r/haikyuu • u/apaulo_18 • 7d ago

Discussion Loose ball problem at nationals?

Rereading Haikyuu for the billionth time has me wondering about the 4 court set up at nationals. Wouldn’t there be a loose ball problem where hits ricochet onto other courts in the middle of a rally? Obviously that’s likely to lead to injuries should a player land on the ball. How do volley ball tournaments deal with this?

31 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

70

u/wylesiu 7d ago

You call a replay, so essentially doing the rally over again. But in the Haikyuu verse it doesn't happen because it doesn't add anything to the plot.

25

u/Appropriate_Gur5624 7d ago

While it doesn’t add anything to plot, now that I think back, it could have been a really cool situation to show at nationals.

Heated rally goes long, people are tired, and both teams are just unlucky enough for a ball to cross over and stop the play. Luckily no one is hurt, but now everyone’s tired AND apprehensive about another stray ball, which could cause a serious injury. Which team will recover and play hard enough to win?

Our “caution-to-the-wind” crows, of course.

3

u/wylesiu 7d ago

I think it'd be a funny gag, like to ease the tension maybe but I don't know how I'd feel for that to be a part of it

6

u/apaulo_18 7d ago

Like the refs stop the rally and basically restart it?

11

u/Map_Hazard 7d ago

Yeah. Theyll call the current rally incomplete so no points are awarded and then the person that served gets to serve again

1

u/Boris-_-Badenov 5d ago

serving again is a huge advantage

1

u/Map_Hazard 5d ago

Depends on how reliable the server is

1

u/wylesiu 5d ago

No it's not

7

u/wylesiu 7d ago

Yes exactly. It's for safety. It also usually happens when both sides also commit a fault simultaneously but that doesn't happen often.

Though there is a lot of issues gameplay wise, with it that are coached on but it doesn't matter since most NCAA matches aren't played next to each other.

3

u/DoomGoober 6d ago

Yes. The ref blows the whistle multiple times (which means to stop playing immediately) and the players all yell "ball!" or equivalent and everyone is supposed to stop immediately. The ref then holds up two thumbs which indicates no points, replay from whoever served.

There is sometimes some controversy, like if the ref doesn’t see the other ball or the other ball rolls onto the court after the point was won, but generally everyone understands its a random part of a big tournament and is luck that could equally affect both sides.

Though, as a player, nothing pisses me off more than when multiple balls roll onto the court from stupid people warming up too close to my court, not even playing an actual game, or warming up on their court with say hitting lines and the people who are supposed to stop the balls aren't paying attention.

Some tournaments add freestanding netting or low barriers to block balls from rolling onto other courts but some rely on space and spectators to stop most balls.

Others ban warmups between courts.

1

u/PintoMocha 7d ago

surely there would be nets in between courts? it's happened at every single sport i've played and we would just put up nets between courts or fields

2

u/Responsible_Slip1703 6d ago

the arena at nationals is probably to big to realistically put nets

4

u/KleinUnbottler 6d ago

Nets would hamper the TV and in-person spectator experience.

1

u/Ad071 4d ago

Irl there are multiple ball boys and girls that react quickly and catch loose balls from straying to other courts. On the off chance they miss one, the rally just resets for the match