Types

• Two types of courts used in organized volleyball: sand and a hard court typically made of wood, concrete or a synthetic. The FIVB allows only wood and synthetic surfaces for indoor competitions, while the USAV simply requires that the organization approves the surface before matches.
  
  

Surfaces

• Indoor courts are 9 meters wide by 18 meters long, or about 30 feet by 60 feet, while sand courts used in doubles play, the most common game, are 8 meters by 16 meters, or about 26 feet by 52 feet. Sand courts for group play are typically extended to make them the same size as indoor courts. Indoor courts must be level and without impediments, while sand courts must have sand that is as level as possible and contains nothing that can harm players such as rocks or shells.
  
  

Nets

• Net measurements are made at the center of the net and typically increase slightly as they near the poles on either side, although the net cannot be more than 3/4 inch higher than the official height at any point. Women play on nets that are raised to 7 feet 4-1/8 inches, while men play on nets set at 7 feet 11-5/8 inches. Coed games are played at the men's height. Net heights are the same for beach games, although the measurement is made from sand when it is raked flat. During play, of course, sand shifts around, so it might be higher or lower at any point along the net.
  
  

Free Zone

• There must be at least 23 feet of space directly above the entire area of a court that is free of any obstructions. This free zone extends out from the sides of the court by 5 meters, or about 16-1/2 feet, and from the baselines by 8 meters, or 26 feet.
  
  

Lines

• A court's boundaries are marked indoors by lines made of tape that adheres to the floor and in beach games by tape strips that rest on the sand. The lines are 2 inches wide and must be a markedly different color from the playing surface for easy detection. Indoors, there are also a center line that runs along the floor directly below and parallel with the net and attack lines on either side of the net that run parallel to the net but 9 feet 10 inches into the court. Beach courts do not have center lines because players can step across the center of the net without penalty, and do not have attack lines because doubles players may attack from anywhere on the court.