Saturday sitaution

[chapmaja]

I had the following situation occur on Saturday in a 3rd place match at a high school conference tourney.

This was copied from a post on another message board discribing the situation.

We use NFHS rules.


Team A leads 8-5 in the deciding set. Team B gets a side out, making the score 8-6.

Team A substitutes. While this is going on the R2 assumes that the player who should be serving (B1) and the player the libero was replacing (B2) exchanged. The Libero for Team B goes back to serve and serves a point, making the score (8-7). After this point is served, the exchange occurs (B1 and B2). The R1 whistles for serve before the R2 blows the whistle for an illegal replacement. That serve is shanked by team B which would result in a point for team B (8-8).

When the first serve was contacted by the Libero, the correct server at this point should have been B1, who was still on the court in a different position. When the second serve was contacted, the server (Libero) was the correct server.


I know what my ruling should have been and I know what my R1 actually ruled (I was R2). What is the proper ruling and what should the score have been when we restarted play. Once I hear answers to this I will respond with what I would have ruled and what the actual ruling was.

Jim Chapman

[MCBear]

Posted by chapmaja:
When the first serve was contacted by the Libero, the correct server at this point should have been B1, who was still on the court in a different position. When the second serve was contacted, the server (Libero) was the correct server.

Since B1 should have been replaced by the Libero, we have an illegal libero replacement which obviously was not caught until after service contact. Therefore, Rule 6-4 Penalty 2 applies:

2. For an improper server or illegal replacement found in the set, loss of rally shall be awarded as soon as the improper server or illegal replacement is discovered and verified.

The 2 points served by the Libero are wiped out since the first serve involved an illegal libero replacement. Team B is assessed a Loss of Rally for the illegal replacement with their score at 6 points and Team A is awarded a penalty LOR. Score when everything is straightened out is Team A 9, Team B 6.

So, what did your partner do? And what would you have done?