Women's Volleyball Research Articles

Treatment Discrimination among Assistant Coaches of Women's Teams

The purpose of this study was to examine organizational treatment discrimination (i.e., when members of a group receive fewer rewards, opportunities, or resources than they legitimately deserve based on job-related criteria) in the context of women's athletics. Data were collected from 170 assistant coaches of women's teams (i.e., women's basketball, softball, track, volleyball, soccer, and tennis). Results indicate that women's perceived work experiences and outcomes were comparable, and sometimes better, than those of men. We present competing explanations for this finding. First, it is possible that these women were not subjected to treatment discrimination. Alternatively, it is possible that this demonstrates the existence of the “paradox of the contented working woman.” Additional analyses indicate that work experiences explained a large portion of the variance in organizational commitment and turnover intentions, thereby demonstrating their importance in the workplace.

Electromyography Activity of Vastus Lateralis Muscle During Whole-Body Vibrations of Different Frequencies

The aim of this study was to analyze electromyography (EMG) responses of vastus lateralis muscle to different whole-body vibration frequencies. For this purpose, 16 professional women volleyball players (age, 23.9 ± 3.6 years; height, 182.5 ± 11.1 cm; weight, 78.4 ± 5.6 kg) voluntarily participated in the study. Vibration treatment was administered while standing on a vibrating platform with knees bent at 100° (Nemes Bosco-system, Rome, Italy). EMG root mean square (rms) and was recorded for 60 seconds while standing on the vibrating plate in the following conditions: no vibrations and 30-, 40-, and 50-Hz vibration frequencies in random order. The position was kept for 60 seconds in each treatment condition. EMGrms was collected from the vastus lateralis muscle of the dominant leg. Statistical analysis showed that, in all vibration conditions, average EMGrms activity of vastus lateralis was higher than in the no-vibration condition. The highest EMGrms was found at 30 Hz, suggesting this frequency as the one eliciting the highest reflex response in vastus lateralis muscle during whole-body vibrations in half-squat position. An extension of these studies to a larger population appears worthwhile to further elucidate the responsiveness of the neuromuscular system to whole-body vibrations administered through vibrating platforms and to be able to develop individual treatment protocols.

Epidemiological Considerations of Concussions Among Intercollegiate Athletes

The purpose of this study was to examine epidemiological trends of concussions among 15 different intercollegiate sports during the 1997-1998, 1998-1999, and 1999-2000 seasons. Data were collected using the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Injury Surveillance System (ISS). For the 15 sports studied during the 3 academic years, the NCAA ISS documented 3,535 team-seasons, 40,547 reportable injuries, 5,566,924 practice athlete exposures (AEs), and 1,090,298 game AEs. Concussions accounted for 6.2% of all reported injuries during this 3-year study. Of all the reported injuries, women lacrosse players (13.9%) reported the highest percentage of suffering a concussion during a game followed by women's soccer (11.4%), men's ice hockey (10.3%), men's lacrosse (10.1%), football (8.8%), women's basketball, (8.5%), field hockey (7.2%), men's soccer (7.0%), wrestling (6.6%), men's basketball (5.0%), baseball (4.2%), and women's volleyball (4.1%). Female athletes from all 7 sports were found to be at a lower risk for suffering concussions during practice sessions than the 8 male sports. However, female athletes were found to be at a greater risk for suffering concussions during games compared to male athletes. Injury trends over the 3-year period indicate concussions continue to be on the rise for athletes participating in collegiate football, men's soccer, and women's and men's basketball.

Development of Volleyball in Hong Kong

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.Volleyball was first introduced to China in 1905. Nanwu College in Guangzhou and Queen's College in Hong Kong started to play volleyball in their schools. Since then, volleyball had been very popular in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong and Kowloon Volleyball Association was formed in 1951 and began to promote volleyball in a systematic manner. International competitions were held since 1976, including the World Women's Volleyball Challenge Cup in 1983 and International Beach Volleyball Championships in 1990. After the return of sovereignty to China, the Hong Kong and Kowloon Volleyball Association was renamed as Volleyball Association of Hong Kong, China which has since then organized many volleyball promotional programmes in Hong Kong with the support of the International Volleyball Federation.1905年排球運動傳入中國，廣州南武中學及香港皇仁書院最先打排球，香港排球運動蓬勃，人材輩出。1951年，港九排球聯會成立後，開始有計劃及系統地發展排球運動。1976年起主辦國際賽事，1983年首辦世界女排超霸盃：掀起全港排球熱潮。1990年引入沙灘排球，成為新的發展項目。1997年香港回歸中國後，香港排球總會積極配合國際排聯的新世紀排球發展計劃，使本港的排球活動更加多元化。

