In the Plane of the Net

[Paul Vancouver]

I am a relatively new official.

I have been told by several officials and players that any ball in the plane of the net may be freely hit by either side without restriction (front row players only, of course).

Is this really true? We use USA Volleyball rules in our rec league, but I just don't see that the rules support this.

My belief is either that the rules must be changed or the enforcement must be changed, because right now they don't seem to agree.

If you agree with the premise in the second paragraph, then I have a list of rule changes to propose.