candidate: Team size – two rather than six , with no substitutions allowed Scoring system – best of 3 sets played to 21 ( 15 for a deciding set ) rather than best of 5 to 25 Overhand touches and tips – open - hand dinks are illegal A block at the net counts as one of the three allowed touches in the beach game , but not in the indoor game Open - hand setting standards are different in the beach game – double hitting is called tighter but lifts are slightly more lenient Coaching during matches is not allowed There are no rotation errors on the beach – players may switch sides at will It is legal to cross under the net in beach volleyball as long as it does not interfere with opponents ' play Teams switch ends of the court every seven points , rather than between sets There is no Libero in beach like there is in indoor The only similarity in the courts used in the two forms of volleyball is the net .