Change of surface
 

In my NCAA match last night, home management had placed a carpet in front of the bleachers, to keep wet shoes from getting the court wet. My R1 told the players that the carpet was a change of surface, so if they were playing a ball near the carpet, they had to maintain one body part in contact with the hardwood court.

I looked through my rulebook and couldn't find anything about a change of surface. I know USAV has a rule regarding a change of more than a 1/2-inch, but I don't see anything similar in the NCAA book.

Should we have considered the carpet to be a non-playable area?

1.1.1 Playing Surface
The court and a free zone area at least 2 meters (6 feet, 6 inches) adjacent to
and surrounding the court must be flat, smooth and free of obstructions, other
than net supports� The free zone may include playing area that is even with or
not more than approximately 1�25 centimeters (½ inch) lower than the primary
surface� For facilities constructed after 2016, a free zone of 3 meters (9 feet, 10
inches) is required�

Ok, so the carpet is less than a half inch higher than the wood surface. Does that make it non-playable?

Yes

Here's a play from RefSchool indicating that a 1/4" *higher* surface is not a playable area.

The primary playing area is surrounded by a secondary surface that is ¼" higher. S-3 attempts to retrieve a ball, which is completely above the raised surface. S-3 jumps to play the ball and has no body part in contact with the playing surface when contact with the ball is made. S-3 then lands on the raised surface. The first referee whistles the play dead and awards a point to Team R. Is the referee’s decision correct or incorrect?

A: Correct