Six spots on your side of the net
The six volleyball court zones, why they are numbered from the server, which spots are front row, and how to call a serve into the opponent's court.
Each side of the court is split into six zones. Stand on your baseline and face the net. The front row, left to right, is zone 4, zone 3, and zone 2. The back row, left to right, is zone 5, zone 6, and zone 1. Zone 1 is the back-right corner, and that player serves. The zones stay where they are while the players rotate through them.
Your side. Net at the top.
Start at zone 1, back right, and walk the numbers around
After your team wins a side-out
Front or back row stays with you for that rally
| Zone | Where it sits | Row |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Right back | Back row, server |
| 2 | Right front | Front row |
| 3 | Middle front | Front row |
| 4 | Left front | Front row |
| 5 | Left back | Back row |
| 6 | Middle back | Back row |
People try to count left to right, or start at the net. The numbering starts at the serve.
Zone 1 is back right. From there the numbers run counter-clockwise: up to zone 2 on the right side of the net, across to zone 3 in the middle, over to zone 4 on the left, back to zone 5, and into zone 6 in the middle of the back court.
Players move the other way. After a side-out, everyone shifts one zone clockwise. The player who was in zone 2 steps back into zone 1 and serves. Zone 1 goes to 6, 6 goes to 5, 5 goes to 4, 4 goes to 3, and 3 goes to 2. When you rotate is a different question from where the spots are. You rotate after you win the rally while receiving. If you were already serving and you score, nobody moves.
The number is the spot. What you do there depends on your role and the rotation system you run. A few patterns show up often enough that coaches teach them first, then change them when a lineup needs it.
This is the serving spot. The player whose turn it is to serve is in zone 1, and they contact the ball from the service zone behind the end line. That area is the full width of the court, 9 meters, between the sidelines extended. You can serve from the right side, the middle, or the left. A jump server often starts nearer the middle. Your feet cannot touch the end line, or the court, before you hit the ball.
Once the rally is going, zone 1 is a back-row defensive area. In a lot of systems the setter defends from here when they are back row, then runs to the net after the pass. An opposite or a defensive specialist can occupy it too.
When the opposite is front row, this is usually where they attack, and where they block the other team's outside hitter. When your setter is front row, they often start in zone 2 and slide toward the target after the serve is contacted.
Quick sets are hit here, and the middle blocker starts in this zone when they are front row. During the rally they leave it all the time, sliding to help block either pin, then dropping off the net to swing.
In most offenses this is where the outside hitter attacks when they are front row. A lot of the swings in a match leave from this side, because serve receive is usually built so that hitter can pass and still have an approach.
Attacks from the other team's zone 4 come cross-court into this area, so it takes a lot of digs. The libero, or the outside hitter when they are back row, usually covers it once the ball is in play.
Deep shots and balls that get through the block land around here. A back-row attack from this zone is a pipe: the hitter comes in through the middle, and the jump still has to start behind the attack line.
Zones 4, 3, and 2 are front row. Zones 5, 6, and 1 are back row. The line between them is the attack line, drawn 3 meters from the center line. In a lot of US gyms it is taped at 10 feet, which is why people call it the 10-foot line.
Your row is set when the server contacts the ball, and it stays with you for that rally. You can run from zone 6 all the way to the net. You are still a back-row player.
Front-row players can attack a ball above the net from anywhere on the court, and they are the players who block.
Back-row players can attack too. If the ball is completely above the top of the net, the jump has to start behind the attack line. You can meet the ball in front of the line, and you can land in front of it. You cannot block, and you cannot be part of a block.
The libero has a separate limit on that line. If they set the ball overhand from in front of the attack line, a teammate cannot attack that ball while it is completely above the net. A forearm set from the same spot does not carry that limit. The details are in the libero rules. Attack rules are in playing actions, and the court measurements are in facilities and equipment.
Coaches, and the rulebook, also call these six spots positions 1 through 6. Players have a second kind of position: setter, outside hitter, middle blocker, opposite, libero. The role stays with you while you walk through every zone.
A setter can stand in any of the six zones. In a 5-1, that setter rotates through all of them, and in three rotations they are back row and have to get to the target after the pass. Teams often draw rotation 1 with the setter serving, which puts them in zone 1 for that turn.
Before contact, you stand in an order the referee can check. You do not have to stand in the middle of a zone. You can stack, as long as you stay legal with the players beside you and the player in your column. That check is the overlap rule.
After contact, you go where the rotation system needs you.
The position guides cover what each role does once the ball is in play. The zone only tells you where they had to start.
"Serve zone 5" means the opponent's zone 5.
You are looking at their court from the far side, so their left and right are reversed. Their zone 1, back right for them, is the deep corner on your left. Their zone 5, back left for them, is the deep corner on your right. Their zone 4 is short and on your right. Their zone 2 is short and on your left.
Both sides. You are at the bottom.
Read their court from where you serve, left to right:
| Depth | Your left | Middle | Your right |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short, by the net | Their zone 2 | Their zone 3 | Their zone 4 |
| Deep | Their zone 1 | Their zone 6 | Their zone 5 |
Turn your body toward the zone you want. The number is the target. The seams between passers, often 5 and 6 or 1 and 6, are where two people both leave the ball.
From the bench, the signal is usually a hand held behind a clipboard. One finger is zone 1, two is zone 2, on through five, while 6 is a closed fist.
Some coaches later split the court into a 3 by 3 aiming grid: short, middle, and deep, across left, middle, and right, from the server's view. Use it for placing the ball. There is no official numbering for those nine boxes, so keep calling zones 1 through 6 until you can do it without looking.
Do this on the court before you add a ball.
When you can call the numbers without looking down, open a lineup in the rotation tool. Base zones show who owns each spot. The serve-receive shape shows where those same players go after contact.
| Mistake | What goes wrong | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Counting 1 to 6 from the left sideline | Every call is one spot off | Start at back right and go counter-clockwise |
| Treating the setter as zone 1 | Nobody notices when the setter rotates to the front row | Name the setter's zone at the start of each rotation |
| Serving "1" to your own right | The ball goes to their zone 5 | Their right is your left |
| Leaving for your playing spot before contact | The lineup can overlap | Hold your order until the server hits the ball |
| Jumping in front of the attack line as a back-row hitter | The attack is a fault if the ball is above the net | Take off behind the line. Landing in front is allowed |
Common Questions