When do you switch sides in beach volleyball?

The rule: every 7 points, or every 5 in the deciding set

Under the FIVB Official Beach Volleyball Rules (2025-2028 edition), teams change courts every 7 points played in sets 1 and 2 and every 5 points played in the deciding third set (Rule 18.2). Points played means both scores added together, however the points were won. So 4-3, 5-2 and 7-0 are all a switch in set 1, and 3-2 and 5-0 are both a switch in the deciding set.

• Sets 1 and 2: played to 21 points with a 2-point lead and no cap (Rule 6). Switch at 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42 points played, and every 7 after that.
• Set 3, the deciding set: played only at one set all, to 15 points with a 2-point lead and no cap. Switch at 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 points played, and every 5 after that.
• The count starts again every set. Each set begins at 0-0 with 0 points played. Which side a team starts a set on is settled by the toss rules (a new toss is held before a deciding set), not by the switch count.

The point of the rule is fairness outdoors: sun and wind can favour one end of the court, so switching every few points means neither team keeps the good side, or the bad one, for long. For the rest of the scoring, see the beach volleyball scoring guide.

Switch points at a glance

Every switch score in sets 1 and 2

These are all the scores at which the set is still going and the points played are a multiple of 7. Read them either way round: 4-3 and 3-4 are both a switch.

Every switch score in the deciding set

Worked example: a first set that goes past 21

Team A and Team B trade points and reach 21-all. Every seventh point is a switch, including the one that makes it 21-21, and the set ends 23-21 after 44 points.

So a set to 21 has at least 2 switches (a 21-0 set switches at 7 and 14 only), and 5 in a set that ends anywhere from 21-15 to 22-20. Past 20-all, every 7 more points adds one: a set won 23-21 has 6. For a finished set the count is (points played minus 1) divided by 7, rounded down, or divided by 5 in the deciding set.

Worked example: a deciding set

Edge cases

• The point that ends a set is never a switch. 21-0 is 21 points played, but the set is over. The same goes for 22-20 (42 points) and a deciding set won 15-10 (25 points).
• No cap. From 20-all (14-all in the deciding set) play goes on until one team leads by 2, and the switches keep coming: 21-21 is the sixth switch of the set, 25-24 the seventh.
• A missed switch. If the teams forget to change, they change as soon as the mistake is noticed and the score stays as it is (Rule 18.2). The rule counts points played, so the next switch is still due at the next multiple of 7, or 5 in the deciding set.
• Set 2 is not a deciding set. It goes to 21 with switches every 7, whoever won set 1. Only a third set, at one set all, goes to 15 with switches every 5.
• Time-outs do not move the count. Only points do, and this calculator does not track time-outs. Some competitions add an automatic technical time-out: the NCAA's 2025 beach volleyball rules modifications, for example, add one 60-second technical time-out in sets 1 and 2 when the teams' combined score reaches 21 points, and none in the deciding set. Check the rules of your event.

Indoor volleyball does it differently

Indoor volleyball has no rolling side switch. Under the FIVB Official Volleyball Rules 2025-2028, teams change courts after each set, except before the deciding set, which starts with a new toss. In the deciding fifth set they change once, as soon as either team reaches 8 points, and the player positions stay the same (Rule 18.2). Indoor counts one team's score, not the total: 8-3 and 6-8 both mean change, 7-7 does not.

More on the indoor game in how to keep score in volleyball.