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An MHSAA volleyball official is seated and looking something up in an NFHS rulebook.

Be the Referee: Volleyball Serve

By Paige Winne
MHSAA Marketing & Social Media Coordinator

October 22, 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 – Volleyball Serve - Listen

We’ve got a volleyball question for you today.

At the moment of the serve, which statement is NOT true:

  • All players, including the libero, shall be in the correct serving order.
  • All players, including the libero, are not required to be in the correct serving order.
  • No player, other than the server, may have any part of the body touching the floor outside of the boundary lines.
  • All players, except the server, shall be within the team’s playing court and boundary lines.

If you said – all players, including the libero, are not required to be in the correct serving order – you are correct.

At the moment of serve – all players must in the correct serving order and only the server can be outside of the playing court and boundary lines.

Previous 2024-25 Editions

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

(Photo by Gary Shook.)

This collage shows a Referee Magazine cover made to honor football official Bob Czech, a photo of the state at the annual MHSAA Officials Awards & Alumni Banquet, and a photo of Legacy scholarship winner Owen Rottier after receiving his award..

MHSAA Officials Awards & Alumni Banquet: Photos, Video & OMD 2026.

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

April 30, 2026

More than 80 MHSAA-registered game officials were honored Saturday during the annual Officials Awards & Alumni Banquet at Kellogg Center in East Lansing.

Our MHSAA communications director emeritus John Johnson was on site, camera in hand, to capture photos of our award winners and several more attendees and honorees. Check those out by clicking here – MHSAA Officials Banquet photos – to see not only photos from this past weekend but also from 2003-19, 2024-25, and the 2013 and 2018 Officiate Michigan Day events.

Among this year’s honorees was Grand Ledge senior Owen Rottier, who received the Randy Paulson Legacy Award and scholarship. Owen has officiated both cross country and track & field as part of the Legacy Program and will study next at Lansing Community College. He’s pictured above with (from left) MHSAA executive director Mark Uyl, Mary Paulson, Rottier and MHSAA director of officiating Sam Davis.

Receiving the 36th Vern L. Norris Leadership in Officiating Award was Metro Detroit’s Robert Czech, who is in his 44th year as a registered official and also has assigned officials for more than 35 years, including currently for four Detroit-area leagues.

Referee Magazine also created a commemorative cover celebrating Czech and in advance of this summer’s Officiate Michigan Day.

OMD 2026 will be July 25 at DeVos Place in Grand Rapids, followed by the National Association of Sports Officials (NASO) Summit from July 26-28.

For information on registration and details on both events, check out the Officiate Michigan Day page.