JUMP ANALYSIS OF A COLLEGIATE WOMEN??S VOLLEYBALL TEAM

Vertical jumping ability is used as an assessment of power output and is an essential component to the success of volleyball players. Jump analysis of athletes provides useful information that is used by coaches to prescribe training protocols. PURPOSE: This study compared height, weight, vertical and actual jump height (with and without arm swing), and propulsion time of a intercollegiate (Division I) volleyball team with a national women's team. In addition, the effect of arm swing and influence of propulsion time, height, and weight on vertical jump were analyzed. METHODS: Eight members of the 2000 Syracuse University women's volleyball team (19.6 +/− 1.18yrs, 178.6 +/− 4.24cm, 70.1 +/− 4.1kg) participated in the study. Data previously obtained from 18 women from a US National volleyball team (23.1 +/− 2.24yrs, 183.8 +/− 5.75cm, 74.8 +/− 4.88 kg) was used as a comparison. Subjects performed 6 jumps on a force platform, 3 jumps with arm swing and 3 without. Actual (AH) and vertical (VH) jump heights were recorded using a Vertec for the three jumps with an arm swing. Jump height and propulsion time was also analyzed using the force plate data from the 3 jumps with arm swing (AS) and the 3 jumps without (NAS). RESULTS: The Syracuse University team had significantly greater jump height (59.4 +/− 4.4cm VH, 36.8 +/− 6.22 NAS) when compared to the US team (53.4 +/− 5.0cm VH, 31.1 +/− 3.2 NAS, p < 0.05). However, the US team had significantly greater actual jump height and smaller propulsion times (296.5 +/− 9.8cm AH, 0.261 +/− 0.039s) when compared to the Syracuse team (288.6 +/− 6.3cm AH, 0.303 +/− 0.037s, p < 0.05). Arm swing was found to contribute 11 and 19% of vertical jump height for the Syracuse and US team, respectively. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that actual jump height and propulsion time may be more important than vertical jump to the success of volleyball players.

Comparing Self-Regulatory Processes Among Novice, Non-Expert, and Expert Volleyball Players: A Microanalytic Study

Differences in self-regulatory processes of 30 college women who were volleyball Experts, Non-Experts, or Novices were studied regarding overhand serving skill during a practice episode. It was hypothesized that Experts would display better goals, planning, strategy use, self-monitoring, self-evaluation, attributions, and adaptation than either Non-Experts or Novices. It was also hypothesized that Experts would display higher self-efficacy beliefs, perceived instrumentality, intrinsic interest, and self-satisfaction in volleyball serving than either Non-Experts or Novices. All hypotheses were supported. The combined 12 measures of self-regulation predicted 90 percent of the variance in the women's volleyball serving skill. The findings are discussed according to a three-phase model of self-regulation, and recommendations are made for future research.

A Study of Line-up Analysis in International Women's Volleyball Games

A Study of Line-up Analysis in International Women's Volleyball Games

EFFECTS OF IN-SEASON STRENGTH AND POWER TRAINING ON SQUAT JUMP PERFORMANCE IN NCAA WOMEN VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of four weeks of in-season strength and power training on the ability to rapidly develop force during jumping. Twelve women volleyball players competing in NCAA Division I were tested before and after four weeks of in-season strength and power training which involved traditional heavy resistance training and Olympic-style lifts. Testing involved a concentric only squat jump performed on a force plate interfaced to a computer, which recorded vertical ground reaction force. Several measures of the athletes' ability to develop force were calculated including time to peak force, maximum rate of force development, peak and average force over the concentric phase. Comparing the pre to post training results, there was a significant decrease in the time to peak force of 36% (0.366 +/− 0.006 s pre vs. 0.229 +/− 0.006 s post), a 4.2% increase in peak force produced (1435 +/− 126 N pre vs. 1496 +/− 202 N post), and a 9.5% increase in average concentric force (540 +/− 54 N pre vs. 593 +/− 89 N post). However, there was no change in the rate of force development determined as the steepest increase in force over a 30ms epoch. From these results, it appears that a mixed-methods training regimen involving both basic strength movements, as well as Olympic-style power training, is effective for increasing the athletes' ability to rapidly attain a high level of force during the concentric phase of a vertical jump. Further, these improvements have been elicited despite a heavy in-season practice and competition schedule. The fact that mRFD did not change may be attributed to the type of training undertaken during this period in which plyometric and ballistic resistance training were limited. However, it should be noted that the heavy resistance training did not reduce mRFD either. The lack of change may also be due to the high variance in this measure which was determined dynamically rather isometrically as has been done previously. Practically, dynamic strength and the ability to rapidly increase force can be maintained or even increased in-season through appropriate resistance training.

