Losing a game due to an uncalled penalty can be frustrating. For collegiate-level volleyball players, this harsh truth has become an even more likely scenario. Put into effect on February 20, hitting the ball in succession, better known as a double hit, will no longer be penalized. The speculation on why this rule is being changed and how it will affect the game spans far, but the truth is that the game of volleyball is now very different.

     This rule change will impact not only the players but the coaches as well. Coach Paulsen, head coach of the varsity volleyball team, said that “it’s a step backward in a skill” and the “entry-level for kids coming in, will allow for more kids to probably set a ball than before.” She believes that the skill gap has been lowered, and it will be much easier for teams of lower skill to compete with more experienced players. Coach Paulsen also said, “I have always felt when we play teams that have a setter not as strong as ours, that it gives them an advantage when a referee doesn’t call it.” She also has concerns about how this rule, similar to others in the past, will potentially leak down from collegiate-level play to high school. Coach Paulsen believes that the reasoning behind this recent change is simply due to lightening the load of referees. She said, “I think they have had a really difficult time getting officials to understand that rule… I think their take was ‘Let’s take that off their plate.’” She expressed that this was a quality-of-life change for the referees and did not seem to regard the play aspect of the sport. 

     Coming from a setter’s perspective, Grace Whalen, sophomore, who has trained hard to master her technique over the past six years, has mixed feelings over the rule change. On the one hand, she said “I think it will change the game in ways of making the judgment call of a double much easier and fairer.” However, she also has contentious feelings about to the fact that setting will not take as much skill as before. She feels that all the practice she has put in will not matter as much anymore. In general, she believes that this revision could be for the better or the worse, and she is excited to see how it will play out. 

     Although this shift in the rules has been extremely controversial, and while many believe that it is unfair towards the setters who have trained hard for countless hours, there are also those who believe that it is for the better and will improve the game overall. With it being so recent, there is little that can be done but to wait it out. After all, only time will tell if it was truly for the better.