• The net height for beach games is the same as for indoor matches.beach volleyball image by Pix by Marti from Fotolia.com
  
  When William Morgan, the creator of volleyball, set down the first rules of the sport in 1897, he mandated that the top of the net be 6 feet 6 inches high, a height no doubt within easy reach of many players. Of course, spiking hadn't been instituted yet and the ball was a basketball, so a higher net wasn't a necessity. Over the years, as offensive spikes became the norm, the net height was increased and a standard difference was instituted between men's and women's games.
  
  

Standard Heights

• According to USA Volleyball, the American governing body, the standard net height for men's matches is 7 feet 11 5/8 inches, measured at the center of the net. For women's matches, the net should be 7 feet 4 1/8 inches high.
  
  

Adjustments

• USA Volleyball sanctions only men's and women's matches, but it does offer some guidelines for adjusting net height for coed games and games played by older and younger players. For women 45 and older and reverse coed matches (in which men cannot spike), it suggests a 7-foot-2 1/8-inch net. For men's and coed matches with players 70 and older, it recommends a 7-foot-6-inch net; for 55- to 69-year-olds, it suggests a height of 7 feet 9 5/8 inches; for players between 45 and 54, as well as those 15 to 18, it suggests a regulation men's net height; for those 13 and 14, the net height should be the same as for women's sanctioned games; and for those 12 and under, it recommends a 7-foot net.
  
  

Net Makeup

• The net should be made of 4-inch square black mesh and measure 39 inches from top to bottom and between 31 1/2 and 33 feet in length. There should be a 2 3/4-inch-wide band of white canvas along the entire top of the length of the net with a hole at either end through which a cord passes for attachment to the poles that support the net. There should be a similar band at the bottom, 2 inches wide, through which a rope passes to attach at each end. Although optional, USA Volleyball recommends placing 2-inch-wide white bands directly above the sidelines on both sides of the net, from its bottom to its top.
  
  

Antennae

• A 5-foot-11-inch rod made of fiberglass or similar material should be attached to the outer edges of the net, typically on the white bands. These are out-of-bounds indicators that need to rise 32 inches above the net. They also should be striped with two contrasting colors, such as red and white, to make them easy to see.