Decision-making in volleyball block: Comparison between elite and amateur players

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the decision making in a volleyball block situation, based on the actions of the setter. The sample was composed by 40 female volleyball players (24.0±4.9 years), that were federated and had a role in blocking actions during the game. decision making in blocks was analyzed, using video sequences projected in a real scale. The participants, according to their skill level, were classified in elite group (n=10), compound for the players of the spanish national women volleyball team, and amateur group (n=30), with non-professional players from second and first women spanish division. The setting sequences that the participants watched were in consonance with their skill level, so that every group saw the same number of setting sequences, made by two different players, of the same competitive level. A comparison between the success percentages in both groups in the different types of settings was performed. No significant differences were found in success between the elite and amateur groups, although significant differences were detected after considering the data, also an affect size over the mean value. These differences in the means of the success variables may be important from a practical point of view, inasmuch as translated to the playing ground would imply a higher success. Besides a high positive correlation between the success variables was found, that points a trend to fail or success independently of the setting zone. These results can be the base to perform intervention programs to improve the decision making in this specific action.