Correlations Between Preseason Functional Test Scores and Game Performance in Female Collegiate Volleyball Players

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Biomechanics
• Exercise Physiology

Background:

• Functional tests (FT) assess motor skills like balance and strength in athletes.
• Coaches and sports medicine professionals use FT for talent evaluation, injury risk assessment, and return-to-sport decisions.
• Accurate FT predictive information is valuable for athletic performance optimization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To correlate preseason functional test scores with in-season game statistics in female collegiate volleyball players.
• To provide descriptive data for functional tests based on competition level, player position, and starter status.

Main Methods:

• A prospective cohort study involving 131 female collegiate volleyball players.
• Four functional tests were administered: standing long jump (SLJ), single-leg hop (SLH), lower extremity functional test (LEFT), and Y-Balance Test - Lower Quarter (YBT-LQ).
• Player game statistics were collected from team records post-season.

Main Results:

• Starters demonstrated significantly higher scores on all functional tests.
• Moderate negative correlations were found between LEFT scores and game statistics for specific positions (liberos, defensive specialists, outside hitters).
• Moderate positive correlations existed between YBT-LQ composite scores and game statistics across multiple positions.

Conclusions:

• Preseason functional tests exhibit low to moderate correlations with in-season game statistics.
• The SLJ, SLH, LEFT, and YBT-LQ tests can assist coaches in talent identification and inform training strategies.
• These findings suggest functional tests have a role in evaluating and developing collegiate volleyball athletes.