Volleyball Lineup Sheet: How to Fill It Out, Free Template

A volleyball lineup sheet lists the jersey numbers of your six starters in serving order, boxes I through VI, plus the libero, and goes to the officials before each set.

It is a small card, and it decides more points than most coaches expect. Picture the second set of a pool-play match. Your assistant scribbles the lineup during the set break, copies an old jersey number for a player who switched shirts, and hands it in. Three rallies later the scorer stops play. The points your team just won come off the board, and your players have no idea why.

Almost every lineup problem starts at the bench, not on the court. This guide covers what goes on the sheet, how to fill it out in under a minute, when it is due, what happens when it is wrong, and a printable layout you can copy.

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01What goes on a volleyball lineup sheet

Formats vary by organization, so use the card your event or league provides. Most share the same core fields:

• Team name, match and set number. The scorer files one card per set, so the set number matters.
• Six jersey numbers in serving order. These are the starters for the set, written in boxes marked I through VI.
• Libero numbers. Club events let you designate up to two liberos on the sheet for each set, or none at all, as described in the USA Volleyball indoor rule books.
• Captain. Mark the team captain, or the game captain if the team captain is starting on the bench.
• Coach or captain signature. A signed card is the official version. An unsigned one invites questions at the worst moment.

Players who are not on the card are the substitutes for that set, apart from the liberos.

02What the Roman numerals mean

Box I is your first server. Boxes II through VI follow in the order your players will rotate to serve. The rule books also number the spots on the floor: the back right spot where the server stands is one, the front row reads four, three and two from left to right, and the back row reads five, six and one. The FIVB official volleyball rules lay out that numbering and the rotation that follows it.

That means the card is more than a list. Box I is back right, box II is front right, box III is front center, box IV is front left, box V is back left and box VI is back center when the set starts. Players rotate clockwise, so the player in box II moves to back right and serves next, then box III, and so on. Read the boxes in order and you will see your whole rotation.

If your players still mix up who stands where, the volleyball rotations cheat sheet walks through overlap and systems for practice, and the free volleyball rotation tool shows each rotation on a court diagram.

03How to fill it out, step by step

1. Decide who serves first. Pick your strongest, most consistent server for box I when you serve first. When you receive first, remember the team rotates before its first serve, so the player in box II will move into the serving spot.
2. Place your setter. In a single-setter system, coaches usually decide first which box the setter starts in, then build around that choice.
3. Fill the remaining boxes in rotation order. Write each number clearly. A sloppy four looks like a nine from across the table.
4. Add the liberos. Write their numbers in the libero boxes, and never in a starting box unless you mean it.
5. Mark the captain and sign. Then check every number against your roster before you walk it over.

A habit that saves teams: the coach reads the six numbers out loud to the players before they take the floor. If a player hears the wrong number in their spot, you fix it at the bench, not in front of the referee.

04When the lineup sheet is due

Under the USA Volleyball indoor rules, the coach or game captain submits a signed lineup sheet to the second referee or scorer at least two minutes before the end of the timed warmup, and at least thirty seconds before the break between sets ends. The interval between sets is short, so most experienced coaches write every set's lineup before the match starts and adjust only if needed.

High school matches follow rules from the National Federation of State High School Associations and your state association, and college matches follow their own rule book. Deadlines and procedures can differ, so confirm them with the officials at your first event of the season.

05Lineup errors and what they cost

Once the sheet reaches the second referee or scorer, you cannot change the lineup without a regular substitution, according to the USA Volleyball rule books. Here is how the common mistakes play out under those rules.

• Wrong player in a spot, caught before the set starts. The players move to match the sheet with no penalty. If the coach wants to keep an unlisted player on the court, that requires a regular substitution.
• A jersey number that does not exist on your team. The sheet is corrected for that spot only, with no penalty and no substitution charged.
• The same number listed as a starter and as a libero. The coach decides on the spot whether that player is the libero or a starter, then corrects the card.
• Players out of order, discovered after play starts. If your team was serving, the points scored during that service turn are cancelled and players return to the correct spots. If the opponent was serving, the spots are corrected and an extra penalty applies only in specific cases described in the rule book.
• Serving out of rotation. This is a rotational fault. The opponent gets a point and the serve, your rotation is corrected, and points scored after the fault can be cancelled, as set out in both the FIVB rules and the USA Volleyball rule book.
• A player on the court who is not on the team roster. This is the most serious one. The team can lose every point scored from the moment that player entered.

Coaches and captains can also ask the officials for a lineup check between rallies. Use it when you suspect a problem. A lineup check before the serve is far cheaper than a cancelled run of points.

06Printable volleyball lineup sheet template

Copy this layout into a document or spreadsheet, print a stack, and keep it in your coaching binder. Fill in one card per set.

Here is a filled sample for one set, using made-up jersey numbers.

Some tips for the template:

• Print duplicate cards if your event allows it. You keep a copy, so you can check the rotation from the bench all set.
• Write in pencil until you sign. Then hand it in and stop editing.
• Keep the roster sheet stapled to the back. Every jersey number on the card should match it.

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07Managing rosters and lineups digitally

The lineup card itself still goes to the scorer in whatever format the event uses, paper or electronic. Where clubs lose time is everything around it. Jersey numbers live in one spreadsheet, the current roster in another, and the game schedule in a group chat.

Clubs that run several teams usually fix this in three moves:

• One roster per team that everyone works from. When a player changes numbers or joins late, the change happens once, and every coach sees it.
• Lineups planned before match day. Coaches draft a lineup for each set the night before and share it with assistants, so the set break is for coaching, not paperwork.
• Schedules families can see. When parents know the court and start time, players arrive in the right jersey with time to warm up.

Waresport handles the club side of that work. Roster and staff management keeps athletes, guardians, medical information and waivers connected to each team, with permissions so a head coach sees rosters without seeing payment data. Clubs add game times with the date, venue and team, and parents and players are notified automatically.

Here is the honest limit. Waresport does not replace the official lineup sheet or the scoresheet at the officials' table, and it will not catch a wrong number your assistant writes on the card. If you coach one team and your roster never changes, a printed template and a pencil are all you need.