Yamaguchi froze for a moment, saying with a hint of surprise, "Inarizaki? That really was an important practice match."
But.. Kageyama, how did you know?
Kageyama took a bite of the watermelon sent by Hinata's parents and replied calmly, "Hinata told me."
Tsukishima Kei was also a bit surprised: "I can't believe you two actually have each other's contact information."
Although they had all exchanged contact information back when they were at Shiratorizawa, he and Hinata had zero communication.
Kageyama gave a brief explanation: "Hinata and Kozume-senpai were talking, I just happened to see it."
Hearing this, Yamaguchi looked toward Kenma, who was saying something to Yamamoto Takeo on the other side: "Ah.. from Nekoma."
After Nekoma's recent transition, Yamamoto Takeo took over the position of Captain, while Kenma repeatedly declined the position of Vice-Captain, it was ultimately given to Fukunaga Masahira.
However, Shibayama, who took over Yaku's position, had not yet fully matured. During this period, Nekoma's win rate in training matches was not high, their chances of qualifying for the IH Preliminaries were not very high.
Just then, a rather familiar voice came from behind them: "Yo, what are you all doing?"
Tsukishima silently lowered his stance, attempting to evade, but the other person quickly caught him.
“Tsukishima, why are you guys from Karasuno keeping such a distance?”
Tsukishima raised his hand to push up the glasses on his face, turning his head to look at Kuroo Tetsu, who was leaning against the door and greeting Kenma and others: "We aren't hiding."
It was only because Kageyama had already claimed a good spot with a nice breeze and comfortable temperature, so he and Yamaguchi just came over to squeeze in.
Looking at the several boxes of sports drinks Kuroo had brought over, Tsukishima couldn't help but say, "Are college students really this free.."
Of course we have a break when you guys have a break," Kuroo-senpai said with a shrug. "Never mind that, come on, come on, one bottle each.
Kageyama went to Kuroo to get a bottle of a drink: "Thank you, Kuroo-senpai."
Yamaguchi followed behind and took a bottle as well, turning his head to call out to the Karasuno freshmen: "Yaotome, Tokita, Shozi, come over and get some drinks."
After the three freshmen arrived, Yamaguchi pointed at Kuroo and introduced him, "This is a senior who graduated from Nekoma, the former Captain, Kuroo Tetsu."
The three newcomers stood at attention simultaneously and bowed to greet him, "Hello, Kuroo-senpai!"
Kuroo greeted everyone with a smile, "Hello, hello. It's nice to meet you all—"
As he spoke, he stuffed the drinks into everyone's hands.
After receiving his drink, Kageyama thought for a moment before approaching Coach Ukai on the other side. "Coach, can I go watch the match between Fukurodani and Inarizaki tomorrow?"
Coach Ukai froze for a moment. "Hmm?"
After thinking about it for a moment, he said, "It's possible, but just have Tokita play two sets for you. I'll go ask Coach Anromi in a bit."
Among their freshmen, Tokita started as a setter, Yaotome played Libero in junior high, Shozi is currently playing Middle Blocker.
Although training here would still be going on at the same time, if Kageyama judged that this match was more important than a practice match, then it wouldn't matter; it would be a good opportunity to let Tokita get some practice in.
Kageyama bowed. "Thank you for your help, Coach."
The schedule for this year's IH Preliminaries has been released, since they, Date Tech, Seijo are all in the same half, the pressure of the matches can be described as quite immense.
The matches are imminent, he must seize every opportunity to gain knowledge that will make him stronger.
In his third year of high school, he didn't think he would miss out on every single chance to reach the nationals.
Both Shiratorizawa and Seijo are still in their adjustment periods, so this year is their best opportunity.
This time, we must definitely..
On the bus heading to Kanagawa, Coach Kurosu walked from the front row and sat down beside Miya Atsumu and Hinata.
He spoke very seriously, "Atsumu, Coach Utsunomiya sent a message saying there will be a huge change to the format of this year's IH Preliminaries."
Miya Atsumu froze for a moment. "A huge change?"
Coach Kurosu nodded. "The bad news is that the first round has been changed from an elimination tournament to a group stage, the entire tournament period has been extended."
But the good news is.. the seeds will be directly promoted to the Top 16.
Hinata poked his head in and squeezed through, "The Top 16!"
Coach Kurosu responded, "Yes, we will take one of the seeded spots, but the troublesome part is that the entire tournament bracket will be redrawn after the group stage ends."
Miya Atsumu's expression instantly soured.
That also means.. the seeds aren't fixed in their positions within the four major regions like they are in Haruko.
Chapter 279: The Two Hundred and Seventy-Ninth Fox
According to Coach Utsunomiya, the tournament officials changed the first round to a group stage with four to five teams per group in order to increase participation from various high schools and to provide a more comprehensive evaluation of each school's skill level.
Coach Kurosu relayed the frontline report from Itachiyama: "The two teams with the most wins and the fewest losses will advance to the next round. In the event of a tie in records, the result of the match between the two teams will be the deciding factor."
The entire group stage will be held over two days, followed by two days of rest for the re-drawing of the lots.
Originally, the IH was held with Men's Volleyball and Women's Volleyball running simultaneously, but under this format, it has been changed so that Women's Volleyball plays first, followed by Men's Volleyball.
So the Men's Volleyball teams essentially have rest time because the Women's Volleyball teams are playing the Round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals, while the finals and third-place match for both genders are held simultaneously on the final day.
