Pickle Volleyball

We had an event called “Pickle Volleyball” at the Blairsville, Georgia pickleball complex this weekend. The game combines volleyball and pickleball rules. It is a paddle control and ball control game. It is a serious game, but also one that is a lot of fun. It is also a great game for beginners and advanced players. Advanced player games can last a long time.

It is played as follows:

  • There are 3 players to a side. If a lot of people sign up, we can make it four, but there will be no more than 4 to a side.
  • One team initiates play by dinking into the other team’s NVZ
  • The receiving team then must play the ball on their side three times. A player may hit the ball twice, but not back-to-back. The last player then must play the ball into the other team’s NVZ.
  • A team playing the ball three times does not have to play in its own NVZ or let the ball bounce.
  • A team can “put away” the last shot as long as it lands in the other team’s NVZ. If, however, the last ball is volleyed and the player is in the NVZ, the team loses a point.
  • You cannot touch then net on the last ball played, but you can touch the net on any other ball. In other words, if someone dinks close to the net, you can hit the net with your paddle to get the ball into play.
  • You cannot hit an opponent with your third shot. If you do, the ball would have gone out of the NVZ and you lose the point.

Scoring:

  • If a team does not play the ball three times successfully, the other team gets a point.
  • If a player hits the ball twice in a row, the other team gets a point.
  • If a team does not put the last ball in the other’s team NVZ, the other team gets a point.
  • If a player volleys the last shot in the NVZ, the other team gets a point.
  • The game will be played to the first of 7 or 11 points, depending on how many teams there are and how long you think the games will last.
  • We played a round robin with four teams, each team having four players. At the end, we had a playoff between the teams that had the most wins.

Here is a video of the “championship” match.