And it turned out that this was indeed the right choice.
After sacrificing the precision of the first touch, the success rate of the serve reception increased by more than just a little.
“Mebuki!” Suwa raised his hand and tossed the ball to Hakuma.
After jumping, Hakuma slammed the ball down with an overhand spike, aiming for the three-meter line of Inarizaki at a sharp angle.
Kita Shinsuke dove forward immediately to save the ball: "Atsumu!"
Even after taking his position, Miya Atsumu provided an absolutely stable set, Aran received the ball to retaliate with a powerful line spike, smashing through the gap in Hakuma's block.
Watching Hakuma's arms spread out uncontrollably while attempting a block, Coach Unabara felt his blood pressure rising from the sidelines.
Aran had just charged so recklessly into the block, but if Hakuma could have maintained the same rhythm as Hirugami, he could have shut him down completely.
Hoshiumi lowered his center of gravity, digging the ball up in a posture that was almost touching the ground: "Captain!"
Suwa followed in two steps, raising his hands and preparing to set the ball.
Hakuma jumped once again near Position 4.
Just as Oori Ren approached Hakuma Mebuki, Suwa used one hand to tip the ball behind himself.
Hirugami had already jumped there, preparing to spike.
—Back Quick.
At the same time, Miya Atsumu, who was adjusting his position, quickly made a hand signal behind his back. Hinata, who had been stepping back to prepare for the receive, followed the movement and retreated further, preparing to move behind Position 3.5 to take a running start.
“I've got it!" Seeing that gesture, Kita Shinsuke called out.
He immediately dropped his body, bending one leg and shifting his weight onto it, aiming to pass the ball over the attack line.
When the block is ineffective, the difficulty of receiving the ball increases significantly, so it is quite normal for the pass's trajectory to deviate from the original plan.
Watching the ball pass through the attack line a distance away from Miya Atsumu, narrowly missing his setting motion and falling very close to the net, Hirugami felt a bit dazed.
Was it an error?
That's not right. Even if Kita made a mistake, Miya Atsumu shouldn't have made one. He definitely could have received a ball like that.
Is there something wrong with Miya Atsumu's condition? Did he misjudge because he was exhausted and lacked energy?
That can't be right. Just a moment ago, Miya Atsumu was still full of energy, crying along with Hinata Shoyo on the court.
Hirugami and Hakuma both glanced at Hinata, who was still standing just in front of the three-meter line preparing to receive the ball; the incredibly sharp Hirugami noticed immediately that something seemed wrong.
Hinata's stance was very strange.
Generally speaking, when receiving a ball, the distance between the feet should be wider than shoulder-width, but right now, Hinata's feet are almost aligned with his shoulders.
—This wasn't a preparatory movement for receiving the ball.
As Aran's figure in his field of vision had already moved two steps ahead of Hinata, Hirugami, who had instantly reacted to Hinata's intention to set, shouted immediately, "Here! Position 4!"
As Hirugami and Hakuma rushed toward Aran, Hinata had already lightly pushed off with his legs to rise and send the ball.
With the controlled strength of his thumb, index, middle fingers, Shoyo, who had been holding his breath, sent the ball out steadily, but it was not for Aran.
The volleyball flew over the head of Oori Ren, who had already rushed to Position 3, was sent toward a spot closer to the Position 2 marker.
Hoshiumi felt his breath hitch.
Behind Oori Ren's body in his field of vision, Miya Atsumu was jumping near the attack line, appearing as if he had made a setting error.
He had already taken his approach and leaped again, into a space that the blockers currently couldn't reach at all..
—Spike.
His body moved a step faster, as Hoshiumi and Kamibayashi from the other side both lunged toward the empty space in the center.
Unfortunately, their movements were still too slow, the volleyball had already hit the floor.
"Nice kill!" Miya Atsumu was very satisfied with himself for scoring the first point of the match.
He likes being a setter, but he also gets the itch to spike sometimes; when Miya Osamu is around, the two of them frequently switch positions.
Glancing at Miya Atsumu's smug expression, Hoshiumi Hikari, who had just scrambled up from the ground, let out a soft huff.
He looked at Hinata: "For a ball with so little technical skill, you should at least attempt a jump set."
The height of the jump set would be greater, the ball would be delivered even faster.
Hinata Shoyo stood up straight: "No, Hoshiumi-senpai, I still can't do a flat set—"
Before he could finish, his mouth was covered by the rushing Miya Atsumu.
Miya Atsumu glared at Hinata Shoyo, then turned his head to look at Hoshiumi Hikari. "Isn't this great? Wasn't Hirugami Yukio fooled just now, too?"
They didn't need to worry about things like a tip-in being leaked; as long as the people within Inarizaki knew, it would be fine. They just couldn't let Hoshiumi bait them, otherwise wouldn't that mean losing a threat for the rest of the match?
Hoshiumi's gaze swept over the two of them.
He flashed a smile. "Oh, so you can't do a flat quick attack, I see."
This guy—
Miya Atsumu's expression contorted briefly, then he lowered his head and narrowed his eyes at Hinata, whom he was pressing down. "That's an outsider. Talk to him less in the future; you're leaking all our secrets."
Hinata, who answered every question Hoshiumi asked, had already deeply realized his mistake and could only blink to signal to Miya Atsumu that he knew he was wrong.
Miya Atsumu released his hands in satisfaction.
