer and assistant scorer sit at the table. Line judges stand outside the court near the lines they control.

The first referee has final authority

The first referee directs the match from start to finish. This official authorizes the serve, controls the toss and warm-up, checks playing conditions, sanctions misconduct and delays, and can overrule other members of the referee team if their decision is mistaken.

During rallies, the first referee is especially responsible for faults by the server and serving team's positions, ball-handling faults, faults above the net, net faults on the attacking side, back-row or libero attack and block faults, and balls crossing outside the legal space on the first referee's side. The exact mechanics depend on the code and match crew, but the final authority principle is central.

The second referee controls the bench side and many net decisions

The second referee assists the first referee and has a defined area of jurisdiction. This official controls substitutions and timeouts, supervises the scorer's table, checks lineups, watches the receiving team's positions, and helps manage bench behavior, floor conditions, and player interruptions.

In live play, the second referee commonly focuses on faults near the net, center-line or under-net interference, back-row and libero faults within that official's view, outside-object contacts, floor contacts the first referee cannot see, and balls or players near the antenna on the second referee's side.

The scorer and assistant scorer protect the match record

The scorer records points, service order, substitutions, timeouts, sanctions, improper requests, exceptional substitutions, protests when allowed, and the final result. The scorer also helps alert the referees when a request is out of order or when an administrative issue affects play.

The assistant scorer, where used, tracks libero replacements and assists with the scorekeeping duties. In formal competitions with electronic score sheets, the table crew may also help announce substitutions and identify libero replacements for the second referee.

What line judges actually decide

Line judges assist the referees by watching assigned lines and the nearby antenna space. With two line judges, each usually controls both an end line and a sideline from a diagonal corner. With four, each line judge normally controls one line from the free zone extension of that line.

Their core signals cover balls in or out near their line, touches before a ball goes out, antenna contacts, balls crossing outside the crossing space, service foot faults, players stepping outside the court at service contact when assigned, and judgment-impossible situations. Their signals are information to the referee team; they are not a separate appeal system.

What referee hand signals mean

Referee hand signals identify the reason for the whistle or the interruption. Common signals include authorization to serve, team to serve, timeout, substitution, misconduct warning or sanction, positional or rotational fault, ball in, ball out, blocking fault or screening, catch, double contact, four hits, net touch, reaching beyond the net, attack-hit fault, penetration under the net or service-line fault, replay, ball touched, and delay warning or penalty.

The signal is not a second decision after the whistle. It is the public explanation of the decision. If the second referee whistles a fault, the second referee shows the fault first, and the first referee then shows the team that will serve.

What line judge flag signals mean

• Ball in: the flag points down to show the ball touched the court, including a boundary line.
• Ball out: the flag is raised vertically to show the ball landed completely outside the court.
• Ball touched: the flag is raised and touched with the free hand to show a player touched the ball before it went out.
• Antenna, crossing-space, outside-object, or foot fault: the flag is waved overhead and then points to the antenna or relevant line.
• Judgment impossible: the line judge crosses the arms when the play could not be seen clearly enough to give a reliable signal.

Why officials signal in a specific order

In FIVB-style mechanics, if the first referee whistles the fault, the first referee indicates the team to serve, then the nature of the fault, then the player at fault if needed. If the second referee whistles, the second referee indicates the fault and player when needed, while the first referee shows the team to serve.

This sequence prevents confusion. The team-to-serve signal tells everyone who won the rally or gained the next service. The fault signal explains why. The player indication is used only when identifying the responsible player is useful for clarity or required by the procedure.

Misunderstandings to avoid

• "The line judge awards the point" is wrong. The line judge reports what they saw; the referee team applies the ruling.
• "A flag up always means the ball landed out" is too broad. Some flag mechanics also cover antenna, crossing-space, outside-object, and service-foot faults.
• "The second referee can overrule the first referee" is wrong in normal procedure. The second referee assists and whistles within jurisdiction, but the first referee has final authority.
• "Every missed signal can be debated by the coach" is wrong. Clarification normally goes through the game captain or the competition's challenge procedure.
• "Judgment impossible means replay" is not automatic. It only means the line judge could not give reliable help; the referees still decide under the rules and available information.

How video review changes the process

When a competition uses a formal challenge system, a challenge referee or video team may review eligible actions and advise the first referee. The challenge official does not replace the rulebook. The review process exists to decide whether the evidence proves that an eligible call should be confirmed, corrected, or left as originally ruled.

Many line judge topics, such as ball in or out, touches, antenna contacts, and foot faults, may be reviewable in events with video systems. The exact review menu and challenge limits vary by competition. For more detail, see challenge and replay rules.

Common match examples

• Attack lands near the sideline: the line judge signals in or out, and the referee awards the rally unless a touch or earlier fault changes the result.
• Ball clips the block and lands out: the line judge may signal touch, which helps the referee decide that the blocking team last contacted the ball.
• Serve crosses outside the antenna: the line judge signals the crossing-space fault, and the rally ends even if the ball lands inside the receiving court.
• Substitution request is out of order: the scorer or second referee handles the administrative issue, not the line judge.
• Back-row attack fault is whistled: both referees may use the prescribed attack-hit fault mechanics so the serving team and fault are clear.

Local staffing can change the mechanics

Not every match has four line judges, a challenge referee, an assistant scorer, reserve officials, electronic scoring, or formal video review. School, club, recreational, and small-tournament matches often use smaller crews. That changes who physically performs each task, but it does not change the basic goal: one clear referee team applies the rules and communicates the ruling.

For a real match, use the competition handbook and current rulebook. They control referee assignments, approved signals, protest procedure, challenge availability, substitution mechanics, and any special local ground rules.

Source material

• FIVB Official Volleyball Rules 2025-2028
• FIVB Refereeing Reports and Documents
• NCAA Playing Rules
• NFHS Volleyball Rules