Even if it only allowed the blocker to jump just a little bit earlier, it could create an opportunity for tooling the block, it might be less taxing than creating a time difference.
But.. this style of play, which requires the Spiker to coordinate their own timing, inevitably requires the Setter to actively adapt to the Spiker.
Of course, it wasn't that he thought Miya Atsumu couldn't do it.
Quite the opposite; in this regard, Miya Atsumu is able to keep his own ego in check to satisfy all the needs of his Spikers.
The key issue was whether Hinata Shoyo could take the initiative to master the timing of this playstyle, whether it would affect the other attackers.
After a simple evaluation, Coach Kurosu ultimately approved of Hinata's idea: "You can try it, but you need to coordinate well with Atsumu."
It was truly heartening; Hinata's independent thinking was no longer limited to mere technique; he had begun to extend his influence to the realm of overall tactics.
In time, he might even become the team's second commander.
Having received the coach's recognition, Hinata grew even more excited: "Understood!"
He would try it in the next set; it would be best if he could find his rhythm before the Semifinals.
The target.. it's probably Bessho, Hirugami-senpai feels like he wouldn't be easy to fool.
Coach Kurosu also lowered his head in thought.
To coordinate with Hinata's plan, the entire rotation would also need to be adjusted, ideally keeping Hinata and Hirugami completely separate.
Anyway, since Karasuno will be receiving the serve in the next set, they can completely relax and adjust their initial positioning.
Well, I hope Coach Aran doesn't try to play dirty against him like that guy Utsunomiya.
However, the possibility of being countered is also not very high.
It's different from Itachiyama; Karasuno's strong serving points are limited to just those few people, so they can't be easily given up..
Probably.
Chapter 93: The Ninety-Third Fox
Until the end of the first set, Karasuno was unable to close the score gap that Inarizaki had built up earlier.
After Miya Atsumu scored with a beautiful Second Attack, the score for the first set ended at 23:25.
Coach Kusubashi, who had just sat down, felt a wave of nausea: "Inarizaki really timed that perfectly."
A five-point difference—it was just enough that Karasuno couldn't quite overcome the gap after their strong run, coupled with Ginjima's sudden explosive counterattack at the end, which directly killed the set.
On the other side, the people from Itachiyama and Sannomiya Industrial rose one after another, preparing to go for the sign-in for the next match and the final confirmation of their battle plans.
After both sides swapped courts, Coach Kurosu looked at the group resting simply in the coaching area and said, "We'll adjust our rotations for the next match; we won't be playing S1."
Miya Atsumu took a sip of water to moisten his dry mouth, then looked up at Hinata, who was standing on the other side of the coach. "Shoyo, do you have any new ideas?"
During the match just now, he had noticed Hinata was gesticulating wildly while making signs to Coach, as if the two were discussing and verifying something.
Combined with the coach's plan to adjust the rotations.. it's more or less certain.
Coach Kurosu nodded: "I want to have Shoyo and Hirugami separated; that kind of precise follow-up block is a bit difficult for Shoyo to deal with."
If Miya Osamu were here, he would instead have Hinata Shoyo deliberately face off against Hirugami, serving as a constant distraction.
But if Hinata were to play as the core, he would have to avoid Hirugami's strong defense to maximize his mobility.
Coach Kurosu glanced at Hinata and used a look to signal him and Miya Atsumu to talk amongst themselves: "You two coordinate yourselves; Atsumu-senpai will give instructions to the others when the time comes."
Kurosu was one hundred percent confident in Atsumu's ability to direct the play on the court.
Similarly, because of the fundamental role of a Setter as a playmaker, many teams choose their Setter to be the Captain, which provides greater convenience and advantages in overall tactical arrangements.
Taking calling a time-out as a single example, aside from the referee, only the captain is qualified to request one from the referee. When Kita-senpai is not on the court, Aran, the vice-captain, has always stepped in to fulfill those responsibilities.
Correspondingly, when the commander's ability is sufficient, the coach will also delegate more authority to the players themselves.
This is also the reason why many coaches hardly interfere in team coordination during national-level competitions.
Including himself, Aran, Utsunomiya, others, they would basically only take command in emergencies or when a player's condition was problematic.
After a brief explanation to Suna and Aran about what Hinata and the others planned to do, Coach Kurosu began filling in the starting lineup and substitutes for the next set, along with the initial rotation, alongside Coach Omimi.
On the other side of the net, the Karasuno members gathered around Coach Aran. Hoshiumi, who was closest, suddenly reached out and pointed to the empty space on the board: "Coach, put me here."
Coach Aran glanced at him, then looked at Hirugami, who nodded in agreement, finally adjusted their positions as Hoshiumi had suggested.
Looking at the final decided version, Hoshiumi turned his head and gave Hirugami a thumbs up.
As both teams took the court to confirm their positions for the second set, Hoshiumi, who had been full of confidence, froze the moment he stood in Position 4.
He looked at Hinata, who was still at Position 3 in front of the net: "Huh? Aren't you guys switching positions?"
Hinata blinked. "Didn't we just switch?"
He switched from his original Position 4 to Position 3 at the start, the first person to serve for Inarizaki was Oori Ren.
Seeing that Hinata was also in a state of confusion, Hoshiumi turned his head to look directly at Miya Atsumu, who was currently in the back row.
Miya Atsumu raised his hand in a peace sign, while flashing a smile at Hoshiumi.
On the sidelines, Coach Kurosu turned his head and exchanged a look with Coach Aran.
Withdrawing his gaze, a triumphant smile rose on Kurosu's face: "As expected of Karasuno, you really guessed it."
