Integra

Introduction
Rally Scoring system (RSS) reduced the mean set and match duration compared with the side out system in Volleyball
[1, 2]. However, it was unclear whether the RSS would change the timing and point characteristics in Championships of
different levels. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to compare the duration of a) match, b) set and the score
fluctuation between different levels of men’s volleyball playing, i.e. top: FIVB World League (WL); high: Italian
Championship (IC); moderate: Hellenic Championship (HC).

Methods
The data were collected from 112 matches (440 sets) of the 2003 WT, 209 matches (831 sets) of the 2002-03 IC and
154 matches (678 sets) of the 2002-2003 HC. All the data were collected from the official records of the standard score
sheets kept during the matches and presented on the FIVB, IT, and HC official websites. One-way ANOVA was used to
analyze the differences in the duration of a) matches, b) set to 25 points (S25), c) tie-break set (S15), d) total points of
match, e) points of loser team in S25, f) points of loser team in S15, g) number of sets played. When a significant
difference was identified, a post hoc Scheffe analysis was conducted to determine the difference. The mean difference
was significant at .05 level.

Results
Significant difference was found, F(2, 1728) = 6.920, p <.01 in S25 time between HC and WL (p<.01), HC and IC (p<.05).
Also, significant difference was found, F(2, 1728) = 6.765, p <.01, between HC and WL (p<.05), HC and IC (p<.01).

Discussion / Conclusions
It seems that the RSS had the same effect on the total time of matches, the total number of points and the mean number
of sets per match at different levels of Volleyball playing. However, top and high level of Volleyball such as WL and
IC showed larger S25 duration and larger number of points of the loser team in S25 than moderate HC. Furthermore,
the high level of the teams that participated at WL and IC increased the percentage of matches played to 4 and 5 sets.
The largest percentage of sets (29-41%) with the minimum difference of points indicated an increase in the excitement
[3] of the Volleyball games at all levels.

References
[1]. Kountouris P., Laios Y. (2000). Coaching Volleyball, Feb - Mar, 26-30.
[2]. Urena A. (2001). The Coach, Greek Translation, 1, 12-18.
[3]. Kountrouris P., et al. (2001). Physical Activity & Quality of life, 2, 21-27.

NOTA: O texto com a iconografia está no anexo.

Arquivo