A regulation indoor volleyball court measures 18 meters long by 9 meters wide, divided into two 9-by-9-meter halves by a net strung across the center line. The net's official height at the FIVB level is 2.43 meters (about 7 feet 11¾ inches) for men's competition and 2.24 meters (about 7 feet 4¼ inches) for women's; the net may sit up to 2 centimeters higher at the sidelines than at the center, but never lower, and its height is measured at mid-court.
Three meters from the net on each side, a line runs the width of the court — the attack line, sometimes called the ten-foot line in the United States. It separates the front zone from the back zone and governs where back-row players are allowed to jump and attack. Vertical antennae mounted on the net directly above the sidelines mark the legal width a ball must pass through when crossing the net; a ball that crosses outside the antennae, even if it would otherwise have landed in bounds, is out.
A simple, uncluttered playing surface
Beyond the attack line, sidelines and end lines, an indoor court has no other painted zones a casual fan needs to track. A free zone of open space surrounds the court on all sides so players can chase down balls that carry them off the court, and the ceiling above must be high enough — at least seven meters at top-level competition — that a served or attacked ball never has to worry about hitting an obstruction.
What changes for beach and youth play
A beach volleyball court is smaller still, 16 meters long by 8 meters wide, with no attack line at all, since two-player teams need every inch of court available to attack from. Youth and school-level courts frequently borrow the same 18-by-9-meter footprint but lower the net for younger age groups, stepping the height upward year by year until players reach the full senior net at 2.43 or 2.24 meters — a detail worth checking before assuming a youth match uses the same net height described in most rulebooks.
