Be the Referee: Minimum Number of Volleyball Players
By
Paige Winne
MHSAA Director of Brand Management
September 29, 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 – Minimum Number of Volleyball Players - Listen
We’re on the volleyball court today, where the home team starts the match with only six players.
Midway through the first set, one of those six players suffers an ankle injury and can’t continue – leaving the home team with just five players.
What should happen?
Is the home team forced to default the match for not having enough players?
Does the home team just continue playing with five?
Or do they continue playing with five, but with the loss of rally or point every time the player lost to injury’s position rotates to serve?
If you said they can continue playing but lose a rally or point every time the injured player’s position rotates to serve, you are correct!
A minimum of six is needed to start – but you can finish a match with fewer than that.
Previous 2026-27 editions
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: Pregame Meeting
January 8, 2020
This week, MHSAA executive director Mark Uyl discusses this basketball season's addition of a pregame meeting including officials, coaches and players and the importance for all parties to attend.
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 - Pregame Meeting - Listen
Beginning in the 2019-20 basketball season, a mandated pregame conference will take place near the scorer’s table with approximately 13 minutes remaining on the pregame warm-up clock.
This conference will be conducted by the officials and will include the head coach and captains of both teams. This is required for both genders and at all levels.
Because important details will be covered at this conference specific to the game being played, the head coach must be present. Assistant coaches may not be sent in place of the head coach. A head coach’s failure to attend this conference will cause him/her to lose his/her coaching box privileges during the game.
This meeting ensures that all parties receive the same information, that each coach receives the same attention in the pregame conversations and that there is consistency across the state in the timing of the meeting.
Past editions
Dec. 19: Alternating Possession - Listen
Dec. 12: Ratings - Listen
Dec. 5: Video Review Success - Listen
Nov. 28: More Injury Time - Listen
Nov. 21: Football Review - Listen
Nov. 14: Sideline Safety - Listen
Nov. 7: Officials Playlist - Listen
Oct. 31: Most Important Line - Listen
Oct. 24: Automatic 1st Downs - Listen
Oct. 17: Catch Momentum - Listen
Oct. 10: Golf Rules Changes - Listen
Oct. 3: No Tackle Box - Listen
Sept. 26: You Make the Overtime Call - Listen
Sept. 19: Swimming Finishing Touch - Listen
Sept. 12: Curbing Gamesmanship By Substitution - Listen
Sept. 5: Football Safety Rules Changes - Listen
Aug. 29: 40-Second Play Clock - Listen