How High Is a Volleyball Net? Official Heights by Format

A standard senior volleyball net is 2.43 meters (7 feet 11⅝ inches) high for men and 2.24 meters (7 feet 4⅛ inches) high for women. Those measurements apply to both international indoor volleyball and senior beach volleyball under the current FIVB rules.

Youth, sitting-volleyball and recreational competitions may use different heights, so the controlling rulebook matters.

Standard volleyball net heights

Format and ruleset	Division	Net height
FIVB indoor volleyball	Men	2.43 m (7 ft 11⅝ in)
FIVB indoor volleyball	Women	2.24 m (7 ft 4⅛ in)
FIVB beach volleyball	Men	2.43 m (7 ft 11⅝ in)
FIVB beach volleyball	Women	2.24 m (7 ft 4⅛ in)
World ParaVolley sitting volleyball	Men	1.15 m (3 ft 9¼ in)
World ParaVolley sitting volleyball	Women	1.05 m (3 ft 5⅜ in)

The FIVB’s 2025–2028 indoor rules set the net at 2.43 m for men and 2.24 m for women. The FIVB beach rules use the same senior heights, despite the different court dimensions and playing formats.

The World ParaVolley 2025–2028 sitting-volleyball rules specify the lower measurements of 1.15 m for men and 1.05 m for women.

How the net is measured

The official height is measured from the playing surface to the top of the net at the center of the court. Under the FIVB indoor rules:

• the center must be at the prescribed height;
• the height over both sidelines must be the same; and
• the net over the sidelines cannot exceed the official height by more than 2 cm.

Checking the center matters because a net may look correctly positioned at the posts while sagging in the middle. Measure at center court, then check the two sidelines rather than relying on the post setting alone. The FIVB beach rules expressly call for a measuring rod.

Net height remains constant throughout a match. For example, a women’s indoor match that reaches a fifth set still uses a 2.24 m net. The deciding set’s scoring target changes, but the equipment height does not. See how volleyball scoring works for the difference between the 25-point opening sets and the 15-point decider.

USA Volleyball youth indoor net heights

USA Volleyball’s 2025–2027 indoor rulebook lists age-specific heights that may be used instead of applying adult measurements to every junior division.

USAV age group	Female/reverse co-ed	Male/co-ed
15U–18U	2.24 m	2.43 m
13U–14U	2.24 m	2.24 m
11U–12U	2.13 m	2.13 m
10U	1.98 m	2.13 m

These measurements come from the 2025–2027 USA Volleyball indoor rulebook. Because the rulebook says heights may vary for these age groups, teams should verify the specific competition regulations rather than selecting a height from age alone.

Youth beach volleyball heights

FIVB’s beach rules include a separate age-group table:

Beach age group	Female	Male
16 and under	2.24 m	2.24 m
14 and under	2.12 m	2.12 m
12 and under	2.00 m	2.00 m

This is why “youth volleyball net height” has no single universal answer. Indoor and beach tables differ, and a domestic organizer may use competition-specific divisions or regulations.

Player height is also separate from net height. Athletes may have substantially different physical profiles by position even though every team in a division attacks and blocks over the same net. For that comparison, see average volleyball player height by position.