A BRIEF STATISTICAL STUDY ON THE SERIE A1 WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL LEAGUE (2022-2023 SEASON)

Introduction

The Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Women’s League is undoubtedly one of the most followed volleyball championships in the world, and we might even venture to say that it is the most beautiful championship of all.

The league is renowned for its high level of competitiveness, and the matches are always full of emotions. Many international players decide every year to come to Italy and join the great family of Lega Pallavolo Serie A1. In the 2022-2023 season, Serie A1 Women’s League boasts some of the best players in the world, including Olympic champions and MVPs from Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, Zhu Ting and Jordan Larson, as well as 7 of the 12 Americans who won gold in Tokyo, and also Isabelle Haak, Asia Wolosz, Ebrar Karakurt, and many other stars of European and world volleyball.

The 2022-23 season marks the 78th edition of the Serie A1 Women’s Volleyball Championship, with 14 teams registered, totaling 202 athletes (an average of 14 athletes per team). After the 26 Regular Season matches, the bottom two teams in the standings are relegated to Serie A2, while the others continue with the Playoff Scudetto following the pairing formula 1-8, 2-7, 3-6, 4-5, best of three matches.

This article serves as a brief report with the goal of analyzing some of the key aspects that characterize the Serie A1 Women’s Volleyball Championship, such as the nationalities of the players, their roles, age, and height.

Nationalities and Roles

In Table 1, it is observed that there are 80 foreign players registered in Serie A1 Women’s League (about 40% of the total), with an average of 6 non-Italian players per team. In particular, the teams with the most foreign players are Vero Volley Milano and Cbf Balducci Hr Macerata (8 each), while the team Wash4green Pinerolo, one of the two newcomers to Serie A1, has the fewest foreign players, with only 3.

NATIONALITY	NUMBER OF PLAYERS
ITALIAN	122 (60,40%)
NON-ITALIAN	80 (39,60%)

(Table 1)

It is interesting to observe the country of origin of the foreign players. In the 2022-2023 sports season, the most represented country is the United States, with 25 players (31%), including 7 of the 12 Americans who won the Olympic gold at the Tokyo 2020 Games. The second group of most represented countries is the Netherlands, Poland, and Belgium, which together represent 21% (5-7 players per country). A third group consists of Russia, France, and Brazil (14%, 3-4 players per country), while the remaining 34% comes from 21 different countries, including China, Serbia, Germany, Turkey, etc. (1-2 players per country).

What is the distribution of players by role? And what are the most requested roles by clubs when deciding to sign foreign players? The data in Table 2 shows the number and percentages of players divided by role and nationality.

PLAYERS BY ROLE AND NATIONALITY
NATIONALITY	SCHIACCIATRICE	CENTRALE	PALLEGGIATRICE	LIBERO	OPPOSTO
ITALIAN	34 (16,83%)	19 (16,83%)	21 (10,40%)	26 (10,40%)	7 (3,47%)
FOREIGN	32 (15,84%)	34 (9,41%)	12 (5,94%)	1 (0,50%)	16 (7,92%)
TOTAL	66(32,67%)	53(26,24%)	33(16,34%)	27(13,37%)	23(11,39%)

(Table 2)

Regarding the distribution of the roles of the players in the 2022-2023 Serie A1 Women’s Volleyball season, more than half are outside hitters and middle blockers (respectively 32.67% and 26.24%), which together represent 58.91% of the total. The remaining 41.09% is divided between palleggiatrici (16.34%), liberi (13.37%), and opposti (11.39%). The group of attackers (schiacciatrici, centrali, and opposti) constitutes 70.30% of the players. Note that the number of opposti, who are attackers, is lower than that of liberi, whose main task is defense and reception: this is due to the fact that during registration, some attackers were registered under a role different from the one in which they actually play. An example is the team Igor Gorgonzola Novara, where 7 players were registered as outside schiacciatrici and no opposti.

Now focusing on foreign players, we notice from Table 2 that foreign centrali and opposti are in the majority compared to Italian players, while there is a balance between Italians and foreigners for the schiacciatrice role (respectively 16.83% and 15.84%). Most clubs have chosen to use Italian palleggiatrici; indeed, foreign palleggiatrici are only 5.94% of the total players. Finally, we notice from the table that there is only one foreign libero in the Italian league: it is the team Savino Del Bene Scandicci, which decided to hire one of the best in the world in the libero role, the Dominican Brenda Castillo.

It is worth noting that, in order to promote the development of Italian players and support the growth of Italian volleyball, the Italian Volleyball Federation (FIPAV) has set a maximum limit of 4 foreign players on the field for each team, with a minimum of 3 Italians.

Player Age

Regarding the age of the players, see Table 3, which reports some basic statistical indices.

