Vertical Jumping Tests in Volleyball

Abstract

Vertical jumping is known to be important in volleyball, and jumping performance tests are frequently studied for their reliability and validity. However, most studies concerning jumping in volleyball have dealt with standard rather than sport-specific jumping procedures and tests. The aims of this study, therefore, were (a) to determine the reliability and factorial validity of 2 volleyball-specific jumping tests, the block jump (BJ) test and the attack jump (AJ) test, relative to 2 frequently used and systematically validated jumping tests, the countermovement jump test and the squat jump test and (b) to establish volleyball position-specific differences in the jumping tests and simple anthropometric indices (body height [BH], body weight, and body mass index [BMI]). The BJ was performed from a defensive volleyball position, with the hands positioned in front of the chest. During an AJ, the players used a 2- to 3-step approach and performed a drop jump with an arm swing followed by a quick vertical jump. A total of 95 high-level volleyball players (all men) participated in this study. The reliability of the jumping tests ranged from 0.97 to 0.99 for Cronbach's alpha coefficients, from 0.93 to 0.97 for interitem correlation coefficients and from 2.1 to 2.8 for coefficients of variation. The highest reliability was found for the specific jumping tests. The factor analysis extracted one significant component, and all of the tests were highly intercorrelated. The analysis of variance with post hoc analysis showed significant differences between 5 playing positions in some of the jumping tests. In general, receivers had a greater jumping capacity, followed by libero players. The differences in jumping capacities should be emphasized vis-a-vis differences in the anthropometric measures of players, where middle hitters had higher BH and body weight, followed by opposite hitters and receivers, with no differences in the BMI between positions.

The middle blocker in volleyball: A systematic review

“…Concerning the Vertical Jump (VJ) and Countermovement Jump (CMJ), some studies have been conducted on elite-playing level athletes. Several results showed no differences in VJ and CMJ performances between middle blockers and other positions, only between receivers and setters (p<.05) (Sattler et al, 2015;Sattler et al, 2012). These differences were not found between women (Sattler et al, 2015).…”

“…Overall, middles tend to be the tallest and heaviest players in their teams, regardless the competitive level, both in men (Ciesla et al, 2015;Marques et al, 2009;Palao et al, 2014;Sattler et al, 2012;Sheppard et al, 2009;Toledo Fonseca et al, 2010) and women (Palao et al, 2014).…”

General Anthropometric and Specific Physical Fitness Profile of High-Level Junior Water Polo Players

“…While general fitness tests (i.e. general motor and/or endurance capacities) are important indices of overall fitness status and allow a comparison of athletes from different sports (Frenkl et al, 2001), specific fitness tests allow a more precise insight into sport-specific capacities and therefore provide a basis for comparing athletes in the same sport (Bampouras and Marrin, 2009; Holloway et al, 2008; Hughes et al, 2003; Sattler et al, 2011). However, there is a clear lack of studies dealing with specific physical fitness profiles in water polo and, in particular, we found no study which has investigated this problem among high-quality junior water polo players.…”

Intrasession Reliability of the Tests to Determine Lateral Asymmetry and Performance in Volleyball Players

“…The tests to evaluate muscle asymmetry have previously shown their usefulness in determining lateral symmetry in athletes of different disciplines, including volleyball [23][24][25][26]. Similarly, the selected performance tests have already been routinely used and indicated as valid in previous investigations in volleyball players [27][28][29].…”

“…The AJ [29] is a performance test performed on an Optojump™ Next system of photoelectric cells (Microgate Corporation, Bolzano, Italy) that measures the contact time to the ground and the flight time, using optical system measurements consisting of a transmitting and receiving bar, with an accuracy of 1/1000 s. The flight time (Tf ) and the gravity acceleration (g) were automatically used by the Optojump™ Next software (v.1.12.1. for Windows, Microgate Corporation, Bolzano, Italy) to calculate the vertical height (h) of the jump.…”