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Volleyball · Official Volleyball Rules

Law 3: Balls

2 parts · 2 tests · 20 facts · updated 24 October 2026 · markdown

What a volleyball must be: its case and bladder, colour, size, weight and pressure; why every ball in a match must be identical and which events need FIVB-approved balls; and the five-ball system with its six ball retrievers.

3.31The Ball's Standards

The materials, colours, circumference, weight and inside pressure a legal volleyball must have.

Test 1What a match ball must beTake a test

  1. The ball is a flexible case of leather or synthetic leather with a bladder of rubber or similar inside.

    Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 3.1 · recall

  2. The ball measures between 65 and 67 centimetres round.

    Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 3.1 · recall

  3. A legal ball weighs from 260 to 280 grams.

    Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 3.1 · recall

  4. Inflation is set between 0.30 and 0.325 kg/cm², about 4.26 to 4.61 psi.

    Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 3.1 · recall

  5. A ball may be one even light colour or a combination of colours.

    Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 3.1 · recall

  6. 275 g is inside the weight range, but 68 cm is beyond the 67 cm upper limit for circumference.

    Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 3.1 · applied

  7. Material and colour combinations of balls for international official events should follow FIVB standards.

    Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 3.1 · recall

  8. Only B is within every limit: A is over 280 g, C over 67 cm round, and D above 0.325 kg/cm².

    Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 3.1 · applied

  9. The limits are 260 g and 280 g, so 270 g sits between them and 290 g is above both.

    Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 3.1 · applied

  10. The legal range is 65 to 67 cm, so 64 cm falls below it and 69 cm above it.

    Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 3.1 · applied

3.32Uniform Balls and Ball Retrieval

Why the balls of a match must match, where FIVB-approved balls are required, and how the five-ball system and its retrievers work.

Test 1Same balls in a match, and ball retrievalTake a test

  1. Every ball in a match must share the same standards: size, weight, pressure, type, colour and so on.

    Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 3.2 · recall

  2. Approved balls are required at FIVB, World and Official Competitions and at National or League Championships.

    Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 3.2 · recall

  3. National and League Championships use FIVB-approved balls unless the FIVB itself agrees to something else.

    Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 3.2 · applied

  4. Top-level matches run a five-ball system so that play restarts quickly.

    Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 3.3 · recall

  5. Five balls go with six ball retrievers.

    Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 3.3 · recall

  6. Four retrievers take the corners of the free zone and the other two stand behind the 1st and 2nd referees.

    Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 3.3 · recall

  7. Retrievers keep the game flowing by rolling a ball to the server; drying the floor is the quick moppers' job.

    Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Definitions (Ball retrievers and quick moppers) · recall

  8. The corners are covered and one retriever is behind the 2nd referee, so the missing one belongs behind the 1st referee.

    Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 3.3 · applied

  9. Retrievers keep a ball ready so the server has it before the 1st referee authorises the service.

    Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 3.3, 12.3; Definitions · applied

  10. Two retrievers stand behind the referees and four in the corners, with five balls and six retrievers in all.

    Source: FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 3.3 · recall

Sources

FIVB Official Volleyball Rules 2025-2028, Rule 3 (paraphrased in original wording; original questions authored from the Rules, not reproduced)

  • FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 3.110
  • FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 3.35
  • FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 3.23
  • FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Definitions (Ball retrievers and quick moppers)1
  • FIVB OVR 2025-2028, Rule 3.3, 12.3; Definitions1