Relationship Between Stoppage Time, Rally Length, and Selected Performance Variables in Elite Men's Volleyball Competitions

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the relationships between stoppage time (ST), rally time (RT), and selected performance variables in elite men’s volleyball competitions across three leagues with and without ST restrictions. Methods: A total of 1616 rallies were analysed, including 450 from the 2022 Men’s Volleyball Nations League (VNL), 500 from the 2022 Turkish Efeler League (TL) playoff finals, and 666 from the 2022 Italian Serie A League (IL) playoff finals series. Match videos were analysed using Data Volley software, and technical performance variables, RT, and ST were recorded. Spearman correlation and Kruskal–Wallis H tests were applied to examine relationships and differences among leagues (p < .05). Ethical approval was not required because only publicly available match data were analysed. Results: Significant positive correlations were found between ST and RT in all leagues (ρ = .28–.33, p < .001). Weak to moderate negative correlations were observed between ST and reception percentage in the IL and VNL (ρ = −.08 to −.13, p < .05), while a weak positive correlation was found in the TL (ρ = .10, p = .029). Across all leagues, ST was negatively correlated with first-attack success (ρ = −.15 to −.21, p < .001). Conclusion: ST was significantly shorter in the VNL compared with the TL and IL. Differences were also observed in reception and attack performance variables across leagues. These findings indicate that temporal characteristics of the game are associated with technical performance in elite men’s volleyball.