Re: Libero setting from front zone "extension"

Holger Wahlen <hwahlen@xxxxxxxxx> writes:
A question about a detail in the libero rules. FIVB (and USAV) rule
19.3.1.4 says:

| A player may not complete an attack hit from higher than the top of
| the net, if the ball is coming from an overhand finger pass by a
| Libero in his/her front zone or its extension. The ball may be
| freely attacked if the Libero makes the same action from outside
| his/her front zone or its extension.

What exactly is the "extension" of the front zone that's mentioned
here? Everybody I've talked to thinks that it's simply the part of the
free zone between center and attack line, but I'm not quite convinced
because strictly speaking that's still part of the front zone itself,
according to rule 1.4.1:

| The front zone is considered to extend beyond the sidelines to the
| end of the free zone.

So I'd reckon that any extension would have to go beyond that - in
other words, if the libero finger-sets from beyond the scorer table,
I'd consider a subsequent attack hit over the net illegal. Okay, not
that that happens often, but still: Am I reading too literally
there?


Hi Holger,

"Extensions" tend to refer to lines that are presumed to be infinitely
long. Your gut is correct -- the "extension" verbiage aims to address
the playable area outside the sidelines between the attack line
extended and the centerline extended. In happy compliant collegiate
courts, we even have dashed attack line extension markings these
days.

One point of pedantry though: Your example of "behind the score table"
is of course an exaggeration. As that's a non-playable area, we'd
whistle the play dead upon the libero contacting the ball in that
non-playable area ("ball out"). But there's plenty of playable area
outside the sideline between the extensions of the3m line and
centerlines on most courts where the libero could legally hand set the
ball, and then we wait to see how clueful the attacker is.

To borrow folky terminology from Ravi's of days gone by: "da rules
don't want no steekin Liberace in front of the 3m meter line--be they
in bounds or standing in front of the score table--doing any hand
setting of consequence.

Best Regards,
--
Todd Haverkos tdh@xxxxxxxxx
USA Volleyball National Referee
http://www.vbref.org/
.

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