Be the Referee: Illegal Attack
By
Paige Winne
MHSAA Director of Brand Management
November 11, 2026
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 – Illegal Attack - Listen
A volleyball scenario for you today:
A back-row player attacks the ball from in front of the attack line and the ball is higher than the net. Is this allowed?
Sort of.
Simply being a back-row player and contacting the ball higher than the net in front of the attack line is not illegal.
Completing the attack makes it illegal.
An attack is considered complete when the ball either crosses the net completely or is legally contacted by the opponent.
The referee should wait until the attack is completed before making the call.
If this happens, the play is whistled dead for an illegal attack.
Previous 2026-27 editions
Nov. 3: Pass Interference - Listen
Oct. 27: Field Hockey Substitutions - Listen
Oct. 20: Foot Save in Volleyball - Listen
Oct. 13: Soccer Advantage - Listen
Oct. 6: Defensive Holding - Listen
Sept. 29: Minimum Number of Volleyball Players - Listen
Sept 22: Soccer Changes - Listen
Sept: 15: Dead Ball Penalty - Listen
Sept. 8: Libero Ejected - Listen
Sept. 1: Soccer Foul After Shot on Goal - Listen
Aug. 25: Fumble Out of Bounds - Listen
Be the Referee: Wrestling Tiebreakers
By
Paige Winne
MHSAA Director of Brand Management
January 30, 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 – Wrestling Tiebreakers - Listen
A wrestling dual is tied after 14 matches. What happens? How is a winner determined?
There are 17 possible criteria used to break ties, starting with advancing the team penalized the fewest number of team points for flagrant misconduct or unsportsmanlike conduct.
The 17th and final tie-breaker, if needed, is a simple coin flip.
But how often are these steps actually used? A regular-season dual meet last week went to the seventh tie-break. And in the 2017 Division 3 Finals, Richmond beat Dundee for the state championship by going to the eighth step in the tie-breaker procedure. Richmond had scored more total first points and was crowned the winner.
Previous Editions
Jan. 23: Wrestling Technology - Listen
Jan. 9: 3 Seconds - Listen
Dec. 19: Unsuspecting Hockey Hits - Listen
Dec. 12: No More One-And-Ones - Listen
Nov. 21: Football Finals Replay - Listen
Nov. 14: Volleyball Unplayable Areas - Listen
Nov. 7: Pass/Kick Off Crossbar - Listen
Oct. 31: Cross Country Interference - Listen
Oct. 24: Soccer Overtime - Listen
Oct. 17: Tennis Spin - Listen
Oct. 10: Blocked Kick - Listen
Oct. 3: Volleyball Double & Lift - Listen
Sept. 26: Registration Process - Listen
Sept. 20: Animal Interference - Listen
Sept. 13: Feet Rule on Soccer Throw-In - Listen
Sept. 6: Volleyball Jewelry - Listen
Aug. 30: Football Rules Similarities - Listen
Aug. 23: Football Rules Differences - Listen