Impact of Gaze Shift Pattern on Volleyball Blocking Performance

Gaze behavior in sports provides essential visual information for anticipating and adapting to dynamic play situations.In volleyball, effective blocking requires athletes to allocate attention between the ball and the spiker, yet the specific gaze strategies associated with blocking success remain unclear.The purpose of this study was to investigate whether longer gaze duration on the ball compared to the opposing spiker decreases the likelihood of blocking failures.Eight female college-level volleyball players wore Tobii Pro 2 eye-tracking glasses during practice matches, and gaze trajectories were analyzed in Tobii Pro Lab.Gaze duration ratios for the ball and the spiker were calculated, and blocking outcomes were coded as success or failure .A 1 ( ) 0 ( ) paired t-test revealed that during blocking failures, athletes spent significantly more time gazing at the opposing spiker than at the ball .Simple linear 0. 62 0. 13 ( ) 0. 38 0. 13, < 0. 05 ( ) regression showed a weak positive relationship between spiker gaze duration and ( 2 = 0. 26) blocking failure rate.These results indicate that longer gaze durations on spikers are linked to blocking failure, supporting the use of quiet eye training to enhance gaze behavior and minimize blocking errors.However, the weak association highlights the need to explore additional contextual factors to better understand blocking performance.