vbmatch.com

The Unofficial History of Ghosts and Other Apparitions
in the Game of Volleyball

In 1895, volleyball was invented by William G. Morgan, a YMCA Physical Education Director. Two years later, there was a "ghost sighting" at the YMCA gym. Ever since then, that ghost and other apparitions have been making regular appearances in volleyball games.

Sometimes People Ask: Why can't we just play 5-on-6 without a Ghost ?

After all, we're already "down" a player. What possible advantage is there to playing with 5 players against an opposing team with 6 players ?

I'm glad you asked. Here's the Rationale for the "Ghost" Rule . . .

In sanctioned volleyball games that follow official USA or FIVB Volleyball Rules, teams that are unable to field 6 players at any point during the match simply have to forfeit. Since VBmatch leagues are recreational leagues and most players have regular day-time jobs and other commitments which may cause them to miss a game here or there, we relax the rule (requiring precisely 6 players) a bit and allow teams to play with either 4 or 5 players if necessary.

However, a team playing with 5 players can potentially have an Advantage over a team of 6 players IF the team of 5 plays WITHOUT a ghost.

Three examples illustrate this point :

Example 1. Team Awesome has one player - Dante - who is a great outside hitter with an 80% kill ratio. If Team Awesome has 6 players then Dante will only get to be in the front row 50% of the time (3 out of 6 rotations). But if Team Awesome has 5 players (and plays WITHOUT a Ghost), then Dante will get to be in the front row 60% of the time (3 out of 5 rotations). That additional 10% time in the front row can be an unfair advantage that tips the scales for Team Awesome versus its opponents.

Example 2. In power-coed leagues, teams may have 4 men and 2 women. In this configuration, most teams play with the two women opposite each other and consequently, with only 2 front row male hitters at any given time. If a team is missing a woman and plays with 4 men and 1 woman (without a ghost), then that team will have 3 men simultaneously in the front row for certain rotations, which would give them a decided advantage in both hitting and blocking (e.g. triple blocking).

Example 3. If a team of 5 plays without a ghost, then it is impossible for an opposing team of 6 to line-up and match-up against specific opposing players because after one full rotation, there will be a mis-alignment. That mis-alignment / mis-match of players between the two teams can potentially give the team of 5 an unfair advantage (e.g. if a big middle mis-aligns and goes up against a smaller player).

For these reason, a "ghost" should be used to fill in the missing player. When the "ghost" is in the front row, then there are only two real front row players. When the ghost goes to serve, it always misses its serve - resulting in a loss of a point and a sideout.

VBmatch Playoff Rules

As is standard with many leagues, VBmatch does NOT allow teams to field any new players for League Playoffs games (except in the Random-Draw Format). Only rostered players who have already played with the team during regular season are eligible to play with that team for playoffs.

However, once in a while, a team simply can not field 6 rostered players for playoff matches because some of their rostered players are unable to attend playoff night.

Official volleyball rules dictate that a team playing with fewer than 6 players must forfeit.

At VBmatch, our rules are a little more relaxed since this is a recreational league and most of our players have regular jobs.

For example, a team with 5 players may avoid a forfeit by playing with 5 players PLUS a Ghost (who stands in for the 6th missing player). Alternatively (current policy as of March 2015; subject to change in the future), the team (with a missing player) may ask playoff opponents ahead of time for permission to utilize a non-rostered player for the playoff match against that opponent. Of course, the opponent is free to say "No."

When this scenario has arisen, I have seen the players on the team of 5 react in many different ways.

- Some plead for the opponents to give them permission to field a non-rostered player.

- Some get upset when their opponents say "No" -- not comprehending that they're asking for a "favor" in the first instance.

- Some complain that the league policy for this scenario is unfair or too strict - even though it is already more relaxed than official volleyball rules.

- Some try to field a "ringer" as their non-rostered player.

- Some try to find a "comparable" non-rostered player to replace their missing 6th player.

- Some simply chalk it up to "bad luck" or "bad planning" and resign to playing with 5.

- Some choose to play with 5 out of "principle." These teams do not bother asking for permission to field a non-rostered player because they believe that "a rule is a rule." Also, some teams don't want to "impose" on the other team and put the other team / team captain in an awkward position of "feeling pressured to say Yes."

- And a few teams will actually relish the opportunity and step up to the challenge of playing with 5 plus a Ghost against opponents with 6 players. After all, there are certain bragging rights that come along with beating an opponent when you're down a player : "My Ghost was better than your 6th player."

And that's what happened for the SF Tuesday 3/24/2015 Power-Coed 6s League Playoffs.

Two teams (that each only had 5 players) defeated several opponents with full squads and those two teams ended up as the two finalists.

Highlight VIDEO #1 from SF Tues 3/24/2015 Volleyball League Playoffs

"My Ghost is Better Than Your Ghost" EDITION

Congrats Jon, Vanessa, Jared, Bryan, Miles and the Best Ghost Ever (who other than a few missed serves made zero errors) !