Rally Scoring
A point on every play, no matter who served. FIVB went here to shorten matches and add urgency; the NCAA followed on the same timeline for college programs. You still go to 25, win by two, fifth to 15 indoors, and the old side-out scoring system is no longer used at any major level.
Example
Receive, kill, you get a point and the ball. In the old system you only got the side-out, not a point, which made matches significantly longer.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did volleyball switch to rally scoring?
FIVB adopted rally scoring in 1999, and the NCAA followed shortly after. The goal was predictable match lengths and more intensity on every play, since every rally awards a point.
What was side-out scoring in volleyball?
Under the old system, only the serving team could score a point. If the receiving team won the rally, they only earned the serve back without scoring. This could make sets extremely long.