The Interrelationships of Three Change of Direction Ability Tests in Elite Female Volleyball Players: An Exploratory...

The purpose of this exploratory study is to evaluate the relationships between commonly used change of direction COD tests (t-test, L-drill, and 5-10-5 shuttle) in Division I female volleyball players.

Sixteen Division I female volleyball players (age = 19.4 ± 1.4 years, height = 176.2 ± 10.6 cm, weight = 71.5 ± 11.1 kg) participated in this study and completed three trials of the t-test, L-drill, and 5-10-5 shuttle in a randomized order. The best time for each test was recorded and analyzed. Pearson product correlations were used to determine the interrelationships between each of the three COD tests. Additionally, a composite score was created by summing the best performances of the three drills. The relationship between each test and the composite score was also established via Spearman rank correlations.

The mean ± standard deviation for time to complete each test was 10.9 ± 0.7 s for the t-test, 8.6 ± 0.3 s for the L-drill, and 4.9 ± 0.2 s for the 5-10-5. Statistically significant correlations were shown between the t-test and L-Drill (r = 0.89, p < 0.001,), between the L-drill and 5-10-5 Shuttle (r = 0.91, p < 0.001), and between the 5-10-5 Shuttle and t-test (r = 0.83, p < 0.001). In addition, each COD test significantly correlated with the composite score (ρ = 0.92-0.95).

The high degree of agreement between the three COD tests suggests that any one of them could be utilized for testing COD ability in female volleyball players.