Sections
About the SCVA
The SCVA is the Southern California region of USA Volleyball and the region in which all of our travel teams (Regional, National, and Premier), participate! There are 1,000s of teams in our region (which covers everything from the Southern border, as far north as Santa Barbara, and as far east as Las Vegas), and only a handful of large facilities to use for tournaments. This is why the tournament locations are not predetermined, and we don’t always know where we will play or whether we will play in an AM or PM pool until the days leading up to the tournament. It is important to leave the whole day available for this reason.
Finding Your Tournament Schedule
Once the SCVA releases the playing sites for each age group, you can find that information by visiting www.sportwrench.com and searching for the event using the keyword “SCVA.” Once you find the event, click the live link for “Schedule & Results.” You can then search for your team by your athlete’s name or just “SoCal” (remember that our club is “SoCal Athletics Volleyball Club”). Once you find your team, you’ll be able to see the venue, the court, and the schedule for the day, including your opponents, reffing responsibilities, and even future matches, depending upon how you finish. We recommend adding “sportwrench.com” to your home screen so you can easily access it at the tournament and for future use.
We will always post the most up-to-date information about your tournaments in your team’s GroupMe as soon as we receive it.
Typical Pool Play Schedule
The pool play order never changes – what does change is your “seed” in the pool. Here’s the pool play order for a 4-team pool.
Timing of the Day
The club recommends that players arrive for an 8 am pool at 7:15 am and for a 3 pm pool at 2:15 pm, regardless of your first assignment. You’ll need time to deal with parking, entry, finding your court, getting your shoes on, warming up/stretching, and getting the download from your coach for the day. Even if you ref or are off for the first match, it’s critical to be prepared to play if a team does not show up. Pool play typically ends between 2-3 pm for an AM pool and 8-9 pm for a PM pool. You can assume that each match lasts around an hour. In some instances, pools will be split onto two courts. This means the pools will go faster, and you’ll likely be done earlier. In the “off” time, teams are expected to stay together, play games, enjoy each other’s company, and stay OFF of their phones. Remember that tournament time is “team time,” so encourage your player to stay with the team. Families are not permitted to take players off the premises during breaks.
Uniform Expectations
You will not be eligible to play in the first set of the day if you are not wearing the full official SoCal uniform. This includes SoCal sweatpants and sweatshirt, black spandex, jersey, and long-sleeve warm-up tee. Team kneepads and socks must be matching colors and will be decided upon at the beginning of the season. Always bring ALL jerseys with you if you change throughout the day. If the team changes their jersey, and you do not have the correct jersey, you will not be eligible to play.
General Site Expectations
Almost all sites charge for parking ($10-$20, cash only) and spectator admission ($10-$20). Player admission is always free. Many of the larger sites have tables that are first come-first serve for the team/families to sit in breaks. Some sites have outdoor camp space so teams can bring ez-ups and food. Your coach will notify you of the playing site’s details once it is posted. You can find site information on the SCVA website at the Site Directions link.
Tournament & Match Format
All tournaments are played in a “pool play” format. Your team will be placed in a group or “pool” of 3, 4, or 5 teams and will play each of those teams during the day in a specific, predetermined order that includes reffing, sitting, and playing. AM tournaments begin at 8 am and typically end between 2-3 pm. PM tournaments begin at 3 pm and typically end between 8-9 pm.
At the end of each tournament, the teams will settle into different “Divisions” based on their finish. Your initial “division” is decided by your finish throughout the SCVA Qualifying process. In each of your additional tournaments, you have the opportunity to move up a division (if you take 1st place), stay in your current division (if you take 2nd or 3rd), or drop a division (if you take 4th).
If and only if a team is in Divisions 1-4, they will have playoffs after their regularly scheduled pool play during the mandatory tournaments. Expect a longer tournament day.
- Scoring:
- All play will be the best 2 out of 3 “sets,” with 25 points rally scoring in sets 1 and 2. The winning team must achieve a 2-point advantage; no cap will be used. If necessary, the deciding set will be rally scoring to 15 points, win by two points, with no cap.
- In the case of a tie, the pool position will be determined by the following formula:
- 2-way tie: broken head-to-head
- 3-way tie: 1) match record 2) game record 3) point ratio
- *Note: A 3-way tie will never revert back to a 2-way tie. Percentages will be used as described above for breaking the 3-way tie.
Playing Time & Lineups
Remember that playing time cannot be evaluated in minutes or the number of points played. Volleyball is not a time-based activity, and depending on how competitive a match is, the total number of points played can vastly differ from match to match. All players should receive some playing time in each match (a match is composed of 2-3 sets), but playing time will not be equal.
Players should know their role and their position before the tournament. A meaningful role might even be coming on as a designated server and leaving the court after the service round is complete. If your child has this role, know that they are not being punished by being taken off the court after their service – this is just the whole spectrum of their role at this moment.
Other positions include middle blocker, outside hitter, opposite or right-side hitter, setter, defensive specialist, and libero. Each position performs a specific function for the team and has specific playing time. For example, a libero can only play in the back-row rotations. Ask your coach if you want more information about your daughter’s position and role.
Remember that in volleyball, all players must rotate legally around the court whenever they win the ball back from the other team or “side out.” Teams will sometimes rotate quickly, making substitutions happen more quickly and often. Sometimes, teams will be stuck in a rotation while one server rattles off multiple points, and a team gets stuck in specific rotations.
If you are concerned about your daughter’s role or playing time after a tournament, please use the 24-hour rule before reaching out to your coach. Give it 24 hours to organize your thoughts and calm your emotions, and then schedule a meeting with your coach and the Club Director if necessary.
How Does the Seeding / Flowchart Work?
You might be wondering how your team got placed where they did. For the first tournament, your Club Director has submitted a seeding recommendation to the SCVA based on the team’s finish last year and where they anticipate the team will find their competitive stride during the season. You’ll likely see a broad spectrum of teams in the first few tournaments. The first seed in the pool should be far better than the fourth seed in the pool if the pool is correctly seeded. So, if you are a fourth seed, prepare to really have to battle in every match and know that if the team finishes in order, it was probably seeded correctly.
The first tournament helps the teams determine which division they will start the season in. Divisions 1-4 are considered “Gold”, 5-8 are “Silver” and so on. As you move through the tournaments, you’ll be playing to move up, down, or stay in your division. For example, if you are in Division 6 and take first in your tournament, you’ll move up to Division 5 for your next tournament. If you take 2nd or 3rd, you’ll stay in Division 6 for your next tournament, and if you take 4th, you’ll drop down to Division 7. If you’d like to know more about how the flowchart works for the season, you can check it out HERE.
You can check your team’s results and see their current standings HERE.
As always, you can contact our staff with any questions you may have by emailing [email protected] or texting us at 760-515-3741.
Have a great season, and GO SOCAL!
