The Philly Volleyball Rating system rates athletes on a scale from 0-6
A rating of 0 is new to the game, a rating of 2.5 is “intermediate”, and 4.5 is “competitive”. 5.5 or higher is for elite level players at the very top end of the events we offer.
The PVR Scale roughly maps to the letter ratings you will commonly see used for volleyball at tournaments and in other regions/organizations. We also use these to letter labels to define skill levels for our events and tournaments.
Many of our events bucket close levels together, for example:
An event labeled B to Lower BB would be targeted to players between a 1.0-3.0
An event labeled BB would be targeted to all BB players — between a 2.0-4.0
An event labeled Upper BB to A, would be meant for players with 3.0-5.0. A host might set tickets to have a restriction requiring a rating of at least 3.0
An event labeled for A to AA would likely be restricted to players 4.0 and above.
The Player Benchmarks are a set criteria and list of competencies for each of the core volleyball skills, at each level. They are meant to give both players and hosts a more accurate evaluation of whether a player is at the targeted level for an event, rather than evaluating compared to attendees of specific events/weeks which may fluctuate based on who is signed up.
While the Player Benchmarks generally track overall volleyball skills, the language and emphasis varies between indoors and outdoors, based on the slightly different rules and priorities. These indoors benchmarks assume players are playing 6v6 and allow for more positional specialization at higher levels.
Defense
| Label | Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner | 0 | The player struggles to get the ball in the air when it's hit towards them. |
| B | 1 | The player is still learning how to read attackers, but can dig balls that are hit/or tipped to them, and get them ball generally upwards and towards the front zone of the court. |
| BB | 2 | The player has good court awareness and knows how to move to where a ball is being hit. They can dig the ball with their platform or overhand, from medium velocity spikes, and get the ball high in the air allowing their team to get to it. They understand where they should set up in their base position on defense. They rarely miss a free ball that comes to them. |
| BB | 3 | The player knows where to be on the court at all times as plays are developing, how to split the court, know what they are responsible for in a usual base defense, and communicates with their teammates. When the ball is hit towards them by other BB players, they can usually get a dig up and to the front zone/towards their setter. |
| A | 4 | The player can read off a block, and anticipate where the ball will be hit to put themselves in position to dig the ball against an A level offense with multiple attackers. They have strong defensive mechanics and instincts. When the ball is rolled or tipped near them, they will usually get a good dig to their setter. |
| A | 5 | The player can read and adjust to high level attackers. They effectively cover their responsibilities on the court and can get digs off even the highest level attackers, and give their teammates a chance to play the ball. |
| AA | 6 | The player has strong defensive instincts and athleticism to put them in the right place to dig the ball against the highest level offense/attackers. When they dig a ball, they get the ball high and to the front court where the setter has multiple options. |
Passing
This metric should have less impact on a players rating if their primary position is middle blocker or setter
| Label | Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner | 0 | The player struggles to pass the ball. |
| B | 1 | The player can pass the ball towards the net/towards the front half of the court from a low velocity serve. |
| BB | 2 | The player can consistently (70% of the time) pass a settable ball from a medium velocity serve, using their hands overhead or their platform. Their setter should have at least 1 easy option to set the ball on most of their passes. They have a basic understanding over where to line up on the court for serve receive, but may need some directions from teammates in a more organized offensive system (like a 5-1 or 6-2) |
| BB | 3 | The player can consistently (70% of the time) pass a serve to from other BB players to target, allowing their setter to have at least easy 2 options to set the ball to. They know to communicate about seams with their teammates and they know where to line up when running a 5-1 or 6-2. |
| A | 4 | The player can consistently (75% of the time) pass a serve to from other A players to target, allowing their setter to have at least 2 easy options to set the ball to. They rarely get aced and their bad passes are generally still playable by one of their teammates. |
| A | 5 | The player can consistently (85% of the time) pass a serve to target from other A level players, allowing their setter to consistently have a full 3 options to set the ball. The player rarely gets aced, and bad passes are still good enough to be converted to out of system attacks. |
| AA | 6 | The player consistently (90% of the time) passes to target on serves from other AA level players. The player rarely gets aced, and will almost always give a playable ball to their team. |
Attacking
| Label | Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner | 0 | The Player struggles to hit the ball over the net and/or inbounds. |
| B | 1 | The player can attack the ball overhand, with at least medium velocity and an arched trajectory towards the last 1/3 of the court, or low/medium velocity with a downward trajectory. |
| BB | 2 | The player can attack the ball with either a spike or strong downball (attack with feet on the ground). They know where to reload/move on the court to get in position to approach and hit the ball, and can make some adjustments to off sets. Their attacks may lack power but they will usually get hit in the court and in a way that makes it difficult for BB players to get to it. |