Coach Omimi remained silent for a few seconds. As expected, an old fox is an old fox; the opponent was completely toyed with.
Hoshiumi calmed his indescribable emotions from just now and began to re-evaluate the situation.
It wasn't the worst-case scenario yet.
If they bet correctly, it would result in a situation where Hirugami and Hinata are matched up against each other for almost the entire match.
But they had originally made conservative adjustments, not letting Hakuma, whose serve technique was questionable, take the first serve, but instead choosing a more stable opening with the Ace in Position 4.
So right now, it has simply shifted from being matched up throughout the entire game to a state similar to the previous set, it can even allow Hirugami to specifically press down on Aran and Suna.
In short.. it was worth it.
On the Karasuno side, Nozawa served first, Inarizaki decisively chose a formation where Akagi and Kita covered the receive. After all, Nozawa's serve posed limited threat, so there was no need to have the front-row Wing Spikers sacrifice part of the subsequent offensive rhythm to receive the ball.
Miya Atsumu was positioned forward and protected; unless it was a net touch or a ceiling serve, he generally wouldn't need to reach out to receive a serve from that position.
After repeatedly confirming the disorganized initial positions of both sides on the court, Kiryu Ya had a look of pure confusion on his face: "What are they doing?"
Not only did Karasuno forgo a strong serve from the Setter or the Ace to start, but even Inarizaki did not choose to have Atsumu-senpai in Position 2; instead, they both unexpectedly chose to have their respective Aces start in Position 4.
This style of play isn't actually problematic, but.. the key issue is that neither Inarizaki nor Karasuno are teams like Shirabu's that frequently use this kind of tactic.
"What a great receive!" Miya Atsumu raised his hands and sent the ball from Kita Shinsuke directly back in the shortest possible distance with a back set.
Meanwhile, Hinata, who had already jumped at that position, aimed for Hakuma, who had not yet moved up, spiked the ball fiercely.
The speed of the line shot was extremely fast. Hakuma, who was not good at receiving, failed to absorb the impact the moment the ball hit his arms, causing the ball to fly straight out.
As the whistle blew, the score on the large screen in the distance jumped to 0:1.
Inarizaki took this point extremely quickly; it hadn't even been five seconds since Nozawa served.
Hakuma Mebuki, who had just been targeted head-on, immediately sensed something was wrong: "That little guy.. has he sped up?"
He didn't perceive the ball's speed quite as clearly, but the speed of the Quick Attack's approach was definitely faster than before.
Coach Unabara, standing by the sidelines, raised a hand to stroke his beard: "Can he go even faster?"
Judging by Hinata's takeoff speed just now, even if he were dropped into the professional leagues, he would be quite outstanding.
"Don't panic! Watch the Setter!" Hirugami shouted to everyone on the court from the waiting area.
That was a pure surprise attack; not only did Bessho fail to react, but even Hoshiumi couldn't keep up.
You can't let Hinata lead you astray; when following a block, you must focus more on the Setter and track the ball the Setter sends out.
Compared to Hinata's kind of movement, blocking only needs to cover the nearly five meters extending from the center to both sides.
They already have the advantage of long legs and long arms, so they should be able to use them more flexibly.
Oori Ren served.
"I've got it!" Nozawa shouted, quickly moving in to receive the ball.
Compared to the difficult serves of Miya Atsumu and Kita Shinsuke, Oori Ren's serve could be described as a gentle touch.
“What a great receive!”
Nozawa's set was excellent; Suwa jumped to set from the attack line, sending the ball toward Hoshiumi Hikari, who was currently in Position 4.
Unlike Hinata, who usually plays various Flat Quick Attacks and high balls in positions 3 and 4, Hoshiumi Hikari is most skilled at breaking through defenses from position 4.
Glancing at Suna and Aran, who had chased after the rotation change with Hinata, Hoshiumi extended his arms and, with all his might, spiked the ball just inside the sideline.
Kita Shinsuke didn't want to gamble on whether the ball was out; in high school matches without Hawk-Eye, the referee's decision could be quite subjective.
Especially in volleyball, if the ball even touches the sideline by a tiny bit, it's considered in. If it's truly a close call, there's a high possibility of a referee making an incorrect judgment.
Kita Shinsuke dove for the ball and sent it up, delivering it quite stably right above Miya Atsumu's head.
The Karasuno block did not make any rash moves, but instead waited quietly for Miya Atsumu to set the ball.
Compared to Hirugami, Bessho was not particularly experienced. Much of his judgment did not come from anticipation through observation, but rather from extremely limited, split-second reactions.
Miya Atsumu's lips curled slightly into a faint smile, the moment his fingers touched the volleyball, he used his wrist to actively apply a forward force.
At the same time, Suna had already completed his rotation with Aran, leaping from the same position where Hinata had jumped during the previous play, preparing to execute a Back Quick Attack.
His reaction speed is indeed incredible.
But.. can he really keep up with a flat spike like that?
Suna's speed was also quite fast, far exceeding the speed at which he played Quick Attacks in the previous set.
Although he couldn't place his full trust in Miya Atsumu like Hinata and Miya Osamu could, the back set from Position 3 was something they had specifically practiced, it could achieve an effect even faster than a regular Quick Attack.
Bessho was startled; after all, Suna-senpai's Quick Attack had been within normal parameters until now, so this sudden new development was hard not to mistake for some long-hidden finishing move.
Watching the direction in which the volleyball had flown, he subconsciously leaped up on one foot and rushed toward it, bringing Captain Suwa with him.
Hoshiumi, at the edge of the net, did not move.
From this angle, he had no obstruction from Suna or Miya Atsumu, allowing him to observe a larger area of the court than Bessho and the others.