Apply the "Four Factors" to Volleyball

Dean Oliver published the landmark, "Basketball on Paper," examining what factors most impacted winning. 

In order those included Shooting, Turnovers, Rebounding, Free throws which some labeled SCORE, PROTECT, CRASH, ATTACK. My mnemonic for this is SPCA. 

Everyone wants efficient play. Let's apply the SPCA analogy to volleyball. How can we apply this to six volleyball skills - serve/receive, attack/block, pass/set?

SCORE - to beat good teams, increase attack efficiency (KILLS - ERRORS)/ATTACKS. Find more green lights and fewer red lights. 

Efficiency depends on both individual and team play. "One bad pass tends to lead to another." If the first pass is poor, the set is poor, and teams play 'too many' free balls. That is lethal against quality opponents. 

PROTECT - limit turnovers. The most obvious turnover is a service error. Not only do you not score, but the opponent does. They're all 'live ball turnovers'. Other common "turnovers" include 'net violations', '2 hits', lifts, and overpasses. In basketball, I say, "turnovers kill dreams." 

CRASH - rebounds maintain or surrender possession. Digs and serve receive often establish possession. Likewise blocks impact possession and may or may score or stop an attack. 

ATTACK - few analogies are perfect. And attack is a mindset. Without pressuring the defense with aggressive hitting and serving, winning is near impossible. If we track "free ball" percentage, I'll bet the team with the most free balls ends up in the scrapheap of history a lot. 

Basketball rewards "possession enders" - scores, assists leading to scores, defensive rebounds, and defensive stops. Because every play results in a point, it's harder to apportion scoring. The 'key factor' in a possession might be a serve receive, set, or spike. The great dig might allow the opponent to make an attack or dig error. 

The goal isn't to create a 'unified system' of analytics but to stimulate ideas and discussion to advance efficiency. 

Lagniappe. To do your job, know your job. Get details on expectations from your coaches. Melrose has almost always had excellent coverage. In particular, I thought Maggie Turner covered a lot of blocks this season, although I don't have stats on that.