Competitive Volleyball Action Efficiency Depending On The Opponents Level

Abstract

Achievement of superior performance in volleyball can be reached by analyzing the efficiency of the game actions according to the level of the opponent teams. Thus, based on the efficiency indices achieved in the official competitions, we will be able to develop a model of training based on the level of opponents. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the efficiency indices of the game actions are influenced by the opponents’ level. The study verifies the hypothesis according to which the efficiency of the game actions depends on the level of the opponent team in volleyball. We used as research methods the following: the bibliographic method, the pedagogical observation method, the modelling method, the statistical-mathematical method and the graphical method. The subjects of the research were represented by the 14 players of the women’s volleyball team from Stiinta Bacau Sports Club in the 2016-2017 season. The research ran from October 2016 to February 2017. The results of the study highlighted that there are statistically significant differences between the efficiency of the opponents’ game actions for: over pass, attack, block and dig. The efficiency of the serve seems to be an invariant in the context of our analysis, which can be explained by the fact that this action does not depend in any way on the opponent. The conclusion highlights the fact that the level of the opponent teams influences the efficiency indices of the game actions, so that the model of training should be designed according to them.

Keywords: Efficiencyvolleyballcompetitionlevelopponent

Introduction

Volleyball is a sports game consisting of game actions which have the following succession: serve, over pass, pass, attack/spike, block and dig. In order to provide us a glimpse of the importance of these game actions in the match economy of official competitions, we need to analyze the efficiency of these volleyball components. The analysis of the efficiency of the actions of the competitive volleyball is carried out using the standards developed by F.I.V.B. (Cojocaru & Cojocaru, 2017) by scaling them to levels. Thus, 4 points are awarded for actions with a game point (won), 3 points for the actions where the opponent’s ball is favourable to its own team, 2 points for the actions in which the opponent’s ball continues to play through undecided actions (neutral), 1 point for the actions in which the playing of the opponent’s ball is unfavourable to its own team and 0 points for the wrong actions (direct point for the opponent). The efficiency of the game actions in competitive volleyball has also been analyzed by many field specialists (Palao, Santos, & Ureña, 2004; Palao, Manzanares, & Ortega, 2009; Monteiro, Mesquita, & Marcelino, 2009; Nikos & Elissavet, 2011). Palao et al. (2004) analyzed the effect of the level of the teams on the performance of the game activities in the elite volleyball, where it showed that the efficiency of the attack differentiates the first level teams from the level 2 and 3 teams in women’s volleyball, and that there is a relationship between the opponents and over pass, attack, block, dig game actions. On the basis of this analysis of the efficiency indices of the volleyball game, the training models are developed, depending on the opponent, which can improve their efficiency and contribute to the achievement of superior performances in the official competitions.

Problem Statement

This research aims to highlight the importance of analyzing the participation in the competition of Volleyball Players from Stiinta Bacau Sports Club, the importance of knowing the performance of volleyball players from other teams, as well as the efficiency of training for the participation in the competition depending on the opponent. Its importance is justified by the special attention with which the training of the team must be treated for the official matches in the A1 Division Competition Calendar. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the efficiency indices of the game are influenced by the level of the opponent teams.

Research Questions

The hereby research is based on the following questions: Will the participation of the volleyball players in the competition improve if they work on a model based on the game characteristics of the opponent team? Are the efficiency indices of the game actions influenced by the level of the opponent players?

Purpose of the Study

The study verifies the hypothesis according to which the efficiency of the game actions depends on the level of the opponent teams in the performance volleyball.

Research Methods

Findings

By analyzing the 22 official matches of the first round of the A1 Division - National Championship of the Women’s Volleyball Team from Stiinta Bacau Sports Club in the season 2016-2017, depending on the opponent’s level, we obtained the following descriptive indicators of the efficiency of the game actions in the tables 1 , 2 and 3 , where we presented the minimum value (Min), maximum (Max), arithmetic mean (M), and standard deviation (SD).

