High-level Volleyball Research Articles

Effect of repeated use of social media before training sessions on countermovement jumping and internal training load in high-level volleyball players

To verify the effect of repeated use of social media on smartphones immediately before countermovement jump (CMJ) and internal training load (ITL) training sessions in young male high-level volleyball athletes. 18 young international-level athletes participated in a randomized crossover study for a total of two weeks. The athletes are from the Brazilian under-19 team and were randomized into two experimental conditions, social media (SMA) and control (CON). SMA used social media for 30 minutes before training sessions for a week, while CON watched emotionally neutral videos. During this period, the ITL was analyzed using the session rating of perceived exertion (s-RPE) method. The CMJ was analyzed before, between, and after the two-week training. In the second week, the athletes reversed the experimental conditions. The CMJ was decreased after the training week (p = 0.04), but with no difference between the experimental conditions (p = 0.51). The ITL was not different between the experimental conditions after the analyzed training week (p = 0.95). Repeated use of social media on smartphones immediately before training sessions for a week was not enough to harm the CMJ, nor did it increase the ITL in young international-level volleyball athletes. Verificar el efecto del uso repetido de redes sociales en teléfonos inteligentes inmediatamente antes de las sesiones de entrenamiento en salto con contra-movimiento (SCM) y carga de entrenamiento interna (CEI) en jóvenes atletas masculinos de voleibol de alto nivel. 18 atletas jóvenes de notoriedad mundial participaron en un estudio cruzado y aleatorizado durante un total de dos semanas. Los atletas son de la selección brasileña sub-19 y fueron distribuidos aleatoriamente en dos condiciones experimentales, redes sociales (TEL) y control (CON). La TEL utilizó las redes sociales durante 30 minutos antes del entrenamiento durante una semana, mientras que la CON vio vídeos emocionalmente neutros. Durante este período, el CEI se analizó mediante el método de percepción subjetiva del esfuerzo de la sesión. El SCM se analizó antes e después del entrenamiento de una semana. En la segunda semana, los atletas invirtieron las condiciones experimentales. El SCM disminuyó después de la semana de entrenamiento (p = 0,04), pero sin diferencias entre las condiciones experimentales (p = 0,51). El CEI no fue diferente entre las condiciones experimentales después de la semana de entrenamiento analizada (p = 0,95). El uso repetido de las redes sociales en los teléfonos inteligentes inmediatamente antes del entrenamiento durante una semana no fue suficiente para afectar la SCM, ni aumentó la CEI en jóvenes atletas de voleibol de nivel internacional. Verificar o efeito do uso repetido de redes sociais em smartphones imediatamente antes de sessões de treinamento do salto com contramovimento (SCM) e carga interna de treinamento (CIT) em jovens atletas masculinos de voleibol de alto nível. 18 jovens atletas de nível internacional participaram de um estudo cruzado e randomizado durante um total de duas semanas. Os atletas são da seleção brasileira sub-19 e foram randomizados em duas condições experimentais, redes sociais (SMA) e controle (CON). O SMA usou as redes sociais por 30 minutos antes dos treinos durante uma semana, enquanto o CON assistia vídeos emocionalmente neutros. Nesse período, o CIT foi analisado através do método da percepção subjetiva do esforço da sessão (PSE-s). O SCM foi analisado antes, entre e após o treinamento de duas semanas. Na segunda semana, os atletas inverteram as condições experimentais. O SCM diminuiu após a semana de treinamento (p = 0,04), mas sem diferença entre as condições experimentais (p = 0,51). O CIT não foi diferente entre as condições experimentais após a semana de treinamento analisada (p = 0,95). O uso repetido de redes sociais em smartphones imediatamente antes dos treinos durante uma semana não foi suficiente para prejudicar o SCM, nem aumentou a CIT em jovens atletas de voleibol de nível internacional.

