Upper- and lower-limb muscular strength as correlates of overhead serve accuracy in male club volleyball players

Jurnal Penelitian Guru Indonesia July 12, 2026 Volume 11, Number 2 4 authors

Abstract

Overhead serving is a decisive skill in modern volleyball. But the physical qualities behind serving accuracy at developmental club level haven't been fully measured. This study looked at how upper-limb (arm) strength, lower-limb (leg) strength, and serving accuracy are related in male club volleyball players. We also estimated how much of the variance in serve accuracy those strength qualities explain. Using a quantitative correlational design, we recruited 15 male athletes from the Surgana Volleyball Club in Padang, Indonesia, out of a population of 18, through purposive sampling. Arm strength was tested with a one-minute push-up test, leg strength with a back-and-leg dynamometer, and serving accuracy via a validated ten-trial overhead-serve target test. Data were checked for normality using the Lilliefors test and analyzed with Pearson product-moment and multiple correlation, with the coefficient of determination expressing explained variance (α =.05). All variables were normally distributed. Arm strength (M = 35.40, SD = 11.13) and leg strength (M = 137.00 kg, SD = 31.31) each had a strong, significant link with serve accuracy (M = 27.33, SD = 4.20): r =.887, p <.001 (r² = 78.7%) and r =.881, p <.001 (r² = 77.6%), respectively. The combined model explained 78.7% of the variance. These findings indicate that whole-body maximal strength is a primary correlate of serving accuracy and support integrated, kinetic-chain-oriented strength programming rather than isolated upper-limb training for developing servers. Coaches should monitor and develop both segments concurrently while cultivating technique and neuromuscular control.

Authors

  1. Firman Saputra

    Universitas Negeri Padang

  2. Alnedral Alnedral

    Universitas Negeri Padang

  3. Yogi Setiawan

    Universitas Negeri Padang

  4. Rudyanto Rudyanto

    Universitas Negeri Padang

Keywords

References

  1. No references are available for this article.