A Study of Line-up Analysis in International Women's Volleyball Games

A Study of Line-up Analysis in International Women's Volleyball Games

Match Analysis Based on Rotation Phases in International Women's Volleyball Games (No.2)

Match Analysis Based on Rotation Phases in International Women's Volleyball Games (No.2)

Match Analysis Based on Rotation Phases in International Women's Volleyball Games (No.1)

Match Analysis Based on Rotation Phases in International Women's Volleyball Games (No.1)

Precompetition anxiety in women volleyball players: a test of ZOF theory in a team sport.

Consistency in psychological factors is widely regarded to be important for successful performance in team sports, but the Zone of Optimal Function (ZOF) theory contends that athletes should exhibit considerable variability in the level of anxiety that will optimize performance. In an attempt to determine if tenets of ZOF theory held for athletes in a team sport, anxiety was measured using Spielberger's state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI) at the baseline and before easy and difficult competitions in nine members of a collegiate women's volleyball team. The ability to predict precompetition anxiety was assessed by having the athletes complete the STAI both 3 weeks and 2 days before each match according to how they thought they would feel 1 h before competition. Each athlete also completed the STAI on the basis of how she recalled feeling before her best competition. Four anxiety units were added and subtracted from this value to establish the ZOF of each player. Actual precompetition anxiety was assessed 1 h before each match. In accordance with ZOF theory, considerable variability was found in the range of optimal anxiety, and 55.5% of the team members reported performing best at either low or high levels of anxiety. The prediction of precompetition anxiety made 2 days before competition was significantly correlated to actual anxiety for the difficult match (r = 0.69, P < 0.05) but not the easy match (r = 0.21, P > 0.05). Predictions made 3 weeks before competition were not significant (P > 0.05). More (P < 0.05) of the player possessed anxiety levels within the ZOF for the difficult match compared with the easy match (77.7% versus 22.2%). In summary, athletes in the team sport of volleyball exhibit considerable variation in optimal precompetition anxiety in accordance with ZOF theory. As posited by ZOF theory, the athletes were able to predict anxiety before a difficult match accurately and were more likely to have anxiety levels with ZOF.

A study of two kinds of arm-swinging in the front spike of the chinese women volleyball team players

A study of two kinds of arm-swinging in the front spike of the chinese women volleyball team players

女性バレーボールクラブ・メンバーのスポーツ観について : 岡山市, 神戸市, 三鷹市における調査から

女性バレーボールクラブ・メンバーのスポーツ観について : 岡山市, 神戸市, 三鷹市における調査から

Racial Bias in Women's Collegiate Volleyball

Whites and blacks in team sports tend to be distributed by positions according to stereotyped skills and abilities. This phenomenon of racial stacking has been documented for men's team sports at the professional and collegiate levels. Recently, stacking has also been found in women's collegiate basketball. The present study examines the case of women's collegiate volleyball, a sport where the positions are more likely to be stereotyped by race than basketball because the position of setter is so crucial to team effectiveness. Media guides were requested from all of the Division I schools with women's volleyball (n = 261), and 53 percent of the schools provided useable data. Of the 1,399 athletes, 89 (6 percent) were black. These blacks, as predicted, were underrepresented at the setter position (p&lt;.01). They were also overrepresented at the hitter position (p&lt;.02). No significant differences were found for blockers and defensive specialists. This pattern is the same found for women's basketball and consistently for the men's team sports, i.e., blacks are disproportionately found in positions requiring physical characteristics and relatively absent from positions of leadership, intelligence, and outcome control.

Cognitive-Affective Stress Management Training with High Performance Youth Volleyball Players: Effects on Affect, Cognition, and Performance

Cognitive-Affective Stress Management Training (SMT) is a coping skills training program designed to help athletes control dysfunctional stress processes (Smith, 1980). The present quasi-experimental study investigated the effects of SMT on affect, cognition, and performance in high performance youth volleyball players. Members of Alberta's Canada Games men's and women's (under 19 years of age) volleyball teams were assigned to either an experimental treatment group or a waiting-list control group. The treatment program consisted of eight modules, approximately 1 week apart, that allowed subjects to learn and apply somatic and cognitive coping skills. The results indicated that the treatment group emitted fewer negative thoughts in response to videotaped stressors and had superior service reception performance in a controlled practice compared to the control group. There were no interpretable differences between groups for either state anxiety (CSAI-2) or trait anxiety (SCAT). The cognitive and performance measures provided converging support for Smith's program. The results are discussed in terms of coping skills training, theoretical issues regarding the measurement of anxiety, and possible affect-cognition system independence.

