Determinants of block cohesiveness and attack efficacy in high-level women's volleyball

Abstract

Analysing the performance of a team is important for optimizing the training process, thus improving the quality of practice. The interactions between the two opposing teams generate specific dynamical interactions, leading to the emergence of unique game patterns, which are of interest in such analyses. Hence, the purpose of the present study is to analyse probabilistic relationships that might predict certain outcomes relating to block cohesiveness and attack efficacy in elite-level women's volleyball. Six volleyball matches from the 2006 FIVB Women's World Championships were analysed, producing a total of 650 sequences. A multinomial logistic regression was applied, with the level of significance determined at α = 0.05. The results clearly suggest that one of the most important cues for the blockers to analyse is the availability of the opponent's middle-attacker for quick attacks. This emphasizes the notion of availability, a functional concept of the greatest importance. Regarding anticipation strategies from the block, they are justifiable when the opponent pulls a quick one-foot attack behind the setter, since it diminishes the probability of an attack point or positive attack. In conclusion, it is the effective availability of a player to execute a certain action, and the type of that availability, that will induce different types of response strategies, whether wait and react, or a multitude of specific anticipation movements. Research should take this into consideration, exploring new and particular forms of availability and of anticipation movements, providing a higher in-depth view of game dynamics.