The average efficiency index in all the matches for the serve variable was .442 ± .051, with a minimum value of .356 and a maximum of .595, for the over pass variable, it was .586 ± .051, with a minimum value of .477 and a maximum value of .672. The attack variable was .616 ± .063, with a minimum value of .510 and a maximum value of .754, for the block variable was .454 .089, with a minimum value of .300, and a maximum value of .676 , and for the dig variable it was .376 ± .092, with a minimum value of .120 and a maximum value of .529.

Further on, in Tables no. 2 and 3, we presented the descriptive efficiency indices of the game actions for the matches with the level 1 and level 2 opponents.

In order to validate the results obtained (Table no. 4), we used the Student Test (for independent samples) with equal or uneven variation depending on the significance of the Fisher test.

From the results presented in table no. 4, it can be noticed that there are statistically significant differences between the efficiency of the game actions according to the opponent’s level for 4 of the 5 analyzed coefficients. Significant differences were obtained between the efficiency indices for over pass (p = .038), attack (p = .008), block (p = .048) and dig (p = .014). The serve efficiency indices do not differ significantly depending on the opponent’s level. Comparing the means of the efficiency indices, statistically significant differences were obtained between the two groups for the over pass game action (p = .038), with a higher mean of efficiency in the matches with the Level 1 opponents (.610) compared to the Level 2 opponents (.0566) and confirms the hypothesis of our study according to which there are differences between the efficiency indices of the game actions according to the opponent’s level. This demonstrates that in the matches with the Level 1 opponents the players of the women’s volleyball team from Ştiinţa Bacau Sports Club were more focused on the execution of this game action compared with the matches with Level 2 teams considered weaker.

The differences in the means for the attack efficiency indices (p = .008) showed that they are statistically significant between the two groups, with a higher average of efficiency in matches with Level 2 opponents (.647) against their Level 1 opponents (.578) and shows that this action depends on the defence game of the opponents, where the Level 1 teams have better players and more efficient defence systems due to this. By analyzing the means of the efficiency indices between the two groups, there are statistically significant differences in the block game action (p = .048), where the team from Stiinta Bacau Sports Club achieved a higher average in the matches with the Level 2 opponents (.487) compared to the Level 1 opponents (.415), showing that the attack of the Level 1 opponents is better than that of the Level 2 opponents. Statistically significant differences are observed between the means of the two groups and for the means of the dig efficiency indices (p = .014) with an average of higher efficiency in the matches with the Level 2 opponents (.418) compared with the matches with the Level 1 opponents (.325), demonstrating that the attack force of the Level 1 opponents is higher than that of the Level 2 opponents. Our team’s block game action was more effective in the matches with Level 2 opponents than with the Level 1 opponents and proves that in order to have a higher efficiency index in the dig game actions, the block game action must be more efficient.

Conclusion

Our study attempted to demonstrate that there were differences between the efficiency of the game actions according to the level of the opponents for the women’s volleyball team from Stiinta Bacau Sports Club Bacau in the 2016-2017 season in the first round of the A1 Division - National Championship.

Following this study we can conclude the following:

• The level of the opponent teams influences the efficiency of the game actions, such as: over pass, attack, block and dig;

• The efficiency of the serve seems to be invariant in the context of our analysis, which can be explained by the fact that this action does not depend in any way on the opponent;

The results obtained in this study should be used in modelling the training of the women’s volleyball team from Stiinta Bacau Sports Club Bacau in the following season in order to increase the efficiency indices of the game actions.

References

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2. Monteiro, R., Mesquita, I., & Marcelino, R. (2009). Relationship between the set outcome and the dig and attack efficacy in elite male Volleyball game. International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, 9(3), 294-305. DOI:
3. Nikos, B., & Elissavet, N. M. (2011). Setter's performance and attack tempo as determinants of attack efficacy in Olympic level male volleyball teams. International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, 11(3), 535-544. DOI:
4. Palao, J. M., Santos, J. A., & Ureña, A. (2004). Effect of team level on skill performance in volleyball. International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, 4(2), 50-60. DOI:
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