[chapmaja]

Originally Posted by oldsetter

(signal 14, out) casebook, pg 86, out-of bounds (4th bullet)
* The ball goes into the net and lands out of bounds on the attackers side.

so a newbie asked me if a team shanks a pass into the gym wall on their side of the net, is it a touch or out signal. We play in some tight gyms.

Here is my thoughts:
Signal 10 (touch) Used to indicate a touch off a block or a teams 1st, 2nd or 3rd contact LANDING out of bounds on that teams side of the net. (I put landing in all caps....hummm is hitting a wall 'landing')

Signal 14 (out)

Bullet (2)
* The ball completely crosses the center line extended OR......breaks the plane of a non-playable area beyond the legal reach of a player.
Bullet (5)
* The ball hits the net on or outside the antenna, cables, net support, or referee's stand.
Bullet (7) A ball contacts a vertical backboard (or it's supports) and in the opinion of the first referee the ball would not have remained in play had the backboard not been there.

Based on signal 14, I would rule the wall the same as a backboard.....We don't call touch or replay, we call out or replay. Also, I would say based on bullet 2, a ball that is passed in the stands on the 1st, 2nd or 3rd contact is out of reach and this too is an out signal, not touch.

How many people get that right?

I would say this also lends itself to confusion.

For example, instead of the ball being touched on the block a player knows the ball will be long and is attempting to avoid touching the ball. It glances off her arm as she tries pulling the arm back and then the ball his the wall. If we signal out, the majority would assume the ball went out untouched, when in reality, the ball was touched, even though it wasn't on the block.

This is why we are told the touch call is the better call to use in many of these instances because it eliminates the chance for confusion in many cases.