Jan 25, 2010 9:30:46 AM

The NCAA Women's Volleyball Rules Committee has decided to keep the substitution rule at 12 per set.

At its annual meeting January 19-21 in Indianapolis, the committee considered liberalizing substitutions to 15 per set but decided to maintain the status quo.

Proponents of the increase said it would provide for more participation opportunities and give teams a chance to diversify their offensive schemes.

But data from the 2009 season showed an average of only seven substitutions per set.

"We just didn't see any statistical support for any changes at this time," said Women's Volleyball Rules Committee chair Carly Pariseau, also associate athletics director of compliance at Boston College. "We had a lengthy conversation about this. We anticipated the median being much higher, but the data don't support making any changes."

When the rules committee changed to rally scoring in 2001, coaches were allowed to make 15 substitutions, but it also took 30 points to win one of the first four sets in a match. Starting with the 2008 season, a rules change decreased the number of points to win one of the first four sets to 25. The substitution rule also decreased to 12 at that time.

In another item on the agenda, the rules committee modified the so-called "pursuit rule." The change means that if a ball crosses into the opponent's free zone (out of bounds but past the net), a player is no longer restricted from crossing under the net or net cable to retrieve it.

In this scenario, the ball must be played to the outside of the antenna to a teammate for play to continue. The Federation of International Volleyball, the sport's international governing body, also allows this type of play to occur.

A representative from FIVB attended the meeting and told committee members that research shows that such retrievals do not increase the risk of injury.

"FIVB does a lengthy analysis of injury reports, and they don't see any injuries from collisions involving this play," Pariseau said. "It allows for an exciting play to take place. It doesn't happen very often, but when it does, it is pretty cool for the fans to see."

A survey of volleyball stakeholders showed about 58 percent favored keeping the current rule, which whistles a play dead if a player goes under the net to retrieve a ball in the opponent's free zone. But since there appears to be no increased risk to student-athlete safety, the committee felt the rule was worth amending.

"We're always looking for ways to make the game exciting and keeping the ball in play," Pariseau said. "This way, you let the players be as athletic and dynamic as possible."