Accidental touching under the net.
 

Saw this posted on Facebook as a hypothetical...

Totally hypothetic situation. Team R's first hit goes toward the net.. As team S player gets in position she trips and falls with her foot not entirely across the center line. The team R 2nd hit attempt is missed entirely and the ball hits the team S player's foot and rebounds up where it it played by another team R player.

Fault on s, or play on and if so, how many hits does R have remaining?


Only thing I can find is that it's not a fault on S under NFHS nor.do I think it's one in USAV unless you can say the ball was completely on Rs side when it hit the foot.

The definition of a block involves reaching higher than the net, so treating this like a block and allowing a team to reset their hits is absolutely not an option.

NCAA is very explicit on this exact situation:

Rule 15.1.3.2: If the ball inadvertently contacts an opponent while part of the ball is in the plane below the net, the ball is out of play and it is not considered a fault by the opponent.

USAV Casebook Ruling
10.14 R2 (note: Receiving Team Player 2, not the second referee) is standing close to the net when S2 contacts the ball so that it hits R2 below the net before it completely crosses the vertical plane of the net.

Ruling: The ball is “out.” (Signal pointing under the net). Next service to Team R. If, in the judgment of the 1st referee, no player from Team S could have made a play on the ball before it passed under the net, there was no interference.
Reference: 10.1.3, 11.4.2

It seems to me that both NCAA and USAV can use more clarity…

1. NCAA - ”…the ball is out of play and it is not considered a fault by the opponent”. So whose fault it is? What’s the call?
2. USAV - “ …If, in the judgment of the 1st referee, no player from Team S could have made a play on the ball before it passed under the net, there was no interference.” And if there was a player from Team S that could’ve made a play, but didn’t?

Ball coming from your court touches opponent under the net. Ball is dead.

1. If interference - your point. Pretty much never.
2. If no interference - opponent’s point. Almost always.

Either way the signal is pointing under the net.

Let's says the ball.was still completely on the Rs side of the net when touched by the S's foot under the net.

1, it's a fault, if not by the opponent, then the team that hit the ball there.
2, if they could have made a play, then it's a fault. Pretty obvious on whom the fault would be.

Double block, the ball rattles down one of the blockers and goes under the net where it touches the attacker. The second person on the block was for sure in a position to play the ball, but they didn’t. Nobody will call this an interference on the attacker.