Evidence for Differences in Men's and Women's Volleyball Games Based on Skills Effectiveness in Four Consecutive Olympic Tournaments1:

Abstract

This study compares the differences in effectiveness of the five volleyball skills (serve, reception, attack, block, and dig) between men and women in high-level tournament games played at the last four consecutive Olympics. Results showed that men's and women's volleyball games are completely differentiated by two outcome measures. The first one is the higher proportion of faulty serves performed by men which is essentially attributable to the 19 cm difference in net height, while the second one derives from the fact that men outperform women at the execution of the attack.