Associations between spike velocity and physical characteristics in elite sitting volleyball players
- 1School of Physical Education & Health, Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, Shanghai, China
- 2The Branch of Beijing No.2 Middle School, Beijing, China
Abstract
Purpose: This study examined associations between spike velocity and anthropometric characteristics, anaerobic performance, and physical fitness in elite sitting volleyball players.
Methods: Thirty elite sitting volleyball players performed six maximal-effort spike trials and completed assessments of seated anthropometry, arm-crank anaerobic performance, upper-body strength and power, trunk function, and sport-specific movement performance. Pooled Pearson correlations, sex-adjusted partial correlations, sex-specific descriptive analyses, exploratory sex-adjusted regression, and a VS1-only sensitivity analysis were performed. Between-sex comparisons and correlation analyses used Benjamini–Hochberg (BH) false discovery rate (FDR) correction.
Results: Men achieved higher spike velocity than women (67.22 ± 6.74 vs. 51.51 ± 6.04 km/h; Hedges’ g = 2.38, BH-adjusted p < 0.001). In the pooled sample, spike velocity showed strong positive correlations with seated vertical grip reach (r = 0.80), sitting height (r = 0.76), handgrip strength (r = 0.75), one-repetition maximum bench press (r = 0.74), and seated medicine-ball chest-pass distance (r = 0.70), and moderate positive correlations with hand span (r = 0.69), seated rotational medicine-ball throw (r = 0.65), peak power (r = 0.51), and mean power (r = 0.51). After adjustment for sex, most of the positive pooled associations were substantially attenuated, and none remained significant after FDR correction. The largest absolute sex-adjusted partial correlations were observed for hand span (partial r = 0.52), seated vertical grip reach (partial r = 0.48), relative peak power (partial r = −0.48), and sitting height (partial r = 0.40). Sex-specific descriptive analyses showed positive anthropometric correlations in both men and women, whereas strength and absolute anaerobic-power associations were less consistent. The exploratory regression including sex, seated vertical grip reach, and seated rotational medicine-ball throw accounted for 71.9% of the variance in spike velocity in this sample (adjusted R² = 0.687), with seated vertical grip reach retaining a positive coefficient (B = 0.457, p = 0.010). Excluding three VS2 athletes did not materially alter the findings.
Conclusion: Several strong pooled associations were substantially influenced by between-sex differences. Seated anthropometric measures showed the most consistent positive associations across adjusted and sex-specific analyses, but the findings remain associative and exploratory.
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BibTeX
@article{sun2026associations,
title = {{Associations between spike velocity and physical characteristics in elite sitting volleyball players}},
author = {Shaocheng Sun and Meiling Ren and Jinhu Yan},
journal = {Frontiers in Physiology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fphys.2026.1992570},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2026.1992570},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Associations between spike velocity and physical characteristics in elite sitting volleyball players
AU - Shaocheng Sun
AU - Meiling Ren
AU - Jinhu Yan
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/12
JO - Frontiers in Physiology
DO - 10.3389/fphys.2026.1992570
UR - https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2026.1992570
AB - Purpose: This study examined associations between spike velocity and anthropometric characteristics, anaerobic performance, and physical fitness in elite sitting volleyball players. Methods: Thirty elite sitting volleyball players performed six maximal-effort spike trials and completed assessments of seated anthropometry, arm-crank anaerobic performance, upper-body strength and power, trunk function, and sport-specific movement performance. Pooled Pearson correlations, sex-adjusted partial correlations, sex-specific descriptive analyses, exploratory sex-adjusted regression, and a VS1-only sensitivity analysis were performed. Between-sex comparisons and correlation analyses used Benjamini–Hochberg (BH) false discovery rate (FDR) correction. Results: Men achieved higher spike velocity than women (67.22 ± 6.74 vs. 51.51 ± 6.04 km/h; Hedges’ g = 2.38, BH-adjusted p < 0.001). In the pooled sample, spike velocity showed strong positive correlations with seated vertical grip reach (r = 0.80), sitting height (r = 0.76), handgrip strength (r = 0.75), one-repetition maximum bench press (r = 0.74), and seated medicine-ball chest-pass distance (r = 0.70), and moderate positive correlations with hand span (r = 0.69), seated rotational medicine-ball throw (r = 0.65), peak power (r = 0.51), and mean power (r = 0.51). After adjustment for sex, most of the positive pooled associations were substantially attenuated, and none remained significant after FDR correction. The largest absolute sex-adjusted partial correlations were observed for hand span (partial r = 0.52), seated vertical grip reach (partial r = 0.48), relative peak power (partial r = −0.48), and sitting height (partial r = 0.40). Sex-specific descriptive analyses showed positive anthropometric correlations in both men and women, whereas strength and absolute anaerobic-power associations were less consistent. The exploratory regression including sex, seated vertical grip reach, and seated rotational medicine-ball throw accounted for 71.9% of the variance in spike velocity in this sample (adjusted R² = 0.687), with seated vertical grip reach retaining a positive coefficient (B = 0.457, p = 0.010). Excluding three VS2 athletes did not materially alter the findings. Conclusion: Several strong pooled associations were substantially influenced by between-sex differences. Seated anthropometric measures showed the most consistent positive associations across adjusted and sex-specific analyses, but the findings remain associative and exploratory.
SN - 1664-042X
ER -