Of course! We are open to the public. What separates us from the "other guys" is that we rate our players and provide various divisions of play to preserve the integrity of the games. So if you are an advanced player and sign up for an advance open session, you can count that everyone you are playing with is at similar skill set with you. You won't be playing with beginners on your team. We provide a recreational outlet but also promote and regulate a competitive side. If you want to play great volleyball, you have found the right place.

Yes you can. If a player would like to play in any LAVO event for the first time and has not yet been rated, one of two options will be applied. Either the player will automatically be assigned a provisional score of the maximum point value for the division they are going to participate in or be given the middle point value equivalent (MPE) by another recognized organization (USAV, NAGVA). For example, if you are rated in "BB" in NAGVA, you will be assigned a rating of D3/65. Once we get an opportunity to see you play, we will adjust the rating accordingly (up to 70 or down to 60 depending on skill).

If you do not have a NAGVA or USAV rating, we will assign a provisional rating for you until such NAGVA or USAV rating is acquired. This provisional rating will be noted with an asterisk (*) next to your rating (i.e. D3/65*)

Attending an open play session. If you have a NAGVA or USAV rating already, we'll honor it, however we'll also assign a numerical rating to adjust for player skill level.

A BB-rated player in NAGVA will be given any of the 3 following scores based on skill.​ 60 (low BB), 65 (mid BB), or 70 (high BB) based on our subjective evaluation of skill. For example, a player who is a strong BB hitter, but lacks a little skill on defense will most likely get a 65 rating.

The system consists of numerical scores given to all participants which determine a player's rating. The scores are measured on three key areas of the game; defense, offense, and strategy. In defense for example, the player is rated in skills such as passing, digging, and blocking. The offense criterion includes serving, setting, and hitting while the strategy component measures the player's knowledge base or specialization of the game.

So, what does this all mean? The higher score, the more consistent the player is. Keep in mind that all questions in each area are progressive, and very rarely will you see players skip this progression.

Once a player has received their rating score, he/she may join any team for any event without fear of being restricted during play.

Absolutely! Now that you know how to obtain your own individual rating, you may add players from the directory to your roster for league and tournaments.

All players are allowed to play one division lower than their rating and any division higher*. In other words, if you are a division 1 (D1) player, you can play D2, but not D3, D4, or D5.

*Players may play a higher level during league and tournaments only; this does not apply to open gym. For more info, follow our open gym guidelines.

Each team may be composed of UP TO two (2) higher-rated players in each division.

For example - a D3 team may have up to two (2) D2 players on their roster and any number of D3, D4, or D5 rated players. This D3 team may not have ANY D1 rated players.

No. LAVO management will be making changes to ratings following NAGVA's current database. Changes will be made as players progress and their skills improve.