About Marie Blatt Expertise I`ve played volleyball for 22 years and I`ve coached high school volleyball for six years. I help my sister on occasion coach her 16 yr. old USVBA volleyball team as well as the college team that she coaches.
Expert: Marie Blatt Date: 3/12/2004 Subject: open hand dinks
Question I play outdoors (grass) 2s, 3s, 4s, and occassionally 5s depending on who shows up. My pet peeve is open hand dinking. One person particularly keeps going up to play a set and then uses his fingertips to put the ball over the blocker or around the blocker. I keep calling it and he keeps claiming it's legal. Other people are starting to adopt the shot as it is so effective. I find the USVBA rule a little ambiguous... "One-handed placement or redirection of the ball with the fingers(a dink or open-hand tip) is a fault."
Does this mean any one-handed shot with the fingertips over the net, or just ones that are "placed" or "redirected"?
Answer Philip--
I went to grab my USVBA rule book to look at the rule myself but I guess I must have tossed it since it was outdated. I don't think it really explains dinking much in the high school rule book.
It's a tough call. Is the ball coming to a stop? Is he using his fingertips or more of the palm of his hands (as in catching and throwing)? I'd have to see it. It could be legal depending on how he's doing it.
What do your teammates think? What do his teammates think?
Is this just a fun league? No one runs it that can clarify the rule? No officials I assume? Do you know any officials that can clarify the rule for you?
I know how frustrating this can be. You sound like the same type of player as me. Like a lot of volleyball, these are judgement calls.
What it sounds like to me is if it's not so terribly obvious that it would be one of those things that gets let go.
It's been my experience that if it is currently illegal but not that big of a deal it will eventually becomes legal....
Sorry, I don't feel like I was much help. Wish I could see you play.