Wobble Board Performance: A Practical and Useful Quantification in Balance Assessment

Balance is integral in ankle injury prevention and therapy, especially in high-risk sports like volleyball. For balance assessment, the recommended wobble board (WB) performance (i.e., time at equilibrium) has never been compared with the gold standard. The objective was to investigate the relationships of force-plate-derived center of pressure (CoP) with WB performance and the accuracy of WB-derived CoP estimates. Twelve high-level volleyball players completed six unipedal standing trials on a computerized WB. WB tilt angles and CoP were obtained simultaneously via tri-axis accelerometers on the WB (200 Hz) and a force plate (1000 Hz), respectively. WB performance, polynomial-transformed CoP estimates, and CoP fractal sway, sway area, and mean sway velocity were assessed via Pearson and concordance correlation, root mean square errors, and dependent t-tests. WB performance was related with CoP sway and sway area (|rlinear| = 0.714–0.842, |rnonlinear| = 0.833–0.910, p < 0.01). The strongest concordance (0.878–0.893, p < 0.001) and smallest errors (6.5–10.7%) were reported for anterior–posterior sway and sway area. Moderate to excellent relationships between the WB performance and force plate CoP variables supported the usefulness of WB performance and estimates (especially sway area) in balance assessment. Furthermore, this study presents recommendations for future analyses and modeling approaches to reflect the complexity of postural control.

The Effect of Plyometric Training Program on Increasing Vertical Jump Ability in Volleyball Players

Purpose – This study aims to examine in depth the effect of plyometric training programs on improving vertical jumping ability in volleyball players. Design/methodology/approach – The research approach used in this study is a quantitative approach This type of research is a quasi-experimental, This research method involves a pre-test and post-test design with a control group. The population in this study is all high school level volleyball athletes in Bekasi city. Sample of 30 students. The data collection techniques used include vertical jump ability The data analysis techniques used are descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. Findings – This study proves that a plyometric training program significantly improves vertical jumping ability in high school level volleyball athletes in Bekasi city. The experimental group who underwent plyometric training showed a significantly greater increase in vertical jump height compared to the control group who underwent conventional training. These findings support the theories of muscle adaptation and the stretch-approach cycle, and are consistent with previous research showing the effectiveness of plyometric training in improving athletic performance. Limitasi/Novelty- Although this study has limitations, such as the small sample size and short duration of the intervention, the results provide strong empirical evidence that plyometric exercises can be an important component in volleyball training programs to optimize vertical jump performance.

Differences in Game Dynamics between High-Level Volleyball and Beach Volleyball Matches.

The aim of this research is to verify whether there is a difference in the average duration of the active and passive phases of the game between volleyball and beach volleyball. A total of 2392 active and passive phases were measured during high-level volleyball and beach volleyball matches for males. Matches were played by four teams (53 players) in indoor volleyball (age 29 ± 4.94 years) and five teams (10 players) in beach volleyball (age 28.27 ± 6.64 years). Possible differences were evaluated using the Mann-Whitney U test. The average duration of the active phase in volleyball is 5.55 s ± 4.38 s. In beach volleyball, the active phase lasts marginally longer, at 6.00 s ± 3.44 s. The average duration of the passive phase in volleyball is 35.27 s ± 25.96 s and it lasts longer than the average passive phase in beach volleyball at 33.82 s ± 22.98 s. The Mann-Whitney U test showed a statistically significant difference (p = 0.00) between the active phases in volleyball (Md = 3.53, n = 727) and beach volleyball (Md = 3.43, n = 484), U = 140770.00, z = -5.90 with small effect according to Cohen's criterion (r = 0.14). The Mann-Whitney U test (U = 160773.00, z = -1.10) showed no statistically significant difference in the average duration of the passive phases at volleyball and beach volleyball. This research determined that there is a statistically significant difference in the average duration of the active phase between volleyball and beach volleyball. The new insights gained in this research can support a more precise programming of training intensity in high-level volleyball and beach volleyball.

The Decision-Making of High-Level Volleyball Setters in the 2021-2022 Volleyball Men's Superliga: Does the Opponent Matter?

Our primary objective in this study was to investigate the offensive strategies employed in the attack phase of men's volleyball, specifically focusing on side-out as stratified by the type of confrontation that was determined by the opponent's team performance. We analyzed 5524 attacking actions during 22 games of the 12 teams that participated in the Volleyball Men's Superliga (season 2021-2022). Based on their final rankings in the championship, we classified these teams into three tiers: high-performance, intermediate-performance, and low-performance. Subsequently, we examined the dynamics of these matches using Social Network Analysis. We found that the opponent teams' performance levels did not influence the game dynamics. Notably, the eigenvector values were prominently higher for Attack Zones 2 and 4, wherein the middle-blocker jumped to attack close to the setter across all networks. Thus, setters opted for traditional and low-risk strategies to minimize errors, disregarding available information about the skill level of the opposing team, making their offensive tactics predictable.

