Effect of Age Group on Technical-Tactical Performance Profile of the Serve in Men's Volleyball

Perception of Affordances in Female Volleyball Players: Serving Short versus Serving to the Sideline

Purpose: We investigated youth volleyball players' perception of affordances for different types of serves. Methods: Participants were separated into Less Experienced (n = 13, maximum of 3 years of competitive volleyball experience) and More Experienced (n = 11, minimum of 4 years of competitive volleyball experience) groups. In the Sideline Condition, participants were asked to report the narrowest gap, relative to either the left or right sideline, into which they could serve the ball. In the Short Condition, participants were asked to report the narrowest gap, relative to the net, into which they could serve the ball. Participants then attempted to serve into their reported gaps. Results: The proportion of successful serves was greater for the More Experienced group than for the Less Experienced group, but a statistically significant interaction revealed that this was true only when performing sideline serves. As expected, reported servable gaps were larger for the Short Serve condition (M = 3.66 m, SD = 0.67 m) than for the Sideline Serve condition (M = 1.93 m, SD = 0.71 m), F(1, 22) = 80.45, p < .001, partial η2 = 0.79. Conclusions: Our study extends previous work to a different sport (volleyball) and to different sport-specific actions (serving the ball). The finding that perceived minimum servable gap sizes were larger for short serves than for sideline serves is consistent with differences in the constraints operating on the two types of serves in the context of game play.

Power and velocity performance of swing movement in the adolescent male volleyball players - age and positional difference

PURPOSE

The performance of swing movement during spikes and serves plays a crucial role in determining the outcomes of volleyball matches. This study aims to explore the effects of the participation of the trunk and lower limbs' involvement on the velocity and power of the swing movement of adolescent male volleyball players, as well as the differences in power and velocity performance of the swing movement among different ages and specific positions.

METHODS

The study involved 22 adolescent male volleyball players, with 11 high school students and 11 middle school students. The Kineo Globus equipment was used to assess the swing movement performance involving different segments, including arm swing movement only involving arm limb participation; upper swing movement involving trunk and arm limb participation; and whole body swing movement involving lower limb, trunk, and arm limb participation. The measured parameters included power and velocity performance levels. Before the test, each subject practiced three movement patterns twice.

RESULTS

The study found that swing movement involving both the trunk and arm limbs had significantly higher average (F = 17.70, p < 0.001) and peak power performance (F = 31.47, p < 0.001), as well as in average (F = 9.14, p = 0.03) and peak velocity performance (F = 23.17, p < 0.001). There were no significant differences in average (F = 17.70; p = 0.46) and peak power (F = 31.47, p = 0.94), as well as in average (F = 9.14, p = 0.99) and peak velocity performance (F = 23.17, p = 0.90) between movements involving the whole body and those involving the trunk and upper limbs. Among different age groups, the swing movement performance of middle school athletes showed significant enhancements in both average (F = 9.20, p < 0.001) and peak power (F = 19.93, p < 0.001), as well as in average (F = 10.75, p < 0.001) and peak velocity (F = 34.35, p < 0.001) when arm swing with trunk involvement was compared to arm swing movement. High school athletes also showed significant improvements in peak velocity (F = 34.35, p < 0.001), peak power (F = 17.31, p < 0.001), and average power (F = 9.41, p < 0.001) during upper swing movements, except for average velocity performance (F = 1.56, p = 0.21), when compared to arm swing movement. The increase rate in average velocity performance of swing movements involving trunk participation was significantly higher in middle school athletes than in high school athletes (p < 0.001). Among athletes in specific positions, Middle Blocker (MB) players exhibited significantly better average power performance in swing movements involving trunk and arm limb participation compared to Outside Hitter (OH) players (p = 0.04). Furthermore, the rate of average (p = 0.01) and peak (p = 0.03) power change during upper swing movements involving lower limb participation was significantly higher among OH players than MB players.

CONCLUSIONS

The involvement of the trunk segment has been observed to significantly improve power and velocity in swing movements during spike and serves among adolescent male volleyball players. This underscores the importance of coordination between the trunk and arm in influencing swing movement performance during spikes and serves. High school athletes demonstrate superior power and velocity in arm swing movements compared to middle school athletes. MB exhibits greater power in upper limb swing movements than OH, although OH players show better coordination between the arm, trunk, and lower limb segments in the swing movement. To enhance swing movement performance in adolescent male volleyball players, particularly focusing on the trunk segment was crucial. Specialized physical training programs should target improving both arm strength and rotational power of the trunk simultaneously. This approach would help in consistently enhancing coordination between the trunk and arms, ultimately leading to optimized force generation during swing movements such as spikes and serves.

