Volleyball Score Sheet and Scorebook Guide

The parts of a volleyball score sheet

Every volleyball scoresheet, official or not, has the same building blocks:

• Match information: event, date, teams, which team serves first, best of 3 or best of 5.
• Serve order boxes I to VI: each team’s six starters in serving order for the set, plus libero numbers.
• Running score: numbers 1, 2, 3 … for each team; slash a number when that team scores.
• Service turns: a mark under the server’s box each time her turn starts, so you always know who serves next.
• Timeouts: the score when each timeout was called.
• Substitutions: in, out and score.
• Final score and winner for each set, and signatures if required.

Our printable volleyball score sheet has all of these for each set. USA Volleyball and high school associations publish their own official score sheets for sanctioned matches, which are more detailed; use the one your league requires for official play.

Step by step: before the match

1. Fill in the header: event, date, team names, best of 3 or 5.
2. Get both lineup sheets before each set. Copy each team’s serving order into boxes I to VI, and the libero numbers into the libero box. Box I is the first server: if a team receives first, its box I is the player who starts in zone 2. See the volleyball lineup sheet guide.
3. Mark who serves first in the set.
4. Check the starters on the court against the boxes before the first serve, with the referee.

Step by step: during a rally

When a rally ends, ask two questions: who won the rally, and who served?

• The serving team won: slash its next number. The same player serves again.
• The receiving team won: slash its next number. That team now serves, and the next player in its serving order is the server. Make a service-turn mark under her box.

Say the score out loud after each rally, serving team first. It helps the coaches and catches mistakes early. If a player serves out of order, tell the referee at once: it is a rotation fault, the other team gets a point and the serve, and the order is corrected.

Example: the first five rallies

The Eagles serve first. Their box I is #2; the Hawks’ box I is #11.

1. #2 serves, Eagles win. Slash Eagles 1. Mark one service turn under #2. Eagles 1, Hawks 0. #2 serves again.
2. #2 serves, Hawks win. Slash Hawks 1. Side-out: the Hawks rotate and #11 serves. Mark a turn under #11. Eagles 1, Hawks 1.
3. #11 serves, Hawks win. Slash Hawks 2. Same server. Hawks 2, Eagles 1.
4. #11 serves, Eagles win. Slash Eagles 2. Side-out: the Eagles rotate and #7, their box II, serves. Mark a turn under #7. Eagles 2, Hawks 2.
5. #7 serves, Eagles win. Slash Eagles 3. #7 serves again. Eagles 3, Hawks 2.

After a few rallies the pattern is automatic: a slash for every point, a turn mark for every side-out.

Step by step: substitutions and timeouts

Substitutions. Write the number of the player coming in, the player going out, and the score, for example “#3 for #9 at 14-16”. The new player takes the same lineup spot. Keep a running count: limits are 18 per set under NFHS (check your state), 15 under USA Volleyball and NCAA Division I, 18 in NCAA Divisions II and III, and 6 under FIVB (check your event). See the substitution rules.

Timeouts. Write the score when each timeout is called, team score first. Tell the coach when a team has used all its timeouts for the set; your league sets the number.

Step by step: the libero

Libero replacements are not substitutions, so they do not go in the sub boxes. Most scorers use a separate libero tracker:

• Write the libero number, the player she replaced, and the score when she came in and went out.
• She may only leave for the player she replaced.
• Under NFHS rules, a completed rally must happen between libero replacements.
• If she serves, it can only be in one rotation per set (NFHS, USAV, NCAA). Under FIVB rules she does not serve (check your event).

Download the free libero tracker (PDF) and keep it next to the score sheet.

End of set

1. Circle the final score (for example 25-21) and write the winner.
2. Check the win-by-2 rule: a set to 25 can end 25-23 or 26-24, never 25-24. A deciding set usually goes to 15, still win by 2; tournaments may use other limits, so check yours.
3. Record the sets won in the match summary.
4. Start the next set block with fresh lineups from both teams; timeouts and substitutions start again from zero.
5. At the end of the match, write the final set score (for example 3-1) and sign if required.

Volleyball score sheet printable: which one to use

• Best of 3: three set blocks on one page.
• Best of 5: five set blocks over two pages.
• Filled: type both team names above and print; the event and date can be filled too.
• Blank: the same sheets with empty headers, in US Letter and A4.

The sheets work for rec leagues, practice matches, club tournaments that let teams keep their own book, and parents who want a record of the season.

Common scorebook mistakes

1. Losing the server. Make the service-turn mark every time the serve changes. It is the only way to catch a wrong server.
2. Counting libero changes as subs. They have their own tracker.
3. Not writing the score with each sub and timeout. Without it, you cannot fix disputes.
4. Forgetting win by 2. Do not end a set at 25-24.
5. Writing after the next serve. Record each rally before the next serve. If you fall behind, ask the referee to pause.

Volleyball scoring sheet or a digital board?

For a quick match, the free volleyball scoreboard keeps score with big buttons, tracks rotation, server, subs and the libero when you load a lineup, and exports the full running score log as a PDF. Many scorers use both: the board for the crowd and this sheet as the record.