SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Physiol.
Sec. Exercise Physiology
Effects of Nutritional Supplementation on Physical Performance and Sport-Specific Skills in Volleyball Players: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Provisionally accepted
Haiting Zhai1,2*
Binran Zhao3- 1Sports Coaching College, Beijing Sports University, Beijing, China
- 2Naval Aviation University, Yantai, China
- 3Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China
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Background: Nutritional supplementation is widely used to support sports performance; however, evidence specific to volleyball players remains fragmented. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effects of nutritional supplementation on physical performance and sport-specific skills in competitive volleyball players. Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, five electronic databases were systematically searched. Randomized controlled trials investigating acute or chronic nutritional supplementation in healthy volleyball players were included. Outcomes included vertical jump performance, muscle strength, agility, and sport-specific technical skills. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane tool, and random-effects meta-analyses were performed. Results: Thirteen randomized controlled trials involving 240 participants were included. Nutritional supplementation was associated with significant improvements in vertical jump performance (SMD = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.24–0.70), muscle strength (SMD = 0.43, 95% CI: 0.17–0.69), agility (SMD = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.54–1.24), and sport-specific technical skills (SMD = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.31–0.95). Subgroup analyses indicated beneficial effects following both acute and chronic supplementation protocols, with minimal statistical heterogeneity across outcomes. Conclusions: Within the available evidence, nutritional supplementation may contribute to improvements in selected physical performance and sport-specific skill outcomes in competitive volleyball players. These findings may inform evidence-based nutritional strategies aimed at supporting sports performance in volleyball, while highlighting the need for larger, ecologically valid trials.
Keywords: Meta-analysis, Nutritional supplementation, physical performance, Sports performance, Sport-specific skills, Volleyball
Received: 09 Dec 2025; Accepted: 28 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Zhai and Zhao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Haiting Zhai
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