Table 1

Description of the variables studied.

RoleVariableCategoriesDescription
IndependentCourt designWide (W)Court of 6 metres wide by 4.5 metres deep.
Narrow (N)Court of 4.5 metres wide by 6 metres deep.
DependentNumber of total contacts produced in each rallyCNumber of contacts made in each rally between the two teams.
DependentPossessions made per pointPTotal number of ball possessions per team executed in each rally. 
DependentGame complexes completed per pointKFrequency at which the maximum number of contacts (three) was used up in each possession per rally.
DependentNumber of overhead passes in the first action per pointONumber of defensive actions carried out with overhead pass on the first touch in each rally.
CovariatePeriodPerAllocation of the period in which each set is played in relation to the intervention (match one or match two).
CovariateSequenceSeqOrder of allocation of the courts on which the sets were played (WN or NW).
Possible confounding variableScore differenceSDDifference in the score between the two teams at the end of each set played.
WN: wide-narrow; NW: narrow-wide.