Variations in the technical performance of elite female volleyball: evidence from a new round model

Volleyball athletes’ performance can vary between different micro-phases of the competition. This study aimed to investigate distinctions in volleyball athletes’ technical performance among rounds employing a novel volleyball round model. We further assessed how technical performance relates to attack outcome categories (point, continuation, error) across rounds. Data from 20 matches in the 2023/2024 Chinese Women’s Volleyball Super League were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and multiple logistic regression analysis. The proposed model enabled a round-specific description of technical performance and helped reveal round-to-round variation. Technical performance varied across rounds. Associations between technical variables and attack outcomes also differed by round. In Round 1, serve type showed the strongest association with attack outcomes. The jump-float serve was the most frequently used technique, while the power jump serve was more often linked with errors. In Round 2, attacks were initiated under faster tempos, and attack tempo showed the strongest association with attack outcomes. In contrast, Round 3 presented adverse conditions for attack, with blocking exerting pronounced influences on attack outcome categories. Technical performance in Rounds 4 and 5 displayed uniform patterns and attack outcomes in these rounds were statistically comparable to those in Round 2.