A serve is not legal if teammates illegally hide it.

What screening means

Screening is a fault by the serving team. It happens when one or more serving-team players stop the receiving team from seeing the serve being hit and tracking the ball as it travels toward the net. The most common forms are raised arms, sideways movement, jumping, or a tight group of players placed to hide the server and the ball's early flight.

The rule does not require every receiver to have a perfect, unobstructed view from every angle. It protects the receiving team from an unfair visual barrier created by the serving team during the service action.

How officials judge it

1. Identify the receiving player's realistic line of sight to the server and the ball.
2. Look at the serving team's positions at service contact, not just their starting positions before the whistle.
3. Check for players waving arms, jumping, moving sideways, or standing in a close group to hide the serve.
4. Track whether the ball's flight path was hidden long enough to affect the receive.
5. If the screen meets the rule, call a service fault and award the rally to the receiving team.

Standing near the net is not automatically illegal

Front-row players may be near the net before a serve, and a team may use normal serve-receive pressure or tactical positioning. A screen is not called just because a player is tall, close to the net, or between the receiver and the server in a loose sense.

The fault depends on whether the serving team creates an illegal screen. Officials usually need both the obstructing action or formation and a meaningful loss of visibility for the receiving team.

Actions that can create a screen

• Waving or holding arms high: using arms to block the receiver's view of the server or the ball.
• Jumping during the service action: timing a jump to hide the service contact or early ball flight.
• Moving sideways as the serve is hit: shifting across the receiver's line of sight instead of holding a normal position.
• Standing in a tight group: creating a wall of players that hides the server and the ball's path toward the net.
• Coordinated decoy behavior: movement that exists mainly to obscure the serve rather than to prepare for defense.

Practical screening situations

If three front-row players bunch together with hands raised while a jump server contacts the ball behind them, that can be a screen if the receivers cannot see the service hit and early flight. If those same players stand normally, arms down, and the ball is visible soon after contact, officials may allow play to continue.

A player moving laterally across the receiver's view at the exact moment of service is more suspicious than a player who simply starts in a legal rotational position and then prepares for defense after the ball is served.

Misunderstandings about serve screens

• "Any player in front of the server is a screen": not by itself. The question is whether the view of the service hit and ball flight is illegally blocked.
• "The receiver must ask for a screen": officials can call a screen without a request, although receiving teams may point out a concern before the next serve.
• "A jump serve makes screening legal": the server's style does not remove the serving team's duty to avoid an illegal screen.
• "Only front-row players can screen": any serving-team player can contribute to a screen if their position or movement hides the serve.
• "The ball landing in means there was no fault": a screening fault occurs during the service action and ends the rally even if the serve would otherwise be in.

What happens when a screen is called

A screening fault is treated as a service fault. The receiving team wins the rally and scores a point under rally scoring. If that point gives the receiving team the right to serve, it rotates before serving next.

Officials normally call the fault promptly because the illegal action occurs as the serve is being made. If another service fault clearly happens first, such as a foot fault by the server, officials apply the first fault in the sequence under the competition's procedure.

Where wording can vary

This page describes standard six-player indoor volleyball. FIVB-style rules, NCAA, NFHS, professional leagues, youth events, beach volleyball, and recreational competitions may use different rulebook wording or referee mechanics. The core idea is consistent: the serving team may not illegally hide the service contact and early ball flight from the receiving team.

Source material

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