Effects of outdoor volleyball exercise on cardiorespiratory function under a heavy haze environment

Haze has been one of the originators of the impact on human health. It is noteworthy that all functions of the human body can decline or even fail in a heavy haze environment. In this paper, the environmental monitoring website was used to count the data of meteorological and other natural factors as well as socio-economic influencing factors in the target cities over the past year. On this basis, the spatial and temporal distribution patterns of heavy haze weather were analyzed and studied. For the 100 volunteers who had been exposed to heavy haze pollution for a long time, the physical activity time of volleyball was classified into four levels using the quadratic method. Apart from that, a mixed linear model with fixed and random effects was constructed to explore the effects on cardiorespiratory fitness after outdoor volleyball exercise under a heavy haze environment. According to the model analysis results, the outdoor volleyball exercise had a significant interaction effect on pulmonary ventilation function in men only. Moreover, volleyball could be beneficial to the target group when the physical activity had not yet reached the level of high-level volleyball physical activity. This resulted in an improvement of 0.2L, 0.04L, 1.19%, and 0.03L in their pulmonary ventilation function indexes, respectively. However, the negative effects of a heavy haze environment were heavier after reaching a high-level degree. In addition, the indicator kept decreasing, from 2.04L, 1.13L, 63.63%, 1.99L to 1.98L, 1.04L, 60.78%, and 1.83L, respectively.

Індивідуальна факторна структура підготовленості кваліфікованих волейболісток

Мета дослідження полягала у розробці індивідуальних факторних моделей фізичної підготовленості волейболісток високого класу різного ігрового амплуа. Матеріал і методи. У дослідженні взяли участь 12 гравців жіночої команди “Харків’янка” м. Харкова Волейболістки тестувались за 10 показниками педагогічними педагогічного тестування: Біг до 4-х точок; Біг для визначення швидкості переміщення по волейбольній площадці на відстань 30 м (9-3-6-3-9 м); Стрибок у висоту з місця; Стрибок у висоту з розбігу; Метання набивного м'яча з вихідного положення сидячі; Метання набивного м'яча з вихідного положення лежачі; Підйоми тулуба із положення лежачи на спині за 20 с (кількість разів); Підйоми тулуба із положення лежачи на животі за 20 с (кількість разів); Згинання-розгинання рук в упорі лежачі за 20 с (кількість разів); Стрибок у довжину з місця. Отримані дані математично оброблялися із застосуванням методів факторного аналізу, на основі чого будувалися індивідуальні факторні моделі гравців. Результати. На підставі факторного аналізу була визначена структура підготовленості кваліфікованих волейболісток, у якій виявилося чотири виражених фактори: швидкісно-силова підготовленість, відносна сила, спеціальна витривалість, швидкісна витривалість. Визначено модель належності гравців до амплуа згідно до визначеної факторної структури: у нападників першого темпу на перший план виступають такі фактори, як швидкісно-силова підготовленість та відносна сила, у нападників другого темпу – швидкісно-силова підготовленість та швидкісна витривалість, у зв'язок – швидкісна витривалість та спеціальна витривалість, у ліберо – відносна сила та спеціальна витривалість. Висновок. Користуючись розробленою схемою, індивідуальними факторними моделями гравців та розробленою шкалою оцінок показників тестування, можна визначити індивідуальні потенціальні можливості різних гравців до гри в різних амплуа.

Inter e intra-variability of the best ranked teams: A network analysis in male high-level volleyball.

The present research objective was to analyze the offensive phase from Complex I in high-level male volleyball teams in a macro- and micro-level view, through the inter e intra-team variability analysis of eight best teams of the 2018 Men's Volleyball World Championship over the social network analysis and eigenvector centrality. The sample consisted of 22 matches and 2,743 offensive actions, resulting in 8 sub-networks with 368 nodes and 6221 edges. The results showed from macro view the variables that presented highest centrality values were Attack Zone 4 (range 0.56-0.90), Attack Tempo 2 (0.65-0.87), Power Attack (0.62-0.94), No Touch Block (0.61-1), Attack Effect Continuity (0.59-0.94), and Middle Blocker Centralized (0.60-0.95). In a micro view, Reception Effect, Play Position, Reception Zone, and Block Composition showed high variability in each sub-network. The intra- and inter-team variability presented the importance of to respect each team idiosyncrasies and to consider the different approaches to the game and success.

Can Prolongate Use of Social Media Immediately Before Training Worsen High Level Male Volleyball Players' Visuomotor Skills?

