By Ryan Walker. Updated November 4, 2026: rules checked against the current FIVB, USA Volleyball, NCAA and NFHS rulebooks, plus a free printable score sheet and a worked example.
Junior year, two minutes before a regional match, someone handed me the score sheet. The second referee pointed at the sheet, pointed at the court, and walked away.
To fill out a volleyball score sheet: before the set, copy both teams’ starting six from their lineup sheets into positions I to VI. During play, slash the next number in a team’s point row every time it wins a rally. When a server loses the serve, write that team’s score in the server’s service-round box. Record every substitution and timeout with the score when it happened, and write the final score when the set ends. Use a pencil.
Starting six, service rounds, points 1 to 30, subs, timeouts and libero for both teams, plus a scorer’s quick key.
Scoring on a tablet or laptop instead of paper? Use our free digital volleyball scoresheet. You set the rule set first (NCAA DI and USAV 15 subs, NCAA DII/III 18, FIVB 6, club 12 or custom), enter both lineups with libero and captain, and it keeps the sub count for you. I still bring the paper sheet as a backup. Batteries die at the worst moment. If your team uses a libero, keep our free libero tracking sheet and the replacement rules next to it.
What I got wrong that day
I slashed the points fine. What I missed were the service rounds. Three rallies in, the coach asked who was serving, and my sheet couldn’t tell him, because I hadn’t written down when the serve changed hands. The second referee had to stop and check the lineup with me.
The habit that fixed it: after every whistle, I say the score and the server in my head. “Seven-five, number 12 serving.” If the server changed, I write the exit score before I do anything else. That one habit is most of what separates a clean sheet from a messy one.
The parts of a volleyball score sheet
Every sheet looks a little different, but they all have the same parts. They’re labeled on the free PDF above, so it helps to have it open.
- Header: team names, date, match number, venue and your name as scorer. Fill it in before the match.
- Starting lineup (I to VI): each team’s six starters in serving order, copied from the lineup sheet the coach hands in before every set. Position I serves first.
- Service rounds: boxes next to each starter. When that player loses the serve, you write the team’s score there. It’s called the exit score, and it’s how anyone can check later who served when.
- Points: numbers 1 to 30 for each team. Slash the next one each time that team wins a rally.
- Substitutions: the number coming in and the score when it happened, written next to the player going out. The limit per set depends on which rulebook you play under.
- Timeouts: two boxes per team per set. Write the score when each timeout is called.
- Libero: the libero numbers for each team. Libero exchanges are not substitutions and do not go in the sub columns.
- Set result: start time, end time and the final score.
Scoring a set, rally by rally
Run this after every whistle:
- Find who won the rally and slash the next number in that team’s point row. The score only ever moves by one.
- If the serving team won, nothing else changes. Same server.
- If the receiving team won, it gains the serve. Write the serving team’s score in its server’s service-round box (the exit score). The team that just won the serve rotates one position clockwise, and its next player serves.
- If there’s a sub or timeout before the next serve, record it with the score now.
In the example above, Team A serves first. A wins two rallies, so #7 keeps serving. When B wins rally 3, you write A’s score (2) in #7’s first service box, B rotates, and B’s #10 serves. Each side-out adds one exit score. After seven rallies, the sheet tells anyone exactly who served every point.
One thing that confuses new scorers: the team that receives first doesn’t serve from position I. When it wins its first rally, it rotates, so the player who started in position II serves first.
Subs, timeouts and libero rules by rulebook
The sheet looks the same everywhere, but the limits you’re tracking don’t. Check which rulebook your match uses before the first serve.
| Rulebook | Subs per set | Timeouts per set | Can the libero serve? | Deciding set |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FIVB | 6 (a starter can leave and come back once) | 2 × 30 sec | No | To 15, change courts at 8 |
| USA Volleyball | 15 | 2 | Yes, in one rotation | To 15 |
| NCAA women’s | 15 (Div. I), 18 (Div. II and III from 2026) | 2 × 75 sec | Yes, in one rotation | To 15 |
| NCAA men’s | 6 (Div. III: 12) | 2 | No | To 15 |
| NFHS (high school) | 18 | 2 × 60 sec | Yes, in one rotation | To 15 |
| MLV (pro) | 8 | 2 | Two liberos allowed | To 15 |
A defensive specialist (DS) and a libero both play defense, but they go in different places on the sheet. A DS coming in is a substitution and counts against the limit. A libero exchange isn’t. Log a DS as a libero and you’ve given that team a free sub. More on the difference in my libero guide.
