Division Three Volleyball Timeouts

Investigating the effect of timeouts on the outcome of a set.

Authors

Affiliations

Ivan Ramler

St. Lawrence University

Cassie Richter

St. Lawrence University

University of San Francisco

Sierra Hess

St. Lawrence University

Vivian Johnson

St. Lawrence University

Module

Please note that these material have not yet completed the required pedagogical and industry peer-reviews to become a published module on the SCORE Network. However, instructors are still welcome to use these materials if they are so inclined.

Introduction

In volleyball, timeouts are typically called by the team at a disadvantage (e.g., losing) to stop the opponent’s momentum, address tactical issues, or give players a break. They are also used at critical moments to discuss strategy and prepare for decisive points. In NCAA Division III volleyball, teams can call up to three timeouts per set and there are three sets per game.

The Liberty League is made up of 12 New York state colleges including St. Lawrence, Clarkson University, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, the University of Rochester, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Skidmore College, Union College, Vassar College, Bard College, Rochester Institute of Technology, and Ithaca College. When looking at the data for the Liberty League division for women’s volleyball, we can see exactly when a timeout was called.

In this module, we will analyze the effects of calling a timeout on wining a set. By looking only at the first or last timeout of a set, we will be able to determine how likely a team is to win that set after calling the first or final timeout. Understanding the effects that a timeout has on a set can inform strategic decision-making for coaches and allow them to understand how much calling a timeout may help their game.

Welcome video

: Preliminary script for video

Learning Objectives

By the end of this activity, you will be able to:

1. Understand statistical concepts such as population/sample and parameter/statistic.

2. Create a 95% confidence interval and explain what that interval means.

3. Identify potential reasons for outcomes.

Methods

Students are assumed to have been exposed to confidence intervals for a single proportion (or that the instructor will use the activity to introduce them).

Technology requirement: The activity handout provides summarized binary data so that no statistical software is required. However, the activity could use software such as Minitab or StatKey that allow for Binomial data to be entered.

Length of Activity

Suitable for an in-class example.

Data

The data was originally collected by scraping the play-by-play data from each set for each of the 12 teams in the Liberty League from 2013 to 2022. An example webpage that was scraped is available here.

The handouts have summarize the relevant data and don’t need direct access to the data file.

Materials

Class handout

Class handout - with solutions

Conclusion

In conclusion, the analysis of timeouts in D3 women’s volleyball has provided valuable insights into how timeouts can effect a game. One notable finding from this worksheet is that the chance of winning when calling the first timeout is substantially higher than if the team calls last timeout of the set. This result makes sense since calling a timeout earlier on gives you more time to make a comeback. (That said, the team that calls the timeout still has a fairly low chance to win regardless of whether or not it was the first or last timeout.)

The difference in probability of winning a set based on which timeout you look at means that calling a timeout earlier on can greatly increase your chances of winning a set/ game.