Our aim was to analyze the effect of mental fatigue caused by prolonged social media use on high-level volleyball players' visuomotor skills. Eighteen high-level male young volleyball players participated in this randomized, counterbalanced, crossover design. All participants underwent a 2-week experiment in which we measured their response times when performing a visuomotor task with and without mental fatigue inducement through repeated use of social media immediately before training sessions. In the control condition, participants watched TV for 30-minutes, and in the social media condition, they used a social media app (Instagram®) on smartphones for 30-minutes. We found a significant Condition x Time interaction on visuomotor task response time (p = 0.03), but there was no significant main effect of either Time or Condition. Mental fatigue, induced by repeated app-based social media use for 30-minutes immediately before training sessions, affected elite male volleyball players' visuomotor skills.

Effects of Postactivation Performance Enhancement on The Vertical Jump in High-Level Volleyball Athletes.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of a training session with and without an intervention of postactivation performance enhancement (PAPE) on countermovement jump (CMJ) height, perceived recovery status (PRS), and ratings of perceived exertion (RPEs), followed by a specific volleyball training session. The sample consisted of sixteen professional male volleyball players, with an average age of 26.8±6.1 years and average height of 195.9±6.7 cm, randomly divided into a group with PAPE intervention (GPAPE) (n=8), and a control group (CTRL) without PAPE intervention (n=8). The control group carried out the training session with plyometric exercises, and the GPAPE added conditioning protocols for PAPE to plyometric training, followed by a technical tactical volleyball session. At the end of the training session, there was an increase of 16.3% in the height of the CMJ in the GPAPE, while the CTRL showed a decrease of 5% in the height of the CMJ. PRS and RPE variables did not differ between the groups. It was concluded that PAPE had a positive effect on the height of the vertical jump after plyometric training, which was maintained until the end of the technical and tactical volleyball session.

An Artificial Neural Network Predicts Setter's Setting Behavior in Volleyball Similar or Better than Experts

Artificial neural networks (ANN) are able to detect patterns in sports games. The aim of the present study is to predict the setting speed and its target area within the complex I in volleyball using ANN. For the analysis, 289 rallies from one setter of the 2nd Austrian Volleyball League Women were considered. Player positions and ball trajectory data prior to the setter's pass were recorded. Subsequently, ANN software NeuroDimension was trained with 60% of the datasets to predict the target area and setting speed (supervised learning). The rest was used for cross-validation (15%) and predictions (25%). The accordance of the predicted and the real values was assessed by the percentage of correct predictions. To rate the prediction quality, the results of the ANN were compared with predictions from high-level volleyball coaches. The ANN correctly predicted the target area in 68.1% and the setting speed in 79.2%, which was significantly higher than by chance (p<0.01). The accuracy of the ANN-predicted target areas was 2.8% higher than from coaches (not significant). The ANN's prediction rate for the setting speed was significantly higher by 14.6%. Information from ANN predictions could be helpful to support coaches to train the athlete's skills to anticipate opponents’ playing actions and to train the setter of the own team.

Burnout and Coping Perceptions of Volleyball Players Throughout an Annual Sport Season.

Burnout is a psychological syndrome of reaction to chronic stress that occurs in athletes who feel exhausted by a sport activity that was previously pleasurable and enjoyable. One technique to prevent and control the syndrome is through coping, which is the ability to deal with stressful situations. In contrast to traditional cross-sectional approaches, this study aimed to investigate burnout and coping strategy characteristics over time and to analyze the relationship between burnout dimensions and coping strategies. Fifty-four high-level volleyball athletes (twenty-eight men and twenty-six women, age M = 25.57, SD = 4.72, range 18-35) completed paper-and-pencil measures of burnout and coping four times throughout a sport season. The Friedman test presented a significant increase in the reduced sense of athletic accomplishment (X2 = 20.58; p < 0.01) and sport devaluation (X2 = 19.83; p < 0.01) perceptions during the season. However, no coping differences were observed through the longitudinal analysis. Burnout dimensions showed a moderate inverse correlation to confidence/motivation at all measurement points during the season. Overall, the findings suggest that burnout perceptions increase as the season progresses, highlighting the relevance for the periodization of burnout prevention and control

Team Category and Gender Differences of Resilience among High-Level Volleyball Players

