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Volleyball Statistics Defined | What Does It Actually Mean?
Volleyball statistics are important because they can provide an objective way to measure performance. This data, along with other information that may be available, will assist the coach to make an informed decision to enhance performance (read more on why we need volleyball statistics and how volleyball statistics can help you).
However, volleyball statistics is loaded with terminology with precise definitions that can be quite intimidating. This is especially the case when you first look at a volleyball box score and you don’t understand terminology like “kills” and hitting pct.” Fear not, I am here to explain some of the common statistics used in volleyball.
Attack
An is an attempt to attack (hit strategically) the ball into the opponent’s court in an effort to win a point. If the action is only intended to keep the ball in play then this is usually considered a and not an attack attempt.
(K) is an attack attempt that directly results in a point won. The attack attempt is un-returnable by the opposition and is a direct cause of the opponent not returning the ball.
(0) is an attack attempt that results in the continuation of play.
(E) is an attack attempt that directly results in a point lost, e.g. an attacker spikes the ball into the net or out of bounds. An attack attempt that is block killed is also usually considered an attack error or point lost, although it could be statted differently as an .
(K%) is the percentage of attack attempts that results in a kill.
(H%) is the percentage of attack attempts that results in a net kill when 1 error cancels out 1 kill. This is one of the best performance indicators that is closely associated with success in volleyball (see link).
(K/S) is the average number of kills per set.
Reception
A reception attempt is the first ball contact from an opposition serve. Reception and pass are terms used interchangeably.
(RE) is a reception attempt that directly results in a point lost, e.g. shanked pass.
(RE%) is the percentage of passes that resulted in a reception error. It is calculated as follows:
If only reception errors are recorded then the second formula can be used. However, this only applies to the whole team and not for an individual player.
is used in higher-level stats and it is a way to rate the pass on a 3-point scale, usually based on the number of attack options. The basic definitions are as follows: 3 point pass/ Perfect or Excellent Pass | all attack options available (middle is available for a quick attack) 2 point pass/ Positive Pass | limited attack options available (middle is not available for a quick attack) 1 point pass/ Negative Pass | no attack options available (chasing down shanked passes) 0 point pass/ Reception Error | reception error (point lost).
This system can be expanded to a 4-point passing system. Reception zones can also be used to define the quality of the pass (see below for an example). Click on this link on how I define each pass quality.
is a weighted average to determine the overall quality of a pass, which will range from 3.0 or 4.0 (all perfect passes) to 0.0 (all errors). It is calculated as follows:
Excellent/ Perfect Pass Percentage (Exc%) is the percentage of passes that are perfect. It is calculated as follows:
Positive Pass Percentage (Pos%) is the percentage of passes that are both positive and perfect. It is calculated as follows:
The positive pass percentage is usually reported first with the excellent in brackets, e.g. Player A passed 56% (30%).
Service
A is the first ball contact that starts a rally.
(SA) is a service attempt that directly results in a point won, e.g. the pass is shanked.
(SE) is a service attempt that directly results in a point lost, e.g. serve goes into the net or out of bounds.
(SA%) is the percentage of service attempts that results in an ace. It is calculated as follows:
(SA/S) is the average number of aces per set.
is used for higher-level stats and it is a way to rate the serve on a 4-point scale, usually based on the number of attack options for the receiving team. The ratings include: 4 point serve | service ace (point won) 3 point serve | receiving team has no attack options 2 point serve | receiving team has limited attack options 1 point serve | the receiving team has all attack options 0 point serve | service error (point lost) Click on this link for how I define each serve quality.
is a weighted average to determine the overall quality of a serve, which will range from 4.0 (all aces) to 0.0 (all errors). It is calculated as follows:
Block
A is a ball touch in an attempt to rebound an opponent’s attack.
(BK) is a block attempt that directly results in a point won for the blocking team, i.e. stuff block. If using the NCAA system, the block kill is split up into: (BS) is a one-person block kill. The blocker is awarded 1 full point scored. (BA) is a two or three-person block kill. Each blocker is awarded 0.5 points scored. The block assist can be split up specifically into a (DB) or (TB)
(BE) is a block attempt that directly results in a point lost, e.g. net violation. Block outs (when an opposition attack rebounds off a block attempt and the blocking team cannot keep the ball in play as a result) are not generally considered a block error.
(BK/S) is the average number of block kills per set.
Setting/ Assist
A is an attempt to set up an attack attempt.
is a setting attempt that directly results in a point lost, e.g. double touch.
The NCAA uses an assist system to measure setting performance. An is a set attempt that results in an attack attempt. Set attempts that result in a free ball are not considered an assist attempt.
(A) is a set that results in a kill.
(A%) is the percentage of assist attempts that results in a kill. It is calculated as:
(A/S) is the average number of assists per set.
Digs/ Defence
A is an attempt to defend against an opposition attack attempt. Defending balls from a blocked ball/ put back/ rebounded block and from an opposition free ball are generally not considered as a dig attempt. This can be statted differently as and , respectively.
(D) is a dig attempt that results in the continuation of play.
is a dig attempt that results in the rally ending, e.g. shanked dig. This is not generally considered an error or point lost for the defender, thus why I prefer the term over .
(D%) is the percentage of dig attempts that are kept in play.
(D/S) is the average number of digs per set.
Point Scoring
is a combination of attack, serve and block, i.e. skills that can directly score points. It is one of the most important skills in volleyball as it is closely associated with success in volleyball (see link).
are all points won as a direct result of the actions of the player or team.
are all points lost as a direct result of the actions of the player or team.
(PTS/S) is the average number of points won per set.
is the net difference between points won and points lost in errors.
Although it is common in usage to evaluate a player’s or team’s point-scoring performance (e.g. see here), there are better point-scoring performance indicators out there (see link).
Other
Sets Played (SP) is simply the number of sets played by the player or team. You need to record this if you want to have per set averages.
(TA) is an abbreviation for Total Attempts.
Sideout Percentage (SO%) is the percentage of rally points won as the receiving team.
Break Point Percentage (BP%) is the percentage of rally points won as the serving team.
(BHE) is when an official calls for any double touches, lifts or thrown balls. This has to happen outside of setting, attack, block and reception actions as they would be recorded under their own errors. It means it can only happen with free ball attempts and free ball dig attempts, a rare occurrence, which does make it a bit of a redundant statistic.
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