EDITOR’S NOTE: This is part 9 of a 12-part volleyball series recapping the outstanding 2005 season, previewing the 2006 season, giving fans basic volleyball rules, terminology and scoring basics leading up to the season-opening Tiger Invitational tournament in the Maravich Center on Aug. 25-26, featuring the “Pack Pete’s Seats” match against No. 2 Penn State at 7 p.m. on Aug. 26.
BATON ROUGE — Gone are the days of endless side outs, meaningless rallies and drawn out matches. Three-hour matches? Try 90 minutes. A long rally with no scoring to show for it? Not anymore. With the rally scoring system, everything counts as you fly though a match with non-stop action from start to finish.
In 2001, the NCAA adopted rally scoring for all games for volleyball. With the rally scoring system, a point is awarded on every rally regardless of which team is serving. When the serving team wins the rally, it gains a point and continues the serve. When the receiving team wins the rally, it gains a point and the right to serve as the players rotate one position clockwise.
In a rally-scoring match, the first four games are played to 30 points with a minimum two-point margin of victory and no scoring cap. If a deciding game is needed, the game is played to 15 point with a minimum two-point margin of victory and no scoring cap.
Prior to the 2001 season, women’s volleyball used traditional side-out scoring, the type of scoring you probably learned in high school. In side-out scoring, the winner of the rally receives a point only if they served the ball for that rally. If the winner of the rally did not serve, the winning team will earn the serve and rotate one position clockwise.
The NCAA and the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) decided to make the change to rally scoring for all games to help speed up the game for television purposes and appeal to fans. The FIVB, which governs USA and international volleyball, made the change to all rally scoring in 1999.
With a point scored on every rally, it makes every touch and serve important to the outcome of the match and makes teams focus on committing fewer errors.
Did you know that the highest scoring NCAA women’s volleyball match in history involved 162 combined points? NCAA Division III Case Reserve defeated Hiram College, 42-40, 35-37, 36-34, 34-36, 15-10, on Oct. 3, 2001. LSU is tied for the 11th highest scoring match in NCAA Division I women’s volleyball history with 135 total points. The Tigers defeated Tulane, 33-31, 30-18, 32-34, 25-30, 15-13, on Nov. 26, 2004.
You can now share that bit of knowledge with your friends when you come out watch the Tigers win in 2006. The team will open the season on Aug. 25 against Rice in the Maravich Center in the Tiger Invitational at 7 p.m. The Tigers will then take on Nicholls State on Aug. 26 at 11 a.m. before closing out the two-day tournament against No. 2 Penn State at 7 p.m.
Admission to the tournament is free with an “Advocate” ticket. Those tickets are available through the LSU Promotions Department by calling (225) 578-8960. In addition, fans are encouraged to wear white to the Penn State match, and “Walk on the Wild Side” t-shirts will be given away in an attempt to “Pack Pete’s Seats” and break the LSU volleyball attendance record.