SUMMARY&#x0D; The objective of this study was to investigate the difference in resilience level of high-level volleyball players. Ninety-eight volleyball players (National team players U21, Pre-League and Second Division A2 teams’ players) participated to the study (fifty females and forty-eight males). The Self Evaluation Resilience test was used for the study. The data were analyzed with SPSS 21.0 using t-test for independent samples, and one-way ANOVA with post hoc Bonferroni adjustment test. Results showed statistically significant differences between the males and females volleyball players in variables ‘‘orientation on solution and aims’’’ and ‘‘self-efficacy’’. Additionally, statistically significant differences were observed in the variables ‘‘orientation on solution and aims’’, ‘‘healthy lifestyle’’ and ‘‘self-efficacy’’ according to players team category. Future research should investigate if the behavior of the coach in the team, or the team category affects the resilience level of the players

Towards a More Efficient Training Process in High-Level Female Volleyball From a Match Analysis Intervention Program Based on the Constraint-Led Approach: The Voice of the Players.

The aim of the research was to know the perception of high-level volleyball players of the changes produced (in relation to the previous season) in the efficiency of the training process, after a match analysis intervention program based on the Constraint-led Approach (CLA). The sample consisted of 11 players from a women's volleyball team. The protocol of the intervention program consisted of providing objective, contextualised and systematic information to the coach (adapted to his needs) that would allow understanding the different real game contexts. We used semi-structured interviews to assess players' perceptions. The athletes perceived changes in training, both in their preparation and development, specifically in greater involvement and organisation in preparing the training; in an increase in the specificity and suitability of training tasks according to individual needs; in the representativeness of the restrictions of the game; in a more tactical approach; in the variability of task and in the accountability to achieve the objective proposed. In addition, in the preparation and development for competition, the players detected more game planning; a deeper analysis of the opponents; an objective selection of the most relevant data, an increase in the depth of match analysis and the inclusion of the weekly meeting with the use of video compared to the previous season. These results expose the benefits of coaches incorporate programmes to obtain objective information about the game in their training process.

The Attack in Volleyball from the Perspective of Social Network Analysis: Refining Match Analysis through Interconnectivity and Composite of Variables

This study aimed to develop an instrument for analysing the attack in high-level volleyball considering the refined variables adjacent to the attack action, the interconnection between direct and indirect actions, the impact of the previous action, and the formation of composite variables. The game complexes were approached as interacting subsystems. The primary goal was to understand the influence of game actions adjacent to the attack. Three matches of a National Women’s 1st Division 2018/2019 (nine sets, 415 plays) were analysed, considering all game complexes (except attack coverage due to reduced occurrence). An Eigenvector Centrality network with 420 nodes and 7367 edges was created. The networks showed that ideal setting conditions, and strong attacks by the outside and opposite hitters without having received a perfect ball, were central in side-out. In transition, we highlight ideal setting conditions, preferences of the outside hitter, quick attacks in Z4, and high balls in Z2. This study is distinct because it considers different aspects related to the systemic review of the game by using composite variables and the actions prior to the attack. Of these results, we highlight that players attacked with slower tempos for the double action of receive-attack, and these were either preferably directed to the parallel or explored the block. Moreover, for the double defence-attack actions, attackers sought the soft spike in Z2, Z4, and Z8; and when two consecutive individual errors occurred, the players did not err but instead continued to attack to force the opponent’s error.

Assessing Resilience in Youth (U16) Volleyball National Teams

The objective of this study was to investigate the resilience of youth high level volleyball players. Forty-eight volleyball national team players U16 from Greece and Romania participated to the study (18 females and 30 males). The Self Evaluation Resilience test was used for the study. The data were analyzed with SPSS 21.0 using one-way ANOVA with post hoc Bonferroni adjustment test. Results showed statistically significant differences between the males and females national team volleyball players in variables ‘‘healthy lifestyle’’ and ‘‘self-efficacy’’. It was concluded that coaches and volleyball players should recognize that female’s volleyball players focused more in healthy life style and having less self-efficacy comparing to same aged male’s volleyball players.

The Effect of Gluteal Muscle Activation Training on the Jumping Ability of High-level Volleyball Players

배구의 점프력은 스매싱, 블로킹 등 기술적 동작에서 크게 필요하다. 본 연구의 목적은 준비 활동 중 엉덩이 근육을 활성화하여 튕기는 능력을 향상시킬 수 있는지를 시험하는 것이다. 본 논문에서는 푸젠사범대 고등훈련배구단 소속 남자 선수 12명을 대상으로 8주간의 엉덩이 근육 활성화 훈련 실험을 실시했다. 스쿼트 점프(SJ), 카운터 무브먼트 점프 (CMJ), 어프로치 점프(AJ)를 포함한 3가지 바운스 형태의 관련 지표를 FMS 테스트 데이터와 함께 사용하고, SPSS 22.0 데이터 처리 소프트웨어를 사용하여 실험 전, 후에 실험 그룹과 제어 그룹의 피험자를 비교하였다. 독립적인 샘플링 으로, 엉덩이 근육 활성화 훈련은 선수의 FMS 총점을 향상시키고, 스포츠 부상 방지에 효과적이며, 코어 근육 그룹의 안정성과 선수의 튕기는 능력을 향상시키는 것으로 결론지어진다.

