Ben Raymond.

As a holiday distraction: the progression of player heights in elite-level men’s volleyball. Player data from the top Italian men’s competition.

Points show individual players; the lines show a smooth fit for each position.


year Libero_min Libero_mean Libero_max Middle_min Middle_mean Middle_max Setter_min Setter_mean Setter_max Spiker_min Spiker_mean Spiker_max
1990 190 198.1 209 178 189.2 205 183 194.7 210
1991 191 198.5 209 178 188.9 205 183 194.7 210
1992 192 198.3 209 175 189.1 205 186 195.5 210
1993 190 198.7 209 175 190.6 205 185 195.4 210
1994 192 200.2 209 175 190.6 205 182 195.6 210
1995 184 200.0 209 178 191.3 205 182 196.4 210
1996 193 199.9 209 178 191.8 201 169 195.8 207
1997 190 199.9 209 178 192.7 205 190 196.0 207
1998 175 190.0 195 194 201.5 217 177 191.5 205 183 196.5 207
1999 175 189.3 197 192 201.8 217 178 189.8 200 188 197.1 216
2000 175 190.6 196 195 201.7 217 178 194.4 203 190 197.3 216
2001 175 189.4 197 195 201.8 217 178 193.0 203 187 197.0 216
2002 175 189.7 197 196 201.8 217 182 192.5 203 190 196.8 216
2003 175 188.8 197 193 201.3 217 185 192.9 203 182 196.8 216
2004 182 190.1 197 194 201.5 209 185 191.7 202 185 196.3 206
2005 182 190.1 197 194 202.0 209 184 192.2 202 190 197.2 211
2006 182 190.6 197 196 202.7 210 180 191.2 200 185 196.8 212
2007 178 187.7 197 197 202.9 210 180 192.8 206 188 197.8 212
2008 180 189.0 197 194 202.3 209 183 192.6 202 184 197.9 212
2009 176 186.8 197 194 202.3 209 183 192.9 201 188 198.6 215
2010 176 185.1 197 197 203.4 210 183 192.7 206 185 198.7 208
2011 176 185.0 192 197 203.2 211 183 193.4 201 185 198.6 212
2012 180 185.3 191 198 203.6 211 185 192.6 201 188 199.1 212
2013 175 184.0 192 197 203.1 208 183 191.0 201 185 199.1 215
2014 175 184.2 192 197 203.5 210 180 192.6 201 185 199.9 217
2015 174 184.6 190 198 203.5 209 183 192.4 203 187 198.7 217
2016 170 183.5 190 198 203.0 209 183 193.2 203 185 198.4 212
2017 170 183.7 190 198 203.3 208 183 193.1 200 185 198.7 208
2018 174 183.3 190 198 203.3 208 176 191.5 200 185 198.2 217
2019 174 183.2 190 198 203.3 210 183 192.9 200 185 198.9 211

It is exactly as Mark Lebedew said: liberos have become smaller, from an average height of 190cm when this position was introduced to the game in 1998, to an average of just over 183cm today. Conversely, middles have become taller (198cm in 1990 to 203cm today), as have spikers (195 to 199 cm) and setters (189 to 193 cm).