A pool of three is the shortest pool there is: three matches on one court, and each team plays twice and works once.
3 matches in 3 rounds, 9:00 am to about 11:15 am (2 hr 15 min). Each team plays 2 and works 1.
Show one team's day
Type scores as matches finish. The table re-sorts with the tiebreakers you pick.
USA Volleyball style: match record, head-to-head, set %, point %.
| Place | Team | Matches | Sets | Set % | Points | Point % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team 1 | ||||||
| Team 2 | ||||||
| Team 3 |
Names and scores are saved in this browser.
The team sitting out each match works it, so every team plays two matches and works one. The team that works first plays the last two matches back to back.
With only two matches each, a single set can decide a finish. That is why many junior events play all three sets in a pool of three, even when one team has already won two. The USA Volleyball tie-break flow chart says ties in a 3-team pool are broken the usual way, so record every set.
Events don't all use the same rules, so pick yours above the standings. The USA Volleyball tie-break flow chart for junior qualifiers goes: match record first. Two tied teams are split by their head-to-head match. With three or more, a team that beat all the others goes first and one that lost to all of them goes last; then set percentage (sets won out of sets played), then point percentage. Volleyball World events rank on matches won, then match points, then set ratio (sets won divided by sets lost), then point ratio, then the match between the tied teams. Their match points (3 for a 3-0 or 3-1 win, 2 for 3-2, 1 for a 2-3 loss) are for best of 5. For best of 3 the international option uses FIVB's best-of-3 scale: 2 for a win, 1 for a loss. Once every match is played that can't change the order, so set ratio does the work. Regions set their own order too: Ohio Valley's pool sheets use match record, set percentage, then point differential, and never use head-to-head in a three-way tie. Many rec pools count sets won (a count, not a percentage), which the "Sets won first" option does.
With two pools, the usual finish is a crossover: each pool winner plays the other pool's runner-up, and the winners meet in the final. The third-place teams work the crossovers, and the loser of the first crossover works the final.
Seed the pools in a snake so they are even: pool A gets seeds 1, 4, 5, 8 and pool B gets 2, 3, 6, 7. With 6 to 8 teams, pick 2 pools above to get both pools, the crossovers and the final on one sheet.
Three. Each team plays the other two once and works the match it sits out.
Often yes. Some events have 3-team pools play all three sets, because with so few matches the extra set helps separate the teams. Set the format to best of 3 and type every set you play.
At about 45 minutes a match, roughly 2 hours 15 minutes on one court.