Be the Referee: Volleyball Obstruction
By
Brent Rice
MHSAA Assistant Director
September 23, 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 – Volleyball Obstruction - Listen
Ever wonder why in volleyball some balls hit into obstructions remain in play, while others are replayed, and some end the rally?
If a ball hits an obstruction over a playable area during a rally, and then is played by the same team, it has the same status as any other hit. However, that isn’t the case in all other instances.
If the ball hitting the wall or an object attached flush to the wall doesn’t actually interfere with a player’s legitimate effort to play the ball, the ball is dead and a loss of rally and point shall be awarded. If it does interfere with the playing of the ball, a replay is declared if the wall is less than six feet from the boundary.
If the ball hits a suspended backboard over the playable area, a replay will be declared as long as the referee believes the ball would have remained in play. Serves that hit any obstruction are a loss of rally and point.
Previous editions
Sept. 16: Catch or No Catch - Listen
Sept. 9: Intentional Grounding – Listen
Sept. 2: Pass Interference – Listen
Aug. 26: Protocols and Mechanics – Listen
Be the Referee: Base Runner Interference
By
Paige Winne
MHSAA Marketing & Social Media Coordinator
April 1, 2025
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 – Base Runner Interference - Listen
Let’s head to the softball diamond today for a “You Make the Call," and how to score the play in the book.
We’ve got a runner on second with one out when the batter hits a grounder in the hole between short and third. The baserunner on second interferes with the shortstop attempting to make a play on the ball.
What’s the call? What happens to both the runner and batter?
The runner on second is out for interference. And the batter is awarded first base. There are now two outs with a runner on first.
In the scorebook, the batter is credited with a fielder’s choice, not a base hit. But if the interference is ruled intentional, both runner and batter are out.
Previous 2024-25 Editions
March 25: Pine Tar Usage - Listen
March 11: Basketball Replay - Listen
March 4: Gymnastics Deduction - Listen
Feb. 25: Competitive Cheer Inversion - Listen
Feb. 18: Ice Hockey Delay of Game - Listen
Feb. 11: Ski Helmets - Listen
Feb. 4: Wrestling In Bounds or Out? - Listen
Jan. 21: Block or Charge? - Listen
Jan. 14: Out of Bounds, In Play - Listen
Jan. 7: Wrestling Scoring - Listen
Dec. 17: Bowling Ball Rules - Listen
Dec. 10: Neck Laceration Protector - Listen
Dec. 3: Basketball Goaltending - Listen
Nov. 26: 11-Player Finals Replay - Listen
Nov. 19: 8-Player vs. 11-Player Football - Listen
Nov. 12: Back Row Setter - Listen
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