We run outdoor beach leagues in the Spring and Summer and indoor leagues in the Spring, Fall, and Winter. Spring outdoor season usually starts in early May and runs through mid-July, and Summer starts around mid-July. Fall indoor leagues typically start in mid-October and finish up mid-December or early January. Winter usually begins mid-December or January and ends late February. Winter leagues do not play for two weeks around the Christmas and New Year's holidays. Spring indoor starts late February or early March and goes until early May. All timeframes are subject to the weather cooperating.

Basic Info

Some league information appears on this page. More is found in our Frequently Asked Questions and the rulebooks linked in the grey menu bar toward the top of the page. General club policies can be found at the bottom of this page in the Info & Help section.

Format

• Teams are co-ed and consist of six players on the court - at least two must be female
• Registration fees are based on 8 players per team and include eight shirts. Extra shirts are available at an additional cost
• Shirts, equipment, and referees are provided by MSSC
• Matches consist of three sets played to 21 points and use rally scoring
• Download the rulebooks linked in the grey bar toward the top of the page for full details on formats and rules

Registration and League Capacity

All leagues have a capacity and generally sell out. Sign up early if you want to play. Registration deadline: Generally ten days prior to the start date (if not already sold out). Beach leagues have been selling out 3-4 weeks before the start date.

Skill Level and Divisions

Teams and free agents self-select their skill level during registration, subject to MSSC review. We use standard volleyball skill levels. We'll form appropriate divisions based on the skill level of registered teams and players. Explanations of each skill level:

• A: Highly skilled players who excel at all phases of the game (blocking, setting, passing, serving, and hitting). Most likely played elite club and/or collegiately at some level. Understand how to run any offense (5-1, 6-2, 4-2) and play with positions. They cover the entire court well defensively and hit with power
• BB: Very proficient at all phases of the game. Some teams understand how to run an offense and play with positions, although many do not. Cover the court well defensively. Generally make accurate passes to the setter and many players hit with power
• B: Thorough understanding of the rules. Rarely commit ball handling violations (lifts, carries, double contact). Passes usually make it to the setter, although not always in the ideal position. They don’t run an offense and usually have one position on the court be setter (rather than one player). They get their serves in play the majority of the time
• C: General understanding of how to play, but likely don’t understand illegal contact rules or other nuances of the game. They may not utilize the setter position and typically don't use use the bump, set, spike technique. Their goal is to get the ball back over rather than place it strategically or hit with power. Many serves are underhand and/or don’t consistently get over the net or land in bounds. Many points are scored due to errors by one team rather than a good serve or hit by the opponent

Any team intending to play for prizes must register for at least BB. We've removed D level from the list of choices because it's not an actual skill level and very few teams have actually registered at that level. Volleyball is a difficult sport to play for true beginners, and we've found those teams generally don't have a good experience. Beginner teams are welcome to register if they wish, but should do so as C level going forward.

We are welcoming of players of all skill levels. Overall, our leagues tend to be at a lower level of competition than some others out there. Our indoor leagues tend to be at a higher level of play than our sand leagues. There is no guarantee we will be able to segment any given league into separate divisions.

Please be honest about your skill level, as teams of low skill don't enjoy getting destroyed by teams who are much better than them. MSSC reserves the right to move teams if we know how good they are and believe they chose the wrong skill level.

Which nights are the most (or least) competitive?

Leagues are ranked from most to least competitive as shown below. This could vary greatly from season to season. Rankings are based strictly on how captains registered their teams (not an objective eye test or some type of ratings metric).

Spring indoor 2026:

1. Monday East

2. Wednesday West  

3. Thursday West 

4. Thursday East 

5. Monday West 

6. Tuesday East

7. Wednesday East

8. Tuesday West 

All Tuesday and Thursday indoor leagues had C level divisions in at least the last three seasons.

Summer beach 2026 :

1. Monday 

2. Wednesday

3. Tuesday 

4. Thursday

All sand leagues had C level divisions in at least the last four seasons.

Teams seeking a higher level of competition may want to gravitate toward the leagues at the top of the list when registering for upcoming seasons. C level teams should avoid those leagues, as only one of the top four indoor leagues had a C division in at least the last two seasons. The majority of teams in any given league rate themselves as B level, and we discover many of these ratings aren't accurate. We encourage captains to re-read the definitions above and be more discerning about the team's skill level. Incorrect ratings cause problems when forming divisions and can result in a bad experience for players.

Individual Registration Details

• Please read our Free Agents page for tips and expectations when registering as an Individual
• Individuals may sign up and we will place you if we can. No payment is required at sign up; we will contact you if we have a spot for you and place you when payment is received
• Our sand leagues are very popular and sell out about a month before registration closes. We therefore don't place a lot of free agents in those leagues

Dates and Locations

• Spring and Summer outdoor leagues will be held at Olbrich Park and Demetral Park. Beginner teams (C level) will primarily play at Demetral. B level teams may play there as well depending on the composition of any given league
• We have indoor leagues on both sides of town. Locations vary and can be seen in the league postings further down this page
• Locations for any given league are not set in stone. They're subject to change at any time based on the whims of Madison Parks or the Madison school district. We often have leagues that end up changing facilities for one reason or another, and players should be prepared to play wherever the league is located

Scheduling

• Since it's asked all the time: Schedules are posted anywhere from 4-6 days before a given league begins. If you signed up for Tuesday nights, your team plays on Tuesdays nights, and you should be available for any time slot
• We don't play on major Federal holidays like Memorial Day, Labor Day, MLK Day, etc. Beach leagues don't play on July 4th, but do play every other day that week, so please take this into account when listing your team's availability during registration. Indoor leagues don't play the day before Thanksgiving or on Thanksgiving. They also don't play for two weeks around the Christmas and New Year's Holidays when schools are closed

Prizes and Other Benefits

These can change from season to season and will be communicated to all teams via email. Prizes are generally awarded in the following order:

1. Gift cards will awarded if the league has a sponsor bar
2. A credit to an upcoming season will be applied for leagues that don't have sponsor bars
3. MSSC “gift cards” will be issued if it's the last indoor or outdoor league for the season and the captain doesn't want to apply the credit to a different upcoming sport or league. They will also be issued if the team is not playing the upcoming season. The gift card is stored in the captain's Player Profile, is valid for any league, and doesn't expire

For complete details, please download the Rulebook linked in the grey bar at the top of this page. When you're ready to sign up, click the blue "Team" or "Individual" button below to register. Click the "More Info" button below for the full details on dates, start times, locations, etc.

Questions? Check out our FAQ or Contact Us.