Scoring

Some friends of mine have asked me many times if the scoring system has changed during the decades and, more generally, people don’t even know that there are two types of scoring system. Let me explain the differences between these systems.

Side-out scoring: it has been used until 1999. With this system, the point could be scored only when a team had the serve and all sets went up to 15 points. This is the reason why the matches usually lasted more than two hours and half. If I was asked to give an example, my answer would be easy: the 1990 world championship final between Italy and Cuba. Click here to watch it!

Rally point system: it is the current scoring system. In order to score a point, a team doesn’t need to have the serve and all sets go up to 25 points, except for the 5^th set which is played to 15 points. In order to win a set, a team must have a two-point margin. For example, if the score is 24-all, the set ends when a team scores the 26^th point.

Obviously, many rules occurred and, surely, many others will occur. Even if you asked a volleyball referee to explain all the rules, he probably wouldn’t be able to do it (he usually does not implement all of them!). For more information about rules visit www.fivb.org.