Reviews

Abstract Abstract Championship Volleyball Drills, Volume 2. Combination and Complex Training. Bob and Tina Kogut Bertucci, eds. Leisure Press, P.O. Box 3, West Point, NY 10996. 1985. 144 pages. $9.95. —Reviewed by Bob Westbrook, assistant women's volleyball coach, Women's Athletics-Smith Center, 600 22nd Street, NW, Washington, DC 20052. The Anthropology of Sport —An Introduction. Kendall Blanchard and Alyce Cheska. South Hadley, MA: Bergin and Garvey Pub., Inc., 1985. paperback, 306 pp. —Reviewed by John Lucas, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802. Choosing A Microcomputer for Parks and Recreation Administration. Irmgard G. Schubert and Robert W. Douglass. Columbus, OH: Publishing Horizons, Inc. 2950 North High Street, 43202. 1986. ISBN 0-942280-17-2. 64 pp. Reviewed by Julian U. Stein, professor in Physical Education, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA. Athletic Injury Assessment. J.M. Booker and G.A. Thibodeau. Times Mirror/Mosby College Publishing. St. Louis, 1985. 584 pp. —Reviewed by Joe Gieck, Division of Sports Medicine and Athletic Traning, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903. Research Design and Statistics for Physical Education. Anne L. Rothstein. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall Inc. 1985. 353 pp. $25.95. —Reviewed by Donald Hilsendager, professor and dean of the College of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122. The Runner's Bible. Marc Bloom. Doubleday & Company, Inc. Garden City, NY 1986. 130 pp. $6.95. —Reviewed by James Deegan, Track Coach, Mount Saint Mary's College, Emmitsburg, Maryland 21727.

Strength comparisons in untrained men and trained women athletes

The purpose was to compare untrained college men with trained collegiate women basketball and volleyball players in terms of absolute and relative upper and lower body strength. Absolute and relative strength comparisons were also made between the two groups of women athletes. Eighty subjects were included in each group. Relative strength was expressed per unit of weight, height, biacromium, and biiliac widths. It was hypothesized that while men are significantly stronger than trained women athletes, such differences may be removed once body size characteristics are controlled. MANOVA and MANCOVA were utilized to test hypotheses. Results indicate that untrained men have greater upper and lower body strength than trained women athletes in terms of both absolute and relative strength. Women basketball players have greater upper and lower body strength than women volley players. The two groups of women athletes are alike in terms of upper body absolute and relative strength.

Descriptive profiles of highly skilled women volleyball players

Descriptive profiles were developed for 15 members of the United States Women's National Volleyball Training Team. Data were obtained from anthropometric, strength, physiologic, and motor performance domains. Within-group comparisons were made between the six women who were selected for the Pan-American Team and the nine who were not. The Pan-American selectees were taller and heavier and demonstrated greater motor ability than the non-selectees. Strength measurements did not indicate consistent differences between the two sub-groups. The non-selected players had a greater VO2max than those selected. Between-group comparisons on selected variables were made between the subject and other American women volleyball players. The training team subjects were taller and heavier than the comparative groups. The training team group demonstrated lower heart rate MAX (180 beats/min) than the other groups reported, and their VO2max (43.2 ml/kg/min) was within the range of the comparative groups.

The Importance of Strength, Speed, and Body Size for Team Success in Women's Intercollegiate Volleyball

Abstract Various anthropometric, strength, and speed variables were obtained on 180 intercollegiate women volleyball players who participated in a regional round-robin tournament. The purpose of the study was to determine the factors underlying the motor performance of the women and then determine if there was any relationship between the factors and team success. Factor analysis of the measured variables showed that the variables could be dimensioned as body size, speed/fat, and strength. Multiple discriminant analysis showed that the teams were significantly different on the factors of strength and speed/fat. Team centroids were plotted in two-dimensional discriminant space, and this graphic representation showed that the stronger, faster, and leaner teams were the most successful in tournament play. The results showed that the basic factors of speed/fat and strength were related to team success. Multiple discriminant analysis helped to identify the two most important individual variables for team succe...