couple questions

[refinks]

Guys, I need a little bit of help. I'm scheduled to work 3 matches tonight for a Home School team.. JH, JV, varsity. The problem is, I just found out they only use one official for their games. They said they would provide me with line judges. When working volleyball by yourself, what is the best way to do it. Do you go up on the stand (if they even have one) and let the scorebook keep track of substitutions? Or do you call the match from in front of the table. I was told that the way to do it is to go up to the stand and not even bother with a lineup card, just look the R1 normally would. What do you guys think?

Also, something I'm confused about, is it possible to have a 2 hit or a 4 hit call on a block? Let's say the offense attempts a spike, the defense blocks it, and the ball goes right back to the offense player that hit it. I was told this could be a double hit situation, or if it is the teams third hit, it could be a 4 hit situation. What is the rule on this? I'm confused, I thought if the defense blocked it, and it went back over to the offensive team, they got 3 new hits. help?

[BuggBob]

You need to be in the stand, the normal R1 position.

Three new hits.

[SCalScoreKeeper]

From the stand you still need to control subs entering and exiting the game with the whistle! Remind whoever is doing your official book to signal that they have the substitution recorded so that you can beckon them in. Also their arms need to be fully extended when signaling timeouts so that while on the stand you can see how many timeouts they've used.
Table proficiency is essential but especially in working with one referee.Two years ago I saw a match with one referee and a table of JV players-the results were less than stellar. Twice this referee had to come off the stand to clean up some issues with both scorer and board operator. In addition the teams did not know how to sub properly as they were entering before R beckoned them in and cards were issued. It figures that a match with significant administrative issues went the full five sets but was very well played on court.

Good Luck and let us know how it went!

[Andy]

It is probably too late for your match last Friday, but the next time you find yourself working solo, ask for the stand to be moved to the same side of the court as the tables and benches, if possible.

This allows you to communicate with your scorekeeper without coming down and to administer substitutions as well. This has worked for me in the past.

For your second question, you have to make sure the ball was actually touched by a blocker in between hits by the attacking team. What will happen is that a hitter will hit the ball into the tape at the top of the net and the ball will rebound right back without the blockers ever touching the ball. If the blockers do not touch the ball, then you have a potential double hit or four contact violation. It is sometimes very difficult to see this clearly, so you really need to be aware of the possibility of this happening each time the ball is attacked near the net.

[BigToe]

As for working by yourself, if you can get the stand moved to the side of the court with the scorer's table, that would be great. When I get in the situation where I am working by myself, I also keep the R2 card up in the stand with me and keep track of substitutions that way. I also do a lot of pregame with the scorer's table and discuss signals like during time outs, I will point to the scoreboard to make sure the scorekeeper has the same score that is shown on the board. I ask the scorer to give me a thumb's up signal so I know everything is good.