| BB | 3 | The player knows where to be on the court as offensive plays are developing and can jump and spike the ball with a downwards trajectory. They can find holes in defenses and a good set will usually result in a kill against other BB players. While they are not expected to play error free, they should generally have a positive hitting percentage*. |
| A | 4 | The player can spike the ball downwards with force. They are able to adjust to off sets to still reliably hit the ball with some power or into a smart spot to put the opposing team out of system. They have the footwork to move around the court and take an approach in a fast passed offensive system. They make smart choices/use a variety of attacking option to score points even when facing a double block. They should usually be hitting at least a .100 hitting percentage*. |
| A | 5 | The player will consistently score points against other A level players. They can attack effectively from the front or back row and score points even on off sets. They have the game knowledge and athleticism to run a more complex offense with designed plays. They should usually be hitting at least a .250 hitting percentage*. |
| AA | 6 | The player is a top contributor to a high level offense. They are very athletic and can adjust to opposing blockers and defensive schemes to score points with a very high level of consistency. |
Blocking
This metric should have less impact on a players rating if their primary position is libero
| Label | Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner | 0 | The player cannot get their hands near to the top of the net line or cannot land safely on their side without contacting the net or another player |
| B | 1 | The player can form a single block, with hands above the net or a soft block near the top of the net, and land safely on their side of the court. |
| BB | 2 | The player can get their hands above the net and disrupt the opposing attack, either touching the ball or funneling it to their teammates. They can occasionally execute double blocks with the player next to them. They are able to jump and land safely, and avoid contact with the net. |
| BB | 3 | The player can reach above and penetrate over the net, taking away some options from the other team. They can time their block well and track setters and attackers to execute a double block with their teammates |
| A | 4 | The player can reach above and penetrate over the net, taking away options from the other team and channeling them into intended defensive zones. They can consistently close a double block (or triple block) with their teammates. Their blocks often result in a block touch, and occasionally a block for a point. |
| A | 5 | The player can make quick adjustments against offenses with multiple high level attackers, tracking the opposing setter and attackers. Their block is fully penetrating to the other side and puts pressure on high level hitters, getting touches, blocks, or forcing errors. |
| AA | 6 | The player can read and adjust to AA level offenses while physically contributing to the blocking system with block assists or solo blocks, or can dominate an A level opposition's offense resulting in multiple blocks per game. |
Setting
| Label | Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner | 0 | The player struggles to accurately get a ball to their teammates to hit. |
| B | 1 | When the ball is passed toward the front of the court, the player can consistently get a hittable ball to their teammate, either with a bump set or overhand set. |
| BB | 2 | The player can consistently set a hittable ball to their outside hitter and middle from most places in the front zone, and occasionally back set. They're confident in their hand setting and can set with minimal double contacts. They know how to move around on the court when they are the designated setter on their team (usually either in a 4-2 or a 5-1) |
| BB | 3 | The player can accurately set any of their hitters in the front row from a good pass. They can set on the run and adjust to balls in most areas of the court to get their teammates a hittable ball, and communicate with their hitters to get them the specific sets they want. They know how to lead a 5-1 or 6-2 offensive system. |
| A | 4 | The player can run a high level offense, adjusting to passes all over the court. They have the ability to call and execute specific plays with their attackers. They can set on the run and even on poor passes they are usually able to get a hittable ball to their teammates |
| A | 5 | The player has a high level of technical skill to set the ball from all over the court, and also make smart decisions on the court to match. They have the ability to keep their team in system on mediocre passes, and run designed plays to give their attackers an advantage over blockers. They better the ball nearly every time they touch it. |
| AA | 6 | The player can run a complex offense and set with high levels of consistency in height, spacing, and tempo. They make smart decisions and help to scheme their hitters open, to give them an advantage over an AA level block. |
Serving
| Label | Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner | 0 | The player struggles to execute a legal serve |
| B | 1 | The player can execute a legal serve (underhand or overhand) and get the ball into play consistently. |
| BB | 2 | The player can serve overhand into the court consistently (70%). They can serve specific regions of the court to try and disrupt the opposing team. |
| BB | 3 | The player can consistently (70%) serve to the location they're aiming at. They can serve in a manner which causes disruption to a team's ability to pass, or occasionally results in an ace, against other BB players, and occasionally A players. |
| A | 4 | Against other A level players they can serve in a manner which causes disruption to a team's ability to pass, or occasionally results in an ace. They may take more risks/serve more aggressively, but the majority of time they should be getting the ball over the net and inbounds. |
| A | 5 | Against other A level players they routinely (80%) serve in a manner which causes disruption to a team's ability to pass. They will frequently get aces against lower level players. |
| AA | 6 | Against other AA level players they can serve in a manner that pushes the opposing team out of system. They routinely get aces against lower level players. |