Blocking and the next three hits
FIVB · 2025–2028Who may block, reaching across the net and why a block does not use a team hit.
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A block attempt or a completed blockBlock contacts and the next playReaching over and blocking faultsA block attempt or a completed block
A block intercepts an opponent’s ball close to the net while the player reaches above the net. At ball contact, some part of the blocker’s body must be above the net, although the ball itself can be lower. An attempt has no ball contact; a completed block does. A collective block involves 2 or 3 nearby players and is completed when any of them touches the ball. Only front-row players may complete a block. A back-row player or Libero must not complete or participate in a completed block; a Libero must not even attempt an individual or collective block.
Block contacts and the next play
Quick, continuous contacts by one or more blockers are allowed if they occur within one blocking action. The block does not count towards the team’s 3 hits, so the team still has 3 hits afterward. Any player, including the player who touched the block, may make the first of those hits. This is why a blocker can legally contact the ball twice in succession across the block and following team hit.
Reaching over and blocking faults
Hands and arms may extend over the net without interfering with opposing play, but the blocker must not touch the ball in the opponent’s space before the opponent has made an attack hit. Blocking the opponent’s serve is forbidden. A ball sent out off a block is a blocking fault. So is blocking in the opponent’s space from outside an antenna. These restrictions apply alongside the rules on net contact and interference.
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