Psychophysiological responses during the microcycle with the start of the national championship: A case study of a volleyball team

The aim of the study was to monitoring psychophysiological responses among volleyball players in the microcycle with a high-performance competition game scheduled. Methods: Ten male athletes (26.6 ± 5.3 years) from an adult volleyball team participated in the study. The variables session Rating of Perceived Exertion (Session RPE), Total Quality of Recovery scale (TQR), Well-being questionnaire (WB), testosterone, cortisol, and testosterone/cortisol Ratio (T:C ratio) were evaluated during the microcycle before the game. Results: Differences were observed in the daily training load (F = 23.776; p < 0.001), TQR (F = 10.687; p < 0.001), WB (F = 6.736; p < 0.001), cortisol (F = 8.253; p < 0.001) and T:C ratio (F = 3.862; p = 0.01). Conclusion: The behavior of the variables fluctuated with factors such as training load, number of training days and time off, and due to the psychophysiological stress of the match.