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Several youth volleyball tournaments are played across multiple consecutive days with athletes averaging 3–4 matches/day. This study evaluated the differences in workload of female youth volleyball athletes across days and by position during multi-day tournaments. Athletes (n = 22, 16.4 ± 0.4 years) wore an accelerometer during 12 two- and three-day tournaments. Workload was measured via kinetic energy (KE, J/lb), total jumps (TJ), high jumps (HJ, >51 cm), average jump height (cm), and percentage of high stress movements (%) via VERT accelerometers. Data were analyzed across days and by position as an average per day and analyzed via repeated measures analyses of variance. Across days, workload averages ranged 484.8–558.0 J/lb for KE, 27.3–31.2 TJ/match, 37.5–37.9 cm/jump, 5.2–6.5 HJ/match, and 20.1–20.7% high stress movements/match, with no difference (p = 0.300). Setters (49.2 ± 24.3 jumps) jumped more than liberos (13.0 ± 6.8 TJ, p = 0.005), and middles (45.8 ± 4.1 cm) jumped higher than all other positions (setters: 28.8 ± 3.6 cm, outside hitters: 41.3 ± 4.2 cm, and liberos: 27.0 ± 4.1 cm, p = 0.000–0.044). Athletes appeared to perform and recover sufficiently between days of play such that their external load was not affected. The level of competition tends to become more evenly matched as the tournament progresses, thus there may have been less physical demand early in the tournaments due to unequal competition levels compared to the final day of the tournament. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Swamp soccer and swamp volleyball tournaments have been actively organized on Finnish mires throughout the twenty-first century, reflecting a change in the cultural relationship with mires. Joyful and festival-style team sports events on mires seem to be a modern trend, not only in Finland, but also in other European countries. This study focuses on mire sporting events in the Finnish context, asking: How do the sensory experiences of team play on mires affect the players’ relationship with mire, and also the cultural heritage associated with mires? The analysis is based on the theoretical framework of the ethnography of the senses, which is complemented by the concept of space. The research material was collected between 2020 and 2022 and consists of thematic interviews with 33 mire athletes, as well as observational material based on the World Swamp Volley and Swamp Soccer Championships held in Finland. The study shows that these humorous sports events emphasize the sense of community between the players. Playing in mires, sensing them, and getting dirty are key factors in this process. Fears of the mire familiar from folklore are forgotten when playing together in the mire. Mire sports bring new multisensory and entertaining elements to the traditional use of mires. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Athletic mental energy is a newly emerging research topic in sport science. However, whether it can predict objective performance in competition remains unexplored. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the predictability of mental energy on volleyball competition performance. We recruited 81 male volleyball players (Mage = 21.11 years ± SD = 1.81) who participated in the last 16 remaining teams in a college volleyball tournament. We assessed participants’ mental energy the night before the competition and collected their competition performance over the next 3 days. We used six indices of the Volleyball Information System (VIS) developed by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) to examine its associations with mental energy. All six factors of mental energy –motivation, tirelessness, calm, vigor, confidence, and concentration correlated with volleyball competition performance. Further, a hierarchical regression found mental energy predicted volleyball receivers’ performance (R2 = .23). The findings advance our knowledge of mental energy and objective performance in competition. We suggest that future studies may examine the effects of mental energy on different sports with different performance indices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyze the chances of winning a tournament under the assumption that the probabilities of winning individual matches follow Bradley-Terry model [2]. We present an exact solution and show a few examples of its use. The examples are from California volleyball tournaments, the round of sixteen in the World Cup and the Champions League, the group stage of the Association of Tennis Professionals tournament, and the volleyball SuperLega in Italy. The computational complexity of the solution grows exponentially fast with the number of teams and we seek approximations via multivariate Gaussian laws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, the problem of somatotypes will be treated components, body composition and anthropometric characteristics in volleyball players with different level of performance. Namely, the research will be aimed at assessing the somatotype of the selected volleyball players, their body composition, anthropometric characteristics, as well as their mutual relations followed through the different level of performance. The main problem of this research is the differences in anthropometric characteristics, body composition and somatotype components between senior and cadet volleyball players. The subject of this research is certain anthropometric characteristics and body components, as well as determining the somatotype of the studied volleyball players with varying levels of success. The sample of respondents is drawn from a population of volleyball players from the volleyball clubs: "Shkendija", volleyball club "Bamikor", volleyball club "TE Volley" and volleyball club "Ljuboten" all from Tetovo aged 18 to 31 years ± 6 months. In the research are included 64 female volleyball cadets aged 18 and 19 and 126 senior female volleyball players aged 20 to 31 years ± 6 months. A cross-sectional study was performed on the sample of respondents; the anthropometric, body and somatotype components in young volleyball players from this region of the Republic of North Macedonia. In this research, a total of 29 variables were applied, of which 18 were variables for assessment of anthropometric characteristics, 8 variables for assessment of the body composition and 3 variables for the assessment of somatotypicity in the chosen volleyball players. