The NCAA women’s volleyball committee made a game-changing ruling legalizing doubles in the sport, sparking much backlash from club and professional players.
On one unassuming Wednesday in January, the National Collegiate Athletic Association women’s volleyball rules committee made a radical decision: doubles were to be allowed in collegiate volleyball under certain conditions, a change marking a departure from long-standing regulations in the sport.
The rule stated in an online announcement released by the committee on Thursday, Feb 20, that the player could make two contacts on the ball if it was in one fluid motion and to another teammate, but not the other side. For those who love the game, this might provide an opportunity to have longer rallies, longer games and ultimately better entertainment. This rule can be helpful as it keeps the play going without stopping over a small mistake, but to experienced players, it seems counterintuitive.
More importantly, however, it raises a question of fairness — why should a previously illegal move suddenly be acceptable? If players have trained under strict rules for years, allowing doubles now feels like an uneven playing field, benefitting some while undermining the effort of others.
As a volleyball player since middle school, this rule contradicts all the training I have received so far. I learned the basic rules from the start, including the restriction against touching the ball twice in a row. Having this rule feels as if it goes against everything I was taught.
For professionals who have played for years or even almost their whole life, this rule may feel even more unnatural as it challenges the fundamentals they have followed throughout their careers. Doubles have been outlawed up until now, with professional players spending hours and working hard to avoid mistakes. The rule’s creation leaves room for more carelessness, which can harm the team’s rhythm more than it helps.
Volleyball is like a beat to a song. It has a tempo that is necessary to achieve a flow that wins points.
As soon as the ball is served, it’s pass, set, hit. Every touch must be made with smooth precision. When doubles are accepted it interrupts the fluidity.
Most hitters play their best when the set is smooth. Doubles tend to cause the ball to spin rapidly, steering away from the target. This rule disrupts the game’s flow and affects fan interest. Fans enjoy watching smooth, fast-paced rallies, and when the rhythm is broken, the game can feel less exciting.
For club players, this rule is especially frustrating because it changes the way they’ve been trained to play. After years of practicing certain techniques, they now have to adjust, but since they’re not professionals it can be harder to adapt.
According to Sophie LaFemina, the setter on the Carolina Spike Force’s (CSF) 17 black team, implementing the doubles rule feels “[like] a cheat,” and as someone who has spent many hours pushing herself “to perfection” the rule just seems unfair.
One of the basic rules of volleyball is that one person cannot touch the ball more than once consecutively. This shift is not just a rule change — it’s a disruption to the fairness of competition; if doubles were illegal for years and players faced penalties for them, why should they suddenly be allowed? As someone who has played for many years and been called on a double more than once, LaFemina says it seems abrupt and fosters a feeling of disillusionment — that her hard work no longer matters.
Additionally, there is the question of why this rule has only been implemented in women’s volleyball. Why is there nothing similar in men’s? The ideas of gender disparity have been seen throughout history from the beginning of time. Women have always been seen as the weaker ones, especially in sports. Schools didn’t start allowing women to participate in sports until 1972 when Richard Nixon passed the Title IX Act.
According to CSF’s 17 black libero, Aubrey Kane, every other aspect remains the same, so the “same sport” should follow the “same rules.” Adding a new rule that specifically ignores mistakes in women’s sports highlights the sexist ideals that remain rampant. Although it may not be explicitly stated, adding a rule that only applies to one gender heavily implies that women need more help than men. Men’s and women’s volleyball are played pretty much the same: the game follows the same basic rules — each side has three touches, and one person cannot touch the ball more than once consecutively. If fairness is the goal, equality in the rulebook should be non-negotiable.
Fairness is key in sports — rules should give all players an equal chance. The doubles rule changes this by making players adapt to a new standard, which may seem unfair to those trained under stricter rules. Worse, it only applies to women’s volleyball, highlighting gender differences. By lowering the standard for one group, the NCAA implies women’s volleyball needs extra help.
True fairness means keeping rules the same for everyone. If the goal is to improve the sport, it should focus on skill development and equality, not uneven rule changes.
Bruce Stanley • Mar 23, 2025 at 9:26 pm
“Unfair” is a silly assertion – there may be reasons why the new double contact rule might harm (or help) women’s volleyball, but “unfairness” is not a logical argument. No one has to change their training, those who have spent the effort to learn not to double can continue to set just like they have in the past, and if the “rhythm of the game” argument in this article is true, then hitters hitting a set from those who set a cleaner ball will continue to have an advantage over those hitting a less smooth set. But even among those who have trained hard to not double contact occasionally get called for doubles, sometimes a very subjective call that interrupts the flow of the game for something that really gains no advantage for the team (almost?) committing the double.