AGE
MEAN	S.D.	Q1	MEDIAN	Q3	MIN.	MAX.	RANGE
26.4	4.26	23	26	29	17	37	20

(Table 3)

Observing the data from Table 3, we notice that the average age is 26.4 years, the median is 26 years, and the distribution is slightly skewed to the right. The first quartile has an age range between the minimum of 17 years (Camilla Basso, middle blocker Cuneo Granda S. Bernardo) and 23 years, while the top 25% have ages ranging between 29 and 37 years (Veronica Angeloni, outside hitter Savino del Bene Scandicci). The Over 30 and Under 20 groups represent 23.27% (47) and 6.93% (14) respectively. The age difference between the oldest and youngest player is 20 years.

It is interesting to observe the average age of the players by role and nationality. In general, the average age of opposites and liberos is slightly lower (25.39 and 25.74 years, respectively), while it is higher for middle blockers and outside hitters (26.25 and 26.74 years, respectively). The average age of setters is 27.21 years, which confirms the importance of experience for this role, especially in a high-level league like Serie A1 Women’s Volleyball. Data from Table 4 also shows that, on average, the age of foreign players in Serie A1 is higher than that of Italian players, across every role.

MEAN AGE FOR ROLE AND NATIONALITY
ROLE	FOREIGN	ITALIAN	TOTAL
PALLEGGIATRICE	28.00	26.76	27.21
SCHIACCIATRICE	27.56	25.97	26.74
CENTRALE	26.58	26.06	26.25
LIBERO	31.00	25.54	25.74
OPPOSTO	25.69	24.71	25.39
MEAN	27.77	25.81	26.40

(Table 4)

Among the 9 players over 35, there are 5 schiacciatricci, including Olympic champion Jordan Larson (37 years old) and the best attacker of the 2010 World Championship, Tatiana Kosheleva (35 years old). Also, among the over-35 players, we find the best libero of the 2018 and 2022 World Championships, Monica De Gennaro (36 years old), centrale Federica Stufi (35 years old), while the oldest palleggiatrice is American Carli Lloyd (34 years old).

Finally, to conclude this section dedicated to the players’ age, we present analyses regarding the average age of the teams. The team with the highest average age is Savino del Bene Scandicci (average age 30.1 years), while the youngest team is Il Bisonte Firenze (average age 23.7 years). Only three teams have an average age under 25 years (Bartoccini-Fortinfissi Perugia, Cuneo Granda S. Bernardo, and Il Bisonte Firenze), while three teams exceed 28 years (Savino del Bene Scandicci, Megabox Ond. Savio Vallefoglia, and Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano). The majority of teams (57%) have an average age between 25 and 28 years.

Height of the players

Regarding the height of the players, refer to Table 5, which presents some basic statistical indices.

HIGH (cm)
MEAN	S.D.	Q1	MEDIAN	Q3	MIN.	MAX.	RANGE
184.22	7.75	181	185	188	162	208	46

(Table 5)

From Table 5, it can be observed that the average height of the players in Serie A1 is 184.22 cm, the median is 185 cm, while the first quartile ranges from the 162 cm of the shortest player (libero Silvia Fiori from Cbf Balducci Hr Macerata) to 181 cm. The top 25% of the tallest players range from 188 cm to 208 cm, the height of the tallest player (American centrale Merete Suzanne from Megabox Ond. Savio Vallefoglia). Both the standard deviation and the range are high, indicating a distribution of height that is strongly right-skewed, due to the fact that outside hitters and middle blockers, who represent more than half of the Serie A1 players (58.91%), have very high average values (Table 6).

MEAN HIGH (cm) FOR ROLE AND NATIONALITY
ROLE	FOREIGN	ITALIAN	TOTAL
CENTRALE	191.37	187.88	189.13
LIBERO	167.00	171.04	170.89
OPPOSTO	190.94	187.29	189.83
PALLEGGIATRICE	182.50	179.14	180.36
SCHIACCIATRICE	187.31	184.21	185.71
MEAN	188.03	181.73	184.22

(Table 6)

Excluding liberi and palleggiatrici, the average height of the attackers (schiacciatrici, centrali ed oppoosti), who make up 70.30% of the players in Serie A1, is 186.46 cm, with the maximum and minimum being the American centrale Merete Suzanne from Megabox Ond. Savio Vallefoglia (208 cm) and the 21-year-old schiacciatrice Francesca Magazza from Cuneo Granda S.Bernardo. Moreover, from Table 6, it can be observed that, with the exception of the libero (since there is only one foreign player in this role), in all other positions, the average height of foreign players is higher than that of Italians, by an average of 3.53 cm.

Final Considerations

The 14 teams field a mix of experienced veterans and emerging stars. The competition is fierce, and every match is a battle to see which team will come out victorious. The fans are also incredibly passionate, filling the arenas and cheering for their favorite teams. Another aspect that makes the Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 so special is the sportsmanship among the players. Despite the intense competition, the players respect and support each other, creating a true sense of community within the league.

Overall, the Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Femminile is not just a sport; it is a true spectacle, with extraordinary athletes, passionate fans, and unforgettable moments. The league is a true gem in the world of sports!

Note: The analyses in the article are based solely on data from the official website of the Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Femminile, as of January 13, 2023.

By Zhuohao Hu