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. A volleyball game involves scoring a direct point during a sports match, so the players should be able to accurately send the ball to the selected area of the opponent's playing field. The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between the accuracy of the upper serve and the direction of its execution in female volleyball players aged 15 to 18. Materials and methods. 30 female volleyball players aged 15 to 18 participated in the study. A test was used to assess the level of accuracy of the upper serve in three directions of its execution. Results. The study group presented an average level of accuracy of the upper serve. A higher level of service accuracy was observed when serving near 9 meters from the pitch than around 3 meters of both side lines and when serving in a straight line to around 3 meters of the side of the pitch than diagonally. Conclusion. The direction of the upper serve determines the accuracy of its execution. It is reasonable to introduce specific exercises to improve the accuracy of the service in the training of young female volleyball players. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper draws on a multi-sited ethnography of the North American Chinese Invitational Volleyball Tournament and examines the attachments and relationships that participation nurtures. I argue that rather than being exclusive, the NACIVT and its participants foster and nurture multiple relationships that extend beyond the NACIVT and Asianness. In doing so, I aim to do two things: 1) address the dearth of academic research on Asians and sport, particularly in the Western context and 2) explore the burgeoning work that offers a transnational analytic of sport, a key theoretical framework in exploring the sport experiences of Asian people in sport, that goes beyond discussions of stereotypes and barriers to participation, but brings into view the effects of how Asia is constructed and imagined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study was conducted on a stratified sample of two subsamples of subjects to determine the level and differences in heart rate, blood lactate, anaerobic threshold, VO2max. in volleyball players in the pre-competition period. The sample of respondents was taken from the population of volleyball players, a total of 43, members of the representative teams of the volleyball league of the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Kosovo. The study used a total of 6 variables to assess the functional abilities of female volleyball players. Using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), statistically significant differences between groups were found at the level of p = 0.00. Testing differences between arithmetic means for each variable with univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA), where no statistically significant differences were found between the two teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This case study evaluated the effect of repeated lateral movement and jumping training on repeated effort ability in a group of national team male volleyball players. Methods: Twelve volleyball players were assessed on their volleyball-specific repeated movement and jumping abilities using a volleyball-specific repeated effort test (RET) before and after 12 weeks of training. The athletes performed between 8 and 9 volleyball training sessions per week, with 5 to 6 of these sessions including specific training aimed at improving repeated effort ability. Typically these training sessions involved 8 to 12 repetitions of 2 to 3 block jumps over a 9-m lateral distance (ie, the athletes had to perform jumps and lateral movements, typical of front court play in volleyball). Population-specific repeatability data were used to determine whether any changes that may have occurred in this study were beyond the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) for this testing procedure. Results: Improvements in all variables of the RET were observed for each athlete involved in the study, with a small-to-moderate magnitude observed for the mean changes in each variable (Cohen's d, 0.21 to 0.59). All of the improvements in the results exceeded the MCID. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that the RET is sensitive to training- induced changes. Lateral movement speed and repeated lateral movement speed, as well as jumping and repeated jumping ability are trainable qualities in highperformance volleyball players. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In volleyball, due to the sequential structure of the game, each outcome results from events that follow consistent consecutive patterns: pass–set–attack–outcome, serve–outcome and block–dig–set–counter attack–outcome. There are three possible outcomes: point won, point lost, and rally continuation. With the aim of quantifying the importance of volleyball skills, data of world champions of the male International Volleyball Federation tournaments for three age categories (Youth, Juniors and Men) were used to construct a transition matrix between subsequent moves and skills within the game. A Dirichlet-Multinomial Bayesian model was used to estimate the transition probabilities between the subsequent moves along with the marginal probability of success of each skill in the complex. The prior distribution of each transition probabilities between moves/skills was elicited to incorporate experts' opinion. For the final evaluation of the skills a simple Monte Carlo scheme was applied to obtain a random sample from the posterior distribution. The findings of the study indicate that the relative importance of volleyball skills is robust across world champions of different age categories. Slight variations are observed on specific skills. A new index (Quantile Mid-range Ratio) is proposed for highlighting skills that are valuable for team's gameplay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to analyse players' individual proficiency at serve reception and its influence on the following attack in the Estonian national team during the qualification for the European Championship in 2016. The subjects were the players of Estonian national volleyball team during the qualification for the European Championship in 2016. To collect data, video recordings of eight games of the Estonian national team were viewed; the number serve receptions, type and zone of reception and proficiency were registered. In addition, the number of attacks following serve reception, their zone, performer and proficiency were recorded. The results revealed that success at the reception of serve influences the proficiency of attack. At more successful reception, the proficiency of attack was higher than at poorer reception. As a result of the study, it was shown that serve reception by the Estonian team was more proficient in sets won than in sets lost. In the case of more successful reception, the Estonian national volleyball team was more proficient at attack than in the case of less proficient reception. When types of reception were compared, the receivers of the Estonian national team were most proficient at reception from above. The receivers of the Estonian national received the serve best in zone 5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to characterize and differentiate between the predictive factors of the attacks performed by the opposite player from positions 1 and 2. The sample consisted of the observation records of 142 volleyball games of the Brazilian Men's Super-League, season 2014/2015, totaling in 8,010 actions of reception, setting and attack, with 5,965 actions from position 2 and 2,045 from position 1. The analysis of the predictive factors of the opposite player's attack, according to the position of the attack, showed that the attacks from position 2 were more likely to occur after reception B (OR:1.317), in either diagonal (OR:1.302) or parallel (OR: 1.548), and to result in blocking of the attack (OR:1.496). On the other hand, attacks performed from position 1 were more likely to occur after receiving A (OR:0.458) resulting in a point (OR:0.709). Thus, situational constraints influenced the predictive factors of the opposite player's attack, according to the attacking position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The patterns of cumulated structured volleyball practice and other structured sports activities of elite adult Brazilian players, considering age of specialization in volleyball and achievement of international competition representing the national team, were examined using Bayesian multilevel models. Elite volleyball players (n = 78) with an average age of 19.2 (SD = 0.9) years were considered. We used retrospective quantitative questionnaire to track individual training history. The mean age of specialization in volleyball was 10.7 (95% CI 10.3 to 11.0) for players that specialized early (before age 12), 14.1 (95% CI 13.9 to 14.3) for players that specialized intermediate (between ages 13 and 15), and 16.2 (95% CI 15.7 to 16.7) for players that specialized late (after age 16). Consequently, the earlier the specialization age in volleyball, the more years of training experience were accumulated. International and national level players were similar in both specialization age and pattern of engagement in other structured sport activities. Conditional on the data and models, attainment of expertise in volleyball may be favored by the accumulation of nonspecific sport experiences at early ages, and specialization may occur at a rather late age during adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Performance analysis in volleyball has seldom analysed the interrelationships of game actions under the systemic view of distinct game complexes, and how different patterns of game flow emerge. In this study, we used Social Network Analysis with eigenvector centrality to weight direct and indirect relationships between game actions and to assess the similarities and differences between six game complexes in high-level men's volleyball. The study sample comprised 10 matches of the final phase of the 2015 World League (1600 game actions). Results indicated that dividing the game into six complexes and analysing game actions as nodes offers a more detailed understanding of the game and highlights the distinct constraints that typify each game complex. Specifically, the use of eigenvector centrality afforded a more accurate weighting of the variables for each complex. Because off-system situations were predominant in several game complexes, i.e.: Setting Condition C in Complex I (0.36), Complex II (0.55), Complex III (0.80) and Complex V (0.58); Attack Zone 4 and 2 in Complex I (0.30 and 0.28), Complex II (0.48 and 0.51), Complex IV (0.55 and 0.48) and Complex V (0.37 and 0.36); and Attack Tempo 3 in Complex I (0.33), Complex II (0.55) and Complex III (0.66). Our results suggest that coaches should prioritise these situations in training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to identify volleyball performance indicators that best discriminate between winning and losing teams in a set according to the level of competitiveness. The data have been collected from teams' performances (N = 438) in all sets played between top four teams in the final ranking of women's Greek volleyball league for five periods. Clusters analysis established three different groups of sets according to set final score difference: two to three points (balanced), four to seven points (semi-balanced) and more than seven points (unbalanced). A 3 × 2 MANOVA was then performed on twelve performance indicators reflecting expressions of five basic skills of the game (serve, pass, attack 1 and 2, block). The analysis revealed significant multivariate differences in the type of result and in its interaction with the type of set. A follow-up discriminant analysis showed that the effectiveness of attacks 1 and 2 are the most important performance indicators for all the set types. The discriminant function classified correctly more cases as the score difference got higher. Especially for balanced sets, 62% were correctly classified, allowing space for further improving the critical performance indicators. These results suggest that training of a women's volleyball team should emphasise more on improving offensive abilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to analyse the Japanese National Women's Volleyball Team and to identify items differentiating it from other teams. All fifteen matches between the six National Teams (i.e., Japan, Brazil, China, Belgium, Turkey and Russia) competing at the Women's Volleyball World Grand Prix Finals of 2014 were analyzed, in a total of 56 sets and 7,176 situations of ball possession. Data suggested the existence of differences between Japan's and the other five teams' gameplay, namely the likelihood of more gameplay with utilization of the float jump serve (20.42; ± 3.79%, very large magnitude) and attack tempo 2 (61.89; ± 29.67%, large magnitude), while exhibiting less gameplay with zero blockers opposing the attack (-42.06; ± 21.28%, large magnitude). Based on these findings, it was concluded that sports success could be achieved even when a core feature of mainstream performance models (e.g., height in volleyball) was lacking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A benchmark is a reference point for comparisons established from the value of a performance indicator. In order to create benchmarks for volleyball, we used performance data from each team of the Greek Volley League from the season 2005-2006 until the season 2016-2017 (N = 143). We considered the effectiveness of 14 parameters from five skills: serve, attack after passing, attack after defence, block and pass. The results showed that high-level teams of the Greek championship, which finished in positions 1-4, had as benchmarks: (a) in serve, two aces every five serve errors, while teams 9-12 had two aces every six errors, (b) in attack after passing one error or one passive block every four kills, while teams 9-12 had one every five kills, (c) in attack after defence one error or one passive block every three kills versus every two kills for 9-12 and (d) one error every nine passes on the target against every seven passes for 9-12. Overall, the results of this study indicate that success in volleyball can be explained with skill performance indicators, expressed as the ratio of successful to unsuccessful attempts, or with a ratio of successful attempts per set, in case of block skill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present our approach to sports scheduling, a process that led the Italian Volleyball League to adopt our calendar for the 2016-2017 and subsequent seasons. Sports scheduling is a hard combinatorial optimization problem whose solution requires modeling many different aspects of sports, some of which are unique to each sport or nation. The capability of producing a high-quality schedule is important for both balancing undesirable matches among teams and ensuring adequate coverage by television and other media. Through strong interaction with the Italian Volleyball League, we modeled and solved the problem to optimality using standard mathematical programming solvers. We also tested our solution using previous seasons' tournaments to prove the capability of our model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes a novel metaheuristic algorithm called Volleyball Premier League (VPL) inspired by the competition and interaction among volleyball teams during a season. It also mimics the coaching process during a volleyball match. To solve global optimization problems using the volleyball metaphor, there are terms such as substitution, coaching, and learning, which are captured in the VPL algorithm. The proposed algorithm is benchmarked on 23 well-known test functions, which are categorized into three groups, namely unimodal, multimodal and fixed-dimension multimodal functions. The solutions obtained using the VPL have been compared with other metaheuristic algorithms including Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Differential Evolution (DE), Genetic Algorithm (GA), Artificial Bee Colony (ABC), Firefly Algorithm (FA), Harmony Search (HS), Sin Cosine Algorithm (SCA), Soccer League Competition (SLC), and League Championship Algorithm (LCA). In addition, VPL has been used to solve three classical engineering design optimization problems. Results show that VPL algorithm possesses a strong capability to produce superior performance over the other well-known metaheuristic algorithms. The results