Special situations
- Replay: no point is scored, so nothing changes on the sheet. Some scorers make a small note in the margin.
- Penalty point (red card): the other team gets a point and the serve. Slash the point as usual and note the card in the remarks area.
- Lost track: don’t guess. Signal the second referee and check the score before the next serve. That’s what the second referee is there for.
- End of a set: sets 1 to 4 go to 25 and the deciding set to 15, with a two-point lead. Slash the winning point, then write the final score and the end time.
- Signatures: this depends on the rulebook. Under FIVB rules, the team captains sign the score sheet before the match and again at the end. Under USA Volleyball rules, captains don’t sign the score sheet: a coach or captain signs the lineup sheet, and the scorer and first referee sign the score sheet at the end. If you’re scoring a tournament, follow the director’s instructions.
Use a pencil. If you slash the wrong number, erase it cleanly. A sheet full of pen scribbles is hard to check if there’s a protest later.
Stat sheet abbreviations
At club and college matches, someone often keeps a stat sheet next to the official score sheet. These are the abbreviations you’ll see. The one people get wrong most: a kill only counts if the attack ends the rally. A tip that gets dug isn’t a kill, even if your team wins the rally later.
| Abbreviation | Term | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| K | Kill | Attack that ends the rally for a point |
| E | Attack error | Attack into the net, out of bounds, or blocked for a point |
| TA | Total attempts | All attack swings |
| Hit % | Hitting percentage | (Kills − errors) ÷ total attempts |
| A | Assist | Set that leads directly to a kill |
| SA | Service ace | Serve that scores directly |
| SE | Service error | Serve into the net or out |
| BS | Block solo | One player blocks for a point |
| BA | Block assist | Two or three players block for a point |
| BE | Block error | Block attempt that results in a fault |
| DIG | Dig | Keeping an attacked ball in play |
| RE | Reception error | Serve-receive pass that loses the point |
| BHE | Ball-handling error | Lift, carry or double contact |
Paper or electronic?
Many high school and college programs now use electronic scoresheets such as VolleyWrite, and FIVB competitions use an electronic scoresheet. They track subs and rotations for you. But paper is still standard at most club tournaments and rec leagues, and it’s the backup when a tablet dies. Learn paper first. Once you understand what it’s tracking, any app makes sense.
Score sheet vs. lineup sheet
The coach fills out the lineup sheet before each set. You copy those six numbers into the score sheet’s starting lineup, and from then on the score sheet records everything that happens. If the server on court doesn’t match your service order, tell the second referee before the serve. That’s how serving out of order gets caught.
Volleyball score sheet FAQs
Both teams’ starting six in serving order, every point (by slashing the next number), the exit score each time a team loses the serve, every substitution and timeout with the score, and the final score of each set.
The serving team’s score at the moment it loses the serve. You write it in that server’s service-round box, so anyone can check later who served each point.
No. Libero replacements are unlimited and don’t count against the substitution limit. Record them separately, not in the sub columns.
6 under FIVB rules, 15 in USA Volleyball, 15 in NCAA Division I women’s and 18 in Divisions II and III from 2026, 6 in NCAA men’s (12 in Division III), and 18 in high school.
It depends on the rulebook. Under FIVB rules, team captains sign before the match and at the end. Under USA Volleyball rules, captains don’t sign the score sheet. A coach or captain signs the lineup sheet, and the scorer and first referee sign the score sheet at the end.
Download our free PDF on this page. It has room for five sets, with the starting lineup, service rounds, points, subs, timeouts and libero for both teams.
Keep playing,
Ryan Walker
Sources
- USA Volleyball 2025-2027 Indoor Rules Book: Rules 5.1, 15 and 19
- FIVB Official Volleyball Rules 2025-2028: Rules 5.1, 15.4, 15.6 and 25