This season, our girls’ volleyball program faced a wonderful challenge — more players than ever before. With twenty-six girls eager to learn and play, we suddenly found ourselves asking a simple but tricky question: How do we engage everyone at once in meaningful, active play?
While small-group drills and skill rotations were helpful, we also needed a large-group game that kept every player involved, excited, and learning. That’s when VolleyDodge Ball was born — a mashup of volleyball, Newcomb, and dodgeball that turned chaos into collaboration and competition into connection.
How the Game Works
We split the girls into two large teams, but only six players from each team played at a time. The game followed these main rules:
Scoring and Eliminations
If a ball is hit over the net and lands in bounds without being touched by anyone on defense, all six players on that side are eliminated, and six new players come in to replace them.
If a player touches the ball but it still goes out of play, only that player is eliminated.
If two or more players touch the ball before it goes out, no one is eliminated, but the other team gets the serve.
Bump–Set–Spike Resurrection
If a defending team completes a bump–set–spike sequence that scores, every eliminated teammate is resurrected.
If the team is short-handed, they quickly choose which players to return to the lineup while others wait to rotate in.
Serving Rules
If a server hits the ball into the net or out of bounds, they eliminate themselves.
Teams should rotate the server each time they win the serve back.
Net Touch
If a player touches the net during play, that player is eliminated and the other team gets the serve.
Double Contact or Lift
If a player commits a double contact or lift, that player is eliminated.
Ceiling or Obstructions
If the ball hits the ceiling or a basketball hoop but stays on the same side, it’s playable.
If it hits an obstruction and goes over the net and out of bounds, the last player to touch it is eliminated.
Blocks
A block that lands on the opponent’s side without being touched eliminates the entire opposing side.
A block that lands on the blocker’s side or out of bounds eliminates the blocker.
If a teammate of the blocker makes contact after the block, both players — and therefore the team — are safe.
Line Calls
If there’s disagreement about whether the ball was in or out, replay the point or let the coach make the call.
Minimum Players and Endgame
A team must always have at least one player on the court.
If the last player is eliminated, the round is over and the other team wins.
When a team runs out of players, a new game begins, rotating in players who haven’t yet had a turn.
Why It Works
This variation quickly became a team favorite — not just for its energy and laughter, but for how much it encouraged skillful play and communication.
Players learned the importance of not letting the ball hit the floor.
They became more determined to recover bad passes, knowing that even a single touch could keep them in the game.
The elimination system heightened focus, accountability, and awareness while keeping sidelined players engaged and ready to rotate in.
There’s also a hidden message of selflessness and sacrifice in this game. Sometimes, a player faces a ball that seems impossible to reach. They know that if they don’t touch it, everyone on their team will be eliminated — so they dive anyway. In doing so, they accept the possibility of personal elimination to save the group. And sometimes, that ball that looked impossible turns out to be just barely playable — a reminder that effort and courage can change the outcome for everyone.
Beyond skill development, VolleyDodge Ball mirrors Montessori principles:
It offers clear cause-and-effect, allowing players to self-correct and adapt.
It promotes community and interdependence, as every action affects the team’s fate.
It gives every learner — beginner or advanced — a meaningful role in the collective success.
By the end of the season, players were organizing the game themselves, setting up the net, reviewing rules, managing rotations, and encouraging one another. That independence and sense of shared responsibility capture exactly what we strive for in Montessori Physical Education. It was play with meaning and purpose, and learning through joyful cooperation.