Actually, it doesn't really matter. After all, given Hinata's current setting level, they wouldn't have him performing flat sets anyway, so it doesn't matter whether Hoshiumi knows or not.
On the contrary, once Hinata's setting improves, it will become a surprise attack for Karasuno.
After Suna's serve, the score on the scoreboard jumped to Karasuno 11:16 Inarizaki, the game entered a technical time-out.
Glancing at the score, Coach Aran speculated based on Kurosu's thoughts, "Pay attention, Inarizaki might make a substitution late in this set, replacing someone between number 17 and Aran."
Their number 14 is decent; his performance on strong attacks might be similar to Ginjima's, though there's also a possibility they might substitute players in other positions. Everyone, stay on high alert.
“Yes!” the Karasuno members responded.
Aran continued, "Also, after Suwa, give Hoshiumi more high balls; don't play so conservatively, just give it everything you've got."
The current score is significantly behind, with no way of knowing if there will even be a match tomorrow, they could only choose to go all out, regardless of the consequences.
"Understood." Hoshiumi nodded.
Whether it was jumping or physical fitness, he was stronger than Hinata; strengthening his offensive options while maintaining his current defensive level was indeed a good choice.
On the other side, the Inarizaki side also mentioned this matter, just as Coach Aran had predicted.
"A five-point difference.." Coach Kurosu rubbed his chin.
After a moment of thought, he looked at Ginjima Yui: "Yui, you'll switch in for Shoyo in a bit; just win this set."
Hinata Shoyo and Ginjima Yui both nodded at the same time: "Understood."
When victory in the current set is already essentially secured, it is quite normal to choose to conserve stamina and change tactics.
Especially when Hinata is on the court, he supports the entire team's coordination most of the time through high-speed movement and high-intensity jumping; although it is highly effective, it actually accelerates the physical exhaustion of everyone.
If the score difference could have been even larger, Kurosu might have chosen to substitute Kumagai directly for Miya Atsumu.
After all, if nothing unexpected happens, once today's match ends, their opponents in tomorrow afternoon's Semifinals will be Itachiyama.
They couldn't gamble on Osamu's condition, the best-case scenario would be to have both Osamu and Hinata on the court together, so ensuring Hinata's condition was something they absolutely had to guarantee.
As for Miya Atsumu.. let's see if there's a chance to let him rest during the next two sets.
During Hinata's service rotation, Inarizaki substituted in Ginjima Yui.
Hoshiumi narrowed his eyes. "Just as I thought, they've made a substitution."
Coach Aran was right; Inarizaki had started playing conservatively, which proved that their chance to take the lead was right before them.
But.. glancing at the scoreboard showing 14:19, Hoshiumi also felt a suffocating sense of pressure.
Changing players only means that, from a certain perspective, Inarizaki's firepower will be weakened, but Ginjima is also one of Inarizaki's cannons, so the reduction won't be particularly significant.
An even more troublesome point is that Ginjima's performance in blocking and receiving will be better than Hinata's.
If Hinata's task was to be responsible for widening the gap, then Ginjima, who had just been subbed in, now bore the responsibility of consolidating that gap.
Hoshiumi glanced sideways at Hirugami Yukio in the waiting area, the two quickly exchanged a look.
If they couldn't score through his attacks, they would have to focus on Karasuno's iron wall and counter through defense.
When it comes to saving balls, Inarizaki doesn't have anyone particularly outstanding besides Akagi and Miya Osamu..
The moment he turned around, Hoshiumi locked eyes with Kita Shinsuke.
Ah, this is trouble.
The captain, whose presence is so low that they often forget him, is also an absolutely stable defensive hub for saving balls.
Watching the match continue on the court, Komori rested his chin in his hand and couldn't help but remark, "Inarizaki has such a diverse range of bench players; they can basically handle almost any style of play, their transition between offense and defense is very smooth."
Sakusa also nodded. "Karasuno is probably going to have a hard time."
Being knocked out of their original rhythm—it might be manageable for those with strong adaptability like Hoshiumi, Hirugami, the others, but for Hakuma and the rest..
Just as Sakusa and the others expected, Ginjima's back-row attack caused Bessho Chigen and the others to instinctively jump too early.
By the time Bessho realized he had made a mistake, it was already too late. Ginjima took advantage of the fact that they were already descending by jumping at the perfect moment, executing a powerful spike to beautifully score a point.
"Sorry!" Bessho Chigen took the blame immediately.
Hinata's back row attacks were basically all Quick Attacks; when he saw a figure rushing toward Position 1, he instinctively jumped..
Having watched the entire match, Hinata was momentarily dazed, a sudden sense of enlightenment rushed through his mind, as if everything had been connected, causing his eyes to light up.
While Fukurodani was adjusting their overall state, Hinata immediately looked at Coach Kurosu beside him: "Coach, I have an idea."
His face was slightly flushed, he didn't know if it was because his breathing hadn't settled after coming off the court or if he was simply excited.
After confirming that everyone on the court was still playing according to plan, Kurosu looked back at Hinata: "What kind of idea? Let's hear it."
Hinata's speaking pace was very fast: "Looking at Ginjima-senpai's last play, I suddenly wondered if I could use it myself."
By frequently using the Quick Attack, then suddenly dropping the tempo like that, I should be able to deceive the blockers.
Coach Kurosu could completely understand what Hinata meant.
By proactively slowing down the pace, you can cause opponents who have fallen into a pattern of habitual thinking to make mistakes.