Libero Rules Adjusted in High School Volleyball

High school volleyball teams will now be permitted to designate up to two libero players during each set, creating additional participation opportunities without needing to use a substitution.

In all, seven rules changes were recommended by the NFHS Volleyball Rules Committee at its annual meeting January 11-13. All rules changes were reviewed and approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.

Rule 6-4-2 was adjusted to allow for multiple liberos to be used by a team; however, only one libero can be in the game at a time. Prior to each set, a team may designate zero, one or two liberos on the lineup sheet.

“We have seen rapid growth in high school volleyball participation over the last several years, which has resulted in more highly skilled student-athletes and larger rosters,” said Lindsey Atkinson, NFHS director of sports and liaison to the Volleyball Rules Committee. “Providing an opportunity for one more student-athlete to participate aligns with the mission of education-based athletics."

Additionally, Rules 10-4-3a and 10-4-3d now clarify how a libero can be replaced due to injury or disqualification and two liberos have been designated. In 10-4-3a, if a libero is injured, a team may replace the injured player with the player they replace on the court or the second libero. It may also re-designate a new libero.

In 10-4-3d, if a libero is disqualified and two liberos have been designated, the disqualified player may be replaced by the player they replace on the court or the second libero. However, the team must continue to play with one libero.

The libero’s uniform was addressed in edits to Rule 4, with added Rule 4-2-1i(3) to note that the libero’s uniform bottom may be any color while adhering to all other uniform rules.

The rules committee addressed the actions on non-playing teammates in Rule 12. Rule 12-2-8b was added to more appropriately assess when a non-playing teammate enters the court while the ball is in play as illegal alignment and penalized with a loss of point/rally. A coach or team attendant entering the court while the ball is in play is still considered unsporting conduct, and a non-playing teammate may receive a conduct violation if they engage in disconcerting acts or disrespectful actions.

Rule 12-2-8m was added to prohibit the use of props in bench celebrations by non-playing teammates to promote good sportsmanship while preventing disruptions.

Other rules changes include:

·       Rule 5-5-3b(21) – The second referee will now indicate a second warning at two minutes, 30 seconds between sets instead of 2 minutes, 45 seconds to improve pace of play.

·       Rule 6-5-1 – Players on the serving team are forbidden to raise their hands above their heads during service until the ball has passed beyond the net.

·       Rule 9-2-1 NOTE 1 – No player shall wear any audio (microphone) or video (camera) device during the match, aligning volleyball rules with other NFHS rules codes.

A complete listing of the volleyball rules changes will be available on the NFHS website at www.nfhs.org. Click on “Sports” at the top of the home page and select “Volleyball” and then “Rules.” The print version of the 2026-27 Volleyball Rules Book will be available for purchase in late April at www.NFHS.com, and the digital version will be available in April via NFHS Digital at www.NFHS.org. 

According to the most recent NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey, volleyball is the second-most popular sport for girls (trailing track and field) with 492,799 participants in 17,027 schools nationwide. In addition, there are 95,972 boys participating in the sport at 4,303 schools.