COMPARISON BETWEEN STATISTICAL PARAMETERS OF ATTACK AND DEFENCE IN HIGH VOLLEYBALL PERFORMANCE (CSM VOLEI ALBA BLAJ IN THE CEV CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL FOUR 2018)

The research focused on analyzing the parameters of attack and defense at a high-level volleyball game in the Final Four Women CEV Champions League. The methods for analyzing the results were Student t, Mann-Whitney, and Wilcoxon Test. The results of the investigation showed that significant statistical differences were found between the total number of attacks from the two games. Conclusions of the research showed that analyzing all the compartments of the volleyball game can objectively discover the strong points and weaknesses of our game and improve future results.

Correlations of time indicators of thigh rheogram with anthropometric dimensions in volleyball players of different somatotypes

The constitutional features of the organism are an essential lever of sports performance, because they affect the general and special physical performance, aerobic productivity and efficiency of energy supply systems, in particular the indicators of central and peripheral hemodynamics. The aim of the study was to establish the features of the relationships between the temporal parameters of the rheovasogram of the thigh and anthropometric indices in highly qualified young women volleyball players, who belong to different constitutional types. An anthropo-somatotypological study of 113 high-level volleyball players of youth age (from 16 to 20 years old) was conducted. Anthropometric research was carried out by the method of V.V. Bunak (1941), somatotypological – by the calculated modification of the method of Heath-Carter (1990). According to the results of somatotyping, it was found that 29 volleyball players belonged to the mesomorphic type of constitution, to the ectomorphic type – 26 volleyball players, to the ecto-mesomorphic type – 27 volleyball players, to the middle intermediate type – 26 volleyball players, to endo-mesomorphic type – only 5 people. Rheovasographic parameters of the thigh were determined using tetrapolar rheocardiography on a computer diagnostic complex. Estimation of temporal rheovasographic parameters was performed according to the method of Ronkin and Ivanov [1997]. The analysis of the obtained results was performed in the licensed program “Statistica 5.5” using Spearman’s correlation analysis. We found that in volleyball players of mesomorphs with indicators of external body structure, the temporal parameters of the thigh rheovasogram had few reliable mostly medium strength, direct correlations, except for the time of the ascending part of the rheogram and slow blood supply. In volleyball players of ectomorphic somatotype, the established relationships indicate that with increasing diameters of the pelvis and girth of the forearm, crus, thighs, there will be an elongation of the time parameters of the rheovasogram of the thigh. Volleyball players with an ecto-mesomorphic somatotype of the body showed a fairly large number of reliable inverse correlations, the thickness of the skin and fat folds is inversely proportional to the most time parameters of the thigh rheovasogram, except for the time of slow blood supply. Volleyball players of the intermediate somatotype, compared with other observation groups, found the most numerous relationships between anthropometric size and time indicators of the rheovasogram.

Current trends of the serve skill in relation to the in-game roles of the elite volleyball players: Comparison between genders

The aim of this study was to investigate the current trends of the serve skill for each one of the in-game roles of the players for both genders in high-level volleyball. The serve actions of male (M) and female (F) elite players from 20 volleyball games (M = 10, F = 10) of the final phase World League 2018 were assessed. The analysed variables were comprised of the serve type, the serving area (SA), the serve direction, the in-game role of the server and the serve performance. Results showed that men mainly preferred the power jump serve from the areas behind zones 1 (SA1) and 6 (SA6), while they directed them to the back of the court and made more mistakes than women. Women preferred the floating jump serve directed to the left central part of the court. Regarding the in-game roles of the men, the receivers-attackers and the middle-attackers carried out their serves from SA1 and SA6 more frequently compared to women who preferred to use the serve area behind zone 5 (SA5) more frequently than men. Additionally, women opposites and setters chose to use the SA1 more frequently and the SA5 and SA6 less frequently in comparison to their men counterparts.