Be the Referee: Back Row Setter

By Paige Winne
MHSAA Marketing & Social Media Coordinator

November 12, 2024

Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.

Below is this week's segment – Back Row Setter - Listen

We’re on the volleyball court for today’s “You Make the Call.”

Team A serves the ball over net. Team B’s number 9 passes, or bumps the ball up toward the net, where number 2 tips it over for a point.

But number 2 is a back row setter and moved to the front row on the serve.

Is this a legal play?

If you said it depends … you are correct.

A back row setter can move to the front row and play the ball over the net as long as the entire ball is NOT above the net.

If the ball is completely above the net, then the back row setter is not allowed to play it over the net from the front row.

Previous 2024-25 Editions

Nov. 5: Football OT - Listen
Oct. 29: Officials Registration - Listen
Oct. 22: Volleyball Serve - Listen
Oct. 15: "You Make the Call"
- Soccer Offside - Listen
Oct. 8: Roughing the Passer - Listen
Oct. 1: Abnormal Course Condition - Listen
Sept. 25: Tennis Nets - Listen
Sept. 18:
 Libero - Listen
Sept. 10:
 Cross Country Uniforms - Listen
Sept. 3: Soccer Handling - Listen
Aug. 24: Football Holding - Listen

Be the Referee: Catch or No Catch

By Brent Rice
MHSAA Assistant Director

September 16, 2021

Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.

Below is this week's segment – Catch or No Catch - Listen

Catch … or no catch. It’s a decision that must be made in a split second and can be one of the most difficult decisions a football official has to make – especially one along the sidelines.

In high school, for a catch to be considered complete the receiver must:

Have possession and control of the ball AND

One foot or other body part must first come down in bounds.

This means that if you are forced out of bounds while in the air and with possession of the ball, it is NOT a catch. A defender can legally knock an airborne receiver out of bounds to prevent a completion. The receiver has to get one foot – or other body part – down in bounds for it to be ruled a complete catch.

Previous editions

Sept. 9: Intentional Grounding – Listen 
Sept. 2: Pass Interference – Listen 
Aug. 26: Protocols and Mechanics  Listen