He would put Unabara in during the first set; whether the result of the first set was that they held a great advantage or their opponents held a significant lead, he would not continue to use Unabara.
The former meant that even if Unabara wasn't there, they wouldn't have any problems; the latter.. they could completely abandon their current way of thinking.
The championship was certainly important, but he wouldn't gamble the physical safety of his own players for some vague, illusory future.
The truly difficult situation would be if both sides reached a stalemate; even if he wanted to substitute Unabara, Unabara himself probably wouldn't agree.
The best result would be to win 3-0; it's not just Unabara, but the physical condition of the starters like Hinata and the others wouldn't be able to fully support them through five sets.
Therefore, whether it was Kumagai or Kosaku, they both had to be prepared to rotate into the game at any moment.
Coach Kurosu first summarized concisely, "The initial arrangement is the same as the last set against Itachiyama; Tokura Yukihito will start as Middle Blocker, Yu will play on the Left Wing."
“Your task is to protect Shoyo. It's best if you don't let him reach for the ball or dive for saves too frequently; saving balls consumes too much physical energy."
Miya Atsumu nodded in agreement. "Karasuno's block is even stronger than Itachiyama's block at Date Tech; not only is it clearly effective against technical plays, but its suppression of strong attacks is even more intense."
Setting aside Municipal Kobe's Ace for a moment, Fukuda General's current Ace from the last match—a player who already showed outstanding strength—was suppressed by Karasuno to the point where he only scored 9 points throughout the entire match.
Against Karasuno's seamless blocking, even Ginjima's power was unable to break through head-on.
Although Kanzaki from Municipal Kobe is also skilled at technical shots, his overall performance tends to be mediocre. Because he dabbles in both strong attacks and technical shots, it ultimately results in him not being extremely strong in either area.
Relatively speaking, Miya Atsumu personally preferred to have Hinata and Suna face off against Hirugami, using tricky and diverse technical plays to snatch points from his opponents. On the other side, Miya Osamu handled Bessho Chigen through strong attacks and quick attacks.
The former restricts the opponent's strong range, while the latter is what truly creates the gap.
Of course, everything is built on the basis of their ability to mount a counterattack.
Coach Kurosu nodded and looked toward Ginjima: "With Unabara on the court, let him handle all the counterattacks. Yuta, you take care of the back row and the out balls."
“I will arrange for Heisuke and Yui to rotate starting from the second set; Atsumu, you should also be prepared to rotate with Kuniharu.”
Miya Atsumu nodded: "Understood."
"Next, I'll briefly go over the situation with the Karasuno players." Coach Kurosu displayed the Karasuno roster on the projector in the meeting room.
Position 1 Captain Hirugami Yukio, the best all-around Middle Blocker at this stage. In terms of solo blocks alone, he is the strongest player in recent years.
As he spoke, Coach Kurosu pulled up the Karasuno match data that he had arranged for Ogata to record separately: "Between this Interhigh group stage and this tournament, Hirugami has scored 241 points through blocks."
Miya Atsumu silently looked at the empty seat where Suna, who was not present, would have been.
Suna was also still sleeping, but that didn't stop him from wanting to talk trash.
This blocking statistic records the total number of blocks, including those involving misjudgments, touches, so on.
This scoring rate is something that even the nation's best Middle Blocker in recent years could not match.
On average, Hirugami scores more than 7 points per match through blocks alone.
Even when placed in a team like Karasuno, where blocking is extremely formidable, this is still terrifying.
Not to mention that Hirugami himself is quite good at Quick Attack, showing excellent height, strength, speed, is also a skilled offensive player.
Tokura, who was observing, couldn't help but purse his lips.
Compared to Hirugami Yukio, he is nothing at all..
And there's one more tricky point," Coach Kurosu said, setting down the folder in his hands. "Aside from the Quick Attack, Hinata's playstyle overlaps heavily with Hoshiumi Hikari's. Even if they've faced each other only a few times, Karasuno won't be unfamiliar with him.
Karasuno's defense might show even stronger suppression when facing Hinata, Hinata's technical plays might not be as effective as before.
The meeting room fell silent for a few seconds. Tokura, who realized this as well, couldn't help but swallow hard, but when he looked up, he noticed that the others did not seem overly worried.
Miya Atsumu tapped the table with his finger, a smile playing on his lips. "But this.. is the same for us too, isn't it?"
Just as Karasuno is familiar with Hinata, they will similarly become familiar with Hoshiumi.
Tokura's performance when blocking Sakusa's spike was average, but blocking Hoshiumi Hikari might be even more natural for him.
Coach Kurosu gave a light laugh. "That's exactly right."
After confirming that everyone's emotions were stable and that no one was overly panicked, he turned back to the document, scrolling down to the third page.
"Karasuno's number 2 isn't a starter, so I'll skip him. Number 3, Hakuma Mebuki, stands at 204.2 centimeters." Coach Kurosu's voice emphasized the height data.
Two meters, nothing more to say there. His strengths are all played up through his height and physical advantages, but his technical skills are very weak.
Although he hasn't performed any more antics like missing the ball this year, it doesn't change the fact that Hakuma himself is "clumsy" due to his physique, his technical skills are weak.
Miya Atsumu shrugged. "Being big is indeed difficult to deal with."
If Hinata were here, he would probably already be shouting something like, "I'm so jealous of that two-meter height!"
Although Hakuma isn't stupid himself, he lacks emotional intelligence, which often causes problems when he tries to read his opponents' minds. On the other hand