THE INFLUENCE OF THE ATTACK TEMPO ON THE TYPE OF BLOCK IN HIGH-LEVEL MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

1. THE INFLUENCE OF THE ATTACK TEMPO ON THE TYPE OF BLOCK IN HIGH-LEVEL MEN’S VOLLEYBALL Raúl Hileno, Cristòfol Salas, & Bernat Buscà

2. INTRODUCTION Attack tempo is the elapsed time between the setting touch and the attack hit (Fernández, Salas, & Molina, 2009). Fernández, M., Salas, C., & Molina, J. J. (2009). Technical and tactical variations in the blocking of zero attacks considering contextual variables: the influence of the scoreboard in volleyball. Kronos, 8(14), 71–78.

3. INTRODUCTION Attack tempo is one of the main variables in the game because it’s a determinant factor for the block cohesiveness and the attack efficacy (Afonso & Mesquita, 2011). Afonso, J., & Mesquita, I. (2011). Determinants of block cohesiveness and attack efficacy in high-level women’s volleyball. European Journal of Sport Science, 11(1), 69–75.

4. INTRODUCTION Data Volley System (Data Project, Bologna, Italy, release 3.4.2) includes attack tempo in its category system. Attack tempo

5. INTRODUCTION The different user manuals of this software are unclear with the criteria to distinguish quick, fast, and high attacks.

6. INTRODUCTION Fernández et al. (2009) propose three criteria to define the attack tempo categories: 3) Examine the interaction between attack and block. 1) Control the trajectory (maximum height) of the setting pass. 2) Observe the relationship between set and attack. Fernández, M., Salas, C., & Molina, J. J. (2009). Technical and tactical variations in the blocking of zero attacks considering contextual variables: the influence of the scoreboard in volleyball. Kronos, 8(14), 71–78.

7. INTRODUCTION • The purpose of the present study was to analyse the relationship between attack tempo and type of block in high-level men’s volleyball. • Thus, we expected to determine: • The time intervals when the different types of block are significantly formed. • A temporal threshold to differentiate fast and high attacks of the outside hitters.

8. METHODS T12 DB . T12 DB . T18 HB . T14 DB . T04 HB . … Sequential Concurrent I II Event-base III IV Time-base Observational design Type of data Idiographic Multidimensional Event Multi-event Punctual Unidimensional Follow-up State/Interval Timed-event F/N/M Nomothetic Blanco, A., Losada, J. L., & Anguera, M. T. (2003). Data analysis techniques in observational designs applied to the environment-behaviour relation. Medio Ambiente y Comportamiento Humano, 4(2), 111–126. Bakeman, R., & Gottman, J. M. (1992). Observing interaction: an introduction to sequential analysis. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

9. METHODS • Participants • 15 volleyball matches (57 sets) from the 2010 Men’s Pan-American Cup held in San Juan (Puerto Rico). • 9 national teams: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico, USA, and Venezuela. • 1451 multi-events (attack-block interactions).

10. METHODS • Observational instrument • Attack tempo = 21 categories: 0.2 to 2.2 s. • Type of block = 5 categories (Data Volley System): Hole Double Triple Single No block

11. METHODS Procedures and material The matches were recorded using a digital camcorder (JVC Everio GZ-MG630) at 25 FPS.

12. METHODS Procedures and material Frame-by-frame analysis was performed using Kinovea video analysis software (Charmant & Contrib., Bordeaux, France, release 0.8.15).

13. METHODS Procedures and material Multi-events were recorded using MS Excel 2007 and were analysed using SDIS-GSEQ statistical software (Bakeman & Quera, Atlanta, GA, EUA, release 5.1).

14. METHODS Statistical analysis • The adjusted residual for each cell of the contingency table was computed. A z-score greater than 1.96 indicated that the relationship between a given and a target category was significant. • The relationship between attack tempo and type of block criteria was assessed using Pearson’s chi-square tests for independence. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05.

15. RESULTS • There was a relationship between attack tempo and type of block criteria (2 = 718.50, P < 0.01). • Twenty-two significant relationships were found between the given and the target categories (Z > 1.96, P < 0.05): 1.0 – 1.2 s 1.3 – 1.8 s 1.6 – 1.8 s 0.2 – 0.9 s 0.4, 0.8 – 0.9 s Hole Double Triple Single No block

16. DISCUSSION Fast attacks of the outside hitters: 0.6 – 1.2 s (Selinger & Ackermann-Blount, 1992; Zimmermanm, 1993) High attacks of the outside hitters: 1.3 s onwards (Zimmermanm, 1993) Quick attacks of the middle hitters: 0.3 – 0.5 s (Selinger & Ackermann-Blount, 1992) Triple No block Single Hole Double Non-cohesive blocks + jump settings in ideal zones + attack simulations by the middle hitters (Afonso, Mesquita, Marcelino, & Da Silva, 2010) Cohesive blocks + settings in non-ideal zones + non-simulations by the middle hitters (Afonso et al., 2010) Afonso, J., Mesquita, I., Marcelino, R., & Da Silva, J.A. (2010). Analysis of the setter’s tactical action in high-performance women’s volleyball. Kinesiology, 42(1), 82–89. Selinger, A., & Ackermann-Blount, J. (1992). Power volleyball. Paris: Vigot. Zimmermann, B. (1993). Main characteristics of defense (block, court defense, counterattack) in top volleyball. International Volley Tech, 1(93), 9–16.

17. CONCLUSIONS Temporal threshold Non-cohesive blocks Cohesive blocks Double Triple No-block Single Hole High attacks Quick/Fast attacks 1.3 s onwards 0.2 – 1.2 s

18. THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION THE INFLUENCE OF THE ATTACK TEMPO ON THE TYPE OF BLOCK IN HIGH-LEVEL MEN’S VOLLEYBALL Raúl Hileno, Cristòfol Salas, & Bernat Buscà