Senior teacher N.A. Kurochkina¹
Associate professor P.P. Nikolaev⁵
Senior teacher E.A. Bogomolova²
Dr. Hab., Professor V.P. Guba^3,4
1Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Moscow
²Samara State University of Social Sciences and Education, Samara
³Smolensk State University, Smolensk
⁴Russian State University of Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism (SCOLIPE), Moscow
⁵Samara State University of Economics, Samara

Objective of the study was to improve the methodology of pedagogical observations of competitive activity in volleyball.
Methods and structure of the study. For the study purposes, the following methods were applied: 1) theoretical analysis and synthesis of specialized literature, 2) pedagogical observations.
Results of the study and conclusions. The article presents the classification of the opponent's service returns in volleyball. We analyzed the positive, satisfactory and unsatisfactory service returns and gave their brief description.
The presented classification of the opponent's service returns was tested during the Russian Super League Championship among men in the 2018-2019 season. A total of 36 volleyball games were analyzed based on the video recordings.
The opponent’s service return classification made it possible to conduct effective pedagogical observations of the volleyball players' competitive activity, duly identify errors in the execution of tactical and technical actions, make appropriate adjustments and make up for the lagging physical qualities of the athletes. The results of the tests conducted during the pedagogical observations of competitive activity confirmed that the service return effectiveness during competitions did not correspond to the model characteristics of top-class volleyball players.

Keywords: volleyball, players, service return, criteria, types.

References

1. Ashibokov M.D. Kriterii otsenki tehniko-takticheskoy podgotovlennosti komand voleybolistov [Criteria for assessing technical and tactical skills of volleyball teams]. Vestnik AGU, 2006, no. 1 (20), pp. 290-293.
2. Guba V.P., Bulyikina L.V., Kurochkina N.A. Teoretiko-metodicheskie aspekty planirovaniya i organizatsii tekhniko-takticheskoy podgotovki voleybolistov [Theoretical and methodological aspects of planning and organizing technical and tactical training of volleyball players]. Innovatsionnye tekhnologii v sisteme sportivnoy podgotovki, massovoy fizicheskoy kultury i sporta [Innovative technologies in sports training, mass physical education and sport system]. Proc. nat. res.-pract. conf. with international part., 2019. pp. 43-46.
3. Nikolaeva I.V., Shikhovtsov Yu.V., Kudinova Yu.V., Kareva Yu.Yu. Sovremennoe sostoyanie problemy sovershenstvovaniya zashchitnykh deystviy v voleybole [Current state of problem of improving defense in volleyball]. Concept. 2017. No. 131. pp. 1366-1370.
4. Panyashin A.A, Shikhovtsov Yu.V., Nikolaeva I.V. Vremennoy defitsit – kharakternaya cherta zashchitnykh deystviy v sovremennom voleybole [Temporary deficit as characteristic feature of protective actions in modern volleyball]. OlymPlus. Gumanitarnaya versiya. 2015. No. 1. pp. 88-91.