Game performance differences between winning and losing sitting volleyball teams regarding teams’ ability

ABSTRACT

Performance analysis research has tried to find those factors that best differentiate winning and losing teams in sport. However, the available research done within disabled sport is scarce. Then, the purpose of this study was to differentiate winning and losing teams of elite sitting volleyball games according to teams’ ranking (best/worst teams). All the matches played by the sitting volleyball men’s teams (n = 16) during the World Sitting Volleyball Championships in 2014, were analysed 168 sets (50 matches). The indicators analysed were: attack, serve, block, block of serve, defence (overhead, forearm, others), and ball receiving (overhead, forearm, others). Game analyses were described by Modified Game Performance Sheet for Sitting Volleyball. The binomial logistic regression was used to differentiate winning and losing teams. The results showed that effectiveness of attack is the main factor that characterized winning teams. Effectiveness of attack and block as well as the number of all attempts of attack and serve increases the probability of winning the set in these games between best (first eight teams) and worst teams (last eight teams). The current findings allow coaches to better control and prepare competitions focusing on improving attack, serve and reception.

KEYWORDS:

• Performance analysis
• disabled volleyball
• match analysis
• effectiveness
• adapted physical activity

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank World ParaVolley for the support during this research in the World Sitting Volleyball Championships in Elbląg in 2014; Bożydar Abadżijew and Józef Krzak (PhD) for the assistance in providing a group of athletes for the research in Poland.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research has been supported by grant No DS-216 from the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education.