The influence of the middle attacker threat on attack performance per rotation of complex 1 in top-level male volleyball
Keywords:
volleyball, high-level, middle attacker, threat, attack performanceAbstract
In volleyball, the performance of the attack in Complex 1 is an important factor in achieving victory.
However, the rotation rule requires teams to have a different line-up for each rotation and the middle attacker
(MA) to have a different starting position in each rotation. The purpose of the study was to investigate the
influence of the attack movement (threat) of the middle attacker (MA) on the attack performance, per
rotation (R1-R6) in complex 1. The sample consisted of 36 matches of the OG 2012 and the final phase of
the European Men's Championship 2021. A total of N= 4447 offensive actions were recorded and analysed.
A chi-square test of independence was performed for statistical analysis, and effect size was assessed with
the Cramer V index and adjusted residuals. The level of significance for all measurements was set at p<0.05.
The results showed that the existence of an offensive threat of the MA positively affected the performance of
the attack in all rotations of Complex 1 as the effectiveness of the attack is higher when there is a threat of
MA. In all rotations, the lack of MA threat resulted in a lower-than-expected proportion of win attacks and a
higher proportion of continued attacks, while there was no difference in lost attacks. The exception was
rotation 5 where the proportion of lost attacks was higher than expected.
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