of the experiments also show that the VPL is effectively applicable to solve problems with complex search space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Retos: Nuevas Perspectivas de Educación Física, Deporte y Recreación is the property of Federacion Espanola de Asociaciones de Docentes de Educacion Fisica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Timisoara Physical Education & Rehabilitation Journal is the property of Sciendo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Timisoara Physical Education & Rehabilitation Journal is the property of Sciendo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Sport injuries frequently happened in power-based sports like the volleyball. In order to prevent injuries before they appeared, it should be known reasons and risk factors. Therefore, the aim of this research was to investigate sports injuries happened in match. In this study 200 matches were analyzed from First Women's Volleyball League during the 2011-2016 period. "Match Observation Form" developed by researcher was used. In addition the researcher, two independent expert observers in volleyball analyzed the match records and filled the forms. All forms were compared carefully. Analyzed matches, 49 sports injuries were observed. However, 61.20%(30) of all injuries were temporary injuries ensured continuing the competition by the medical care and 38.80%(19) were serious injuries hindered continuing the play. In this context, there were 0.24 injuries per match. Upper body injury rate was 40.80% (20) whereas lower body injury rate was 59.20% (29). While block was the most dangerous technique of the play at the %55.10(27) injury rates, spike, defense and other techniques had slightly lower risk at the 12.20%(6) and 32.60%(16), respectively. In other words, 67.30%(33) of the all injuries occurred in front of the net where was repeatedly performed block and spike techniques. In conclusion, injury risk was significant in volleyball. Especially, the athletes playing front area were at greater risk in comparison with back area players. Correctly jumping and landing practices should be reduced the risk. It has suggested that the relationship between the injuries and game rules related net contact and middle line. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was designed to assess the relevance of game-related performance factors as outcome predictors in high-level volleyball. To carry out the analysis, the official box scores of 399 matches played by 47 different teams in four different European male professional volleyball leagues (Italy, Poland, Germany and Turkey) during the 2013-14 regular season were analyzed. A logistic mixed model was performed to determine the effects of different variables in matches' outcomes. According to the multivariate analysis the following factors were significantly associated with winning matches: the number of scorers (OR = 1.32; CI: 1.09 - 1.59), service errors (OR = 0.91; CI: 0.87 - 0.95), service points (OR = 1.25; CI: 1.15 - 1.36), reception errors (OR = 0.79; CI: 0.74 - 0.84), the percentage of positive receptions (OR = 1.02; CI: 1.00 - 1.04) and blocked balls (OR = 1.17; CI: 1.11 - 1.26). Team category 2 (OR = 0.39; CI: 0.24 - 0.63) and team category 3 (OR = 0.15; CI: 0.09 - 0.25) were significantly associated with losing matches. These findings can contribute to a better understanding of performance indicators in professional volleyball, helping coaches and decision makers to better determine the importance of particular game factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of the study was to analyse sports results and the somatic composition of participants in the 2014 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship held in Poland. Material/Methods: Research material involved volleyball players participating in the World Championships (n = 280). Their age, height, weight, one-arm spike reach, both-arm block reach, and Rohrer's index were analysed. The mean value of the features and their derivatives in individual teams and groups were calculated and verified using statistical tests (t-Student, Mann Whitney and Cochran-Cox) if the differences were significant. Results: The subjects' mean age was 26.33 years (SD = 3.90), body height 198.41 cm (SD = 6.05), body weight 89.40 kg (SD = 8.43), spike reach 344.08 cm (SD = 13.37), block reach 326.68 cm (SD = 13.09), Rohrer's index 1.15 (SD = 0.10). 90.36% of the volleyball players manifested the leptosomatic body composition, 9.28% the athletic one, and 0.36% the pyknic one. The highest and the lowest ranked teams in the analysed tournament significantly differed in the spike reach (P < 0.005) and in body height (P < 0.015). Conclusions: The leptosomatic body composition type is dominant among volleyball players at the top level of sports championship. The body height and the spike reach significantly differentiate the top and the bottom ranked teams participating in the 2014 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship. These characteristics should be taken into account in selection to play men's volleyball. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the crucial fundamentals allowing mass events to be organized in the particular country is comprehensive logistics infrastructure. In the article the results of the survey research of encompassed 155 respondents are presented, proving the importance of the logistics infrastructure in the organization of mass sport events. The event which is foundation for the article's objectives is the Volleyball World Championship, which took place in Poland in 2014. The purposes of the paper are twofold. The first one is indication of the importance of the logistics infrastructure in the organization of mass events such as the 2014 Volleyball World Championship. The second purpose is evaluation of regularities of the funds invested for the development of the logistics infrastructure for mass events and management of the logistics infrastructure after finished mass events due to the respondents' opinions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to analyse the successfulness of tactics of serve and serve reception of the national teams who participated in Pool B of European Men's Volleyball Championship in 2015. The study included four national teams: Estonia, France, Croatia and Italy. A total of six games and 912 serves were analysed. Data were collected using the statistics program Data Volley 2007. The data were transferred to Microsoft Excel 2010, which was used for data analysis. Additional statistical analysis was performed using the program SPSS Statistics 21. For jump float serve, the most preferable service zone was zone 5. The serves from this zone were also the most dangerous. For power jump serve, the most preferable service zone was zone 1. From this zone the smallest number of faults were made at power jump serve, but also the smallest number of ace serves and serves after which the opponent could not use all attack combinations were performed. Substitute players who came game only to perform serves showed the same efficiency in jump float serve as starting players. Among the performers of power jump serves, the starting players could perform more ace serves, but there were also more serves after which the opponent could use all attack combinations. Thus, the serve efficiency was relatively similar for both types of players. Players using the power jump serve were more likely to earn a point with their first serve than the performers of jump float serve. The likeliness of earning a point with the second consecutive serve increased for players using the jump float serve, but remained the same for performers of power jump serve. At power jump serve, service faults occurred more often after timeout than in play, but good serves were hit equally after timeout and in play. At jump float serve, the number of faults was the same after timeout and in play, but good serves, both aces and serves after which was not possible to use all attack combinations, were more often hit after timeout. Underhand pass was used for receiving float serve almost twice more often than overhand pass, even though the accuracy of the latter was higher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Sport & Society / Sport si Societate is the property of Altius Academy Foundation and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Volleyball coaches are frequently forced to address the question of athlete service errors as a part of their overall service strategy. This is usually done in an ad hoc fashion with an arbitrarily selected maximum allowable service error fraction or maximum allowable service error-to-ace ratio. In this article, an analysis of service outcomes leads to a mathematical expression for the point-scoring fraction in terms of service ace fraction, service error fraction, and opponent modified sideout fraction. These parameters are assumed to be monotonic functions of an athlete or team's serving aggressiveness and a linear model for the service error-to-ace ratio is used to close the point-scoring optimization problem. The model provides estimates of the optimal service error fraction for individual athletes based on their service ace fraction and the opponent modified sideout fraction against the server overall and also when restricted to only serves that led to perfect passes. Case studies of the Bay to Bay 17 Black Boys' USAV Juniors team and the Brigham Young University Men's NCAA Division I team are used to demonstrate the application of the model and standard errors for the predicted optimal service error fractions are calculated with bootstrap resampling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The game of volleyball with its dynamic character is present in the world of the sport with permanent development and growing popularity and fans. Volleyball is part of a pollystructural complex sports activities. It is performed on a ground of a relatively small size (18 x 9 meters) and is a kind of game that requires of players a high level of advanced motoric abilities (speed, strength, endurance, a fast rate of visual reaction, explosivity), as well as specific motoric skills (precision etc.). Scientific conclusion as well as the growing number of conducted researches in the very game, have a real contribution to its modern development and level of popularity. Situation-motoric skills make a significant dimension in the structure of volleyball game. The subject of the research is specific-motoric abilities and situation-motoric skills of 52 volleyball players aged from 16 to 17. The basic goal of the research is to establish the effect of specificmotoric abilities on situation-motoric skills of volleyball players in latent space. In order to assess the specific-motoric abilities 9 tests are used, and to assess the situationmotoric skills 3 precision tests are used. The results obtained from the 12 applied tests are worked out through the basic statistic parameters. Through component factor analysis 3 latent specific-motoric dimensions are isolated as well as one situationmotoric dimension. By regressive analysis there is established a low but statistically significant relation between the criterion and predictor latent dimensions. That confirms the dependence and relation between the specific-motoric abilities and situationmotoric skills. Researches in the fi eld of similar questions have been conducted by the following authors: Jurko et al., 2013 and Nešić, et al., 2011. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]