Hearing this, Hinata realized a crucial point: "In other words.. every team that makes it into the IH tournament will play at least three matches?"
Coach Kurosu nodded, confirming Hinata's guess: "Yes, that's exactly what it means."
Hinata couldn't help but say, "That's great, then."
Pure single-elimination is the most brutal format; lose one match, everything is over. Many teams traveling from afar find themselves bidding a final farewell to the court after playing a single match that lasts only an hour.
With the change to the current format, there are at least more opportunities, it won't happen that a team loses every set simply because they aren't in good condition after traveling.
Miya Atsumu, who instantly understood why this was bad news, frowned. "What's so good about that?"
This change in the tournament format means that most teams will have to play two matches a day from the start all the way through the Semifinals.
The Third Day of Magic at Haruko was already torture among tortures, but under extreme circumstances with this tournament format, some teams would have to play two matches a day for four days, totaling a nine-match schedule.
This is also the reason why there are breaks in between; otherwise, they wouldn't be able to hold out until the final day.
Hinata looked up at Miya Atsumu, his tone very firm: "But opportunity is what matters most, isn't it?"
As long as there is hope that "it can still continue" and "there is still a chance," then all that hard work is nothing.
"That's true." Miya Atsumu agreed with Hinata's reasoning.
Anyway, as seeded teams, they were guaranteed a spot in the top sixteen, since they would only need to play four matches including the finals, they held a significant advantage in terms of physical stamina.
The 66th IH is being held in Oita Prefecture, in the southwest of Japan, it would take a considerable amount of time to travel from places like Hokkaido and Akita.
I suppose they probably adjusted the tournament format with that in mind..
There is no need to adjust the Haruko schedule, after all, the venue will always be in the middle of Tokyo.
Besides, the Haruko tournament is held during the winter break, which is a relatively short period, the Third Year students who are about to graduate also need to prepare for their exams, so naturally, the shorter the tournament schedule, the better.
However, the fact that the seeded positions are not fixed makes things a bit difficult.
In the three major tournaments held prior to this, the two teams with the best results from the previous year's IH and Haruko would be placed in the top-left and bottom-right corners of the entire bracket, meaning they would not face each other unless it was the Finals.
But now, this seeding system requiring a draw makes it highly likely that they, as the Haruko champions, will be placed in the same half as the IH champions.
The worst-case scenario would be facing Itachiyama in the semifinals, then encountering some terrifying dark horse that fought its way out of the opposing region in the finals..
However, the probability of that is extremely low, so there is no need to worry too much.
But in truth, it doesn't matter; we'll deal with whatever comes our way.
To win the championship, you have to defeat everyone, so the order in which you face them isn't actually that important.
Thinking of this, Miya Atsumu followed up with a question: "How is the level of the team that consistently takes second place in Oita?"
The host city of the IH will gain an additional slot, which means that even the second-place team will qualify for promotion.
Coach Kurosu shook his head. "Not quite. They've been suppressed by Shirabu for years and lack practical experience. I'll ask Coach Kusubashi about it later."
Miya Atsumu speculated, "Besides us and Itachiyama, the seeds this time.. there should also be Fukurodani. So, who gets the last one?"
Coach Kurosu flipped through the materials in his hands and replied, "To Fukuda General; after all, they were the runners-up of the National Sports Festival."
Even though they are guaranteed a spot in the top sixteen, if they fail to qualify from the prefecture, everything will have been in vain.
In past years, there have been many instances where seeds missed out on subsequent rounds for this very reason, resulting in them receiving a bye through the draw; the specific circumstances will ultimately depend on the results of the preliminaries.
Atsumu nodded, gaining a general understanding of the overall situation for this year's IH: "I think I understand. I'll gather more intelligence once I get back."
Coach Kurosu reached out and patted Miya Atsumu on the shoulder. "Good job."
As for the choice of this Captain, he was currently feeling completely uncertain about the future.
Could he permanently lock in Miya Atsumu's reliable state like this..
As it turned out, it was impossible.
Seeing two specific guys appearing in the Ubukiro Gymnasium, Miya Atsumu's expression turned darker than the soles of shoes.
Hinata instantly rushed out from the crowd and high-fived Kenma, who had just waved to him: "Kenma! Long time no see!!"
Kenma replied with a smile, "Long time no see, you've grown taller."
Hinata chuckled, feeling in an incredibly good mood: "You too, Kenma!"
That's right! He has grown taller! He is already 166 cm now!
After saying that, he turned his head to look at Kageyama Tobio, who was watching him: "It's been a long time, Kageyama!"
Hinata, who had grown one centimeter, looked up at Kageyama, who had grown two centimeters, his expression blank for a moment.
—Has this guy been taking growth hormones?!
Kageyama nodded to him. "Long time no see."
Miya Atsumu lifted his chin and looked at Kenma and Kageyama Tobio across from him. "Hey, hey, hey, this is a private training match arranged between us and Fukurodani. How can someone just walk in without permission?"
He narrowed his eyes at Kageyama Tobio, suddenly realizing that Kageyama was already almost as tall as him.
—Has this guy been taking growth potions?!
Kenma kept his hands in his pockets and replied in a low voice, "Coach Anromi agreed."
He hunched his back, so even though he was taller than Hinata, he was still blocked by the jumping Hinata.