## 4 Discussion
### Potential Mechanisms  
One key mechanism through which strength influences performance is the enhancement of neuromuscular coordination. Strength training increases the recruitment of motor units, which improves the ability to generate force quickly and efficiently. This can lead to better sprinting times, more explosive jumping ability, and greater overall athletic performance. For example, our findings show that lower body strength correlates with sprint performance and jumping ability, suggesting that training strategies targeting the quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves can improve these key components of volleyball. Additionally, strength may enhance the stiffness of the tendons, particularly in the lower body, which improves energy return during movements like jumping or sprinting. This could explain the relationship between squat strength and speed performance. Another potential mechanism is muscle hypertrophy and the subsequent increase in muscle cross-sectional area, which can contribute to the generation of greater force. The association between strength and power output observed in our study suggests that muscle hypertrophy, particularly in the posterior chain, could lead to improved explosive movements, which are critical for actions such as blocking and spiking in volleyball. By increasing muscle mass, athletes may also improve their ability to withstand fatigue, which could explain the correlation between strength and endurance performance in our study. However, it is of particular importance to implement individualized monitoring systems that track athlete fatigue, soreness, and performance metrics to detect early signs of overtraining. These systems can involve both subjective measures (e.g., questionnaires on perceived effort and recovery) and objective data (e.g., heart rate variability or neuromuscular assessments). Overall, this study emphasizes the necessity of integrating comprehensive strength training programs that address both upper and lower body strength to enhance performance in volleyball. These results provide valuable insights for coaches and athletes seeking to optimize training regimens and improve overall athletic potential. By tailoring strength programs to the specific demands of the sport, coaches can significantly improve players' performance during key volleyball actions such as jumping, sprinting, and directional changes. These data may also be applicable at the collegiate and professional levels and potentially generalizable to male athletes, providing a broader basis for targeted strength training across different competitive contexts. Yet this study is limited by its relatively small sample size and the specific demographic of participants, which may affect the generalizability of the results. We acknowledge that variations in coaching methods, the specific roles of athletes within their teams, and differences in previous competitive exposure may still introduce variability. While these factors were beyond the scope of this study to fully control, their potential influence is acknowledged as a limitation. Future studies could address these confounding variables by stratifying participants based on competitive experience, playing position, or training methodologies, or by incorporating more athletes to capture a broader range of variability. Additionally, longitudinal designs could be employed to evaluate how these factors interact with the measured performance outcomes over time. This expanded focus would provide a more comprehensive understanding of the interplay between individual and contextual variables in volleyball performance. Additionally, the cross-sectional nature of this study prevents causal inferences regarding the relationships between strength and performance outcomes. Furthermore, the absence of a control or comparison group is another limitation, as its inclusion would have provided a clearer benchmark to assess the effects of targeted strength training on performance.