Applying Unsupervised Machine Learning Models to Identify Serve Performance Related Indicators in Women's Volleyball

In volleyball, the effect of different factors on serve performance has usually been analyzed with traditional statistical techniques such as logistic regression or discriminant analysis. Purpose: In this study, two of the main models used in unsupervised machine learning (cluster and principal component analysis) were applied to achieve these objectives: (a) to create groups of players considering their serve coefficient, age, height, and team ranking, and (b) to identify which variables related to the serve (type and performance), the players (role, age, and height), and the teams (ranking, match location, and quality of opposition) most explained the total variance of the data during an entire women's volleyball season. Method: A total of 20,936 serves were analyzed during the 132 matches played in the 2017-2018 season in the Liga Iberdrola (women Spanish first division). The variables were related to the serving action (type of serve and performance), the players' traits (player role, age, and height), and the teams' characteristics (final ranking, match location, quality of opposition, and tournament). Results: Cluster analysis showed five groups of players differing in age, serve coefficient, team ranking, and height. Principal component analysis showed how the first five components explained 72.12% of the total variance. From these components, serve coefficient, team ranking, match location, quality of opposition, and player role each contributed more than 10%. Conclusions: These findings can help coaches to improve talent selection and players' development according to competition demands.

Physical-Performance Changes Over the Season: Are They Related to Game-Performance Indicators in Elite Men Volleyball Players?

BACKGROUND

The development and influence of physical capabilities and game action performance over the course of the season are a big challenge for coaches and players.

PURPOSE

The aims of the present study were to examine (1) the seasonal changes in the physical capabilities (mechanical and kinematic) and game-performance indicators in top-level men volleyball players and (2) the relationship between these physical capabilities and game-performance indicators in official matches.

METHODS

Eleven top-level players participated. Players were physically tested 3 times during the season. Before each test, players' match performance (11 sets) was analyzed according to the level of opposition and match location. The percentage of change, statistical differences over the season (Friedman and Wilcoxon tests), and associations between variables (Spearman r) were calculated (P < .05) among mechanical (force-velocity profile during vertical jump and bench press), kinematic (jump height and spike ball speed), and game action performance features (coefficient, efficacy, and percentage of errors in serve, attack, and block).

RESULTS

The theoretical maximal force and velocity during vertical jump and bench press, respectively; the peak spike ball speed; and the serve efficacy significantly increased over the season. Moreover, there was a significant reduction in serve errors as the jump height increased (r = -.44; P = .026), as well as a significant increase in serve errors as the peak spike ball speed increased (r = -.62; P = .001).

CONCLUSION

These findings reveal how the physical and game action performance variables evolve and interact during the season. This may help coaches and trainers to monitor and analyze the most relevant volleyball performance factors.

Construction and validation of an observation tool of the imbalance pass in futsal

Abstract This study aimed to construct a tool for observing the imbalance pass in futsal through Microsoft Excel® software and to establish its content validity and intra- and interobserver reliability based on the calculation of the content validity coefficient (CVC) and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). For the construction of the tool, futsal specialists (n = 10) with an average age of 44.1 ± 12.34 years and 19 ± 7.21 years of experience in the field participated in the study. 60% of the specialists have international-level expertise and 50% are active in practice and in academic field (higher education professor). According to the methodology, 23 items were proposed to assess the imbalance pass in futsal. CVC was calculated based on language clarity, practical pertinence and theoretical relevance for each item of the instrument and for the instrument as a whole; ICC was calculated based on intra- and interobserver agreement. Language clarity, practical pertinence and theoretical relevance revealed a result of 0.92, 0.93 and 0.95, respectively, and the values for intra- and interobserver agreement reliability were excellent according to the literature (> 0.75). Thus, it is concluded that the items proposed in the tool obtained satisfactory psychometric properties.

Characteristics of Serve, Reception and Set That Determine the Setting Efficacy in Men's Volleyball

The aim of this investigation was to establish the criteria of service, reception and set that determine setting efficacy in world-class top-level volleyball. The study sample consisted of 4.113 gaming actions (1.371 serve actions, 1.371 reception actions, and 1.371 set actions), corresponding to the observation of four matches for each of the 12 best ranked teams in the Volleyball World Championship - a total of 23 matches. The criteria were: in-game role of the server, serve zone, type of serve, striking technique and serve direction; receiver player, reception zone, and reception efficacy; setting zone, type of set, setting technique, setting efficacy, a set’s area, and set tempo. Multinomial logistic regression showed that criteria related to reception (reception efficacy) and to set (setting zone, type of set, a set’s area, and set tempo) determined set efficacy. Specifically, positive and negative receptions and settings from acceptable and non-acceptable zones reduced perfect setting. In contrast, the jump set toward zones three and six and the first and second tempo increased perfect setting. Serve criteria did not determine set efficacy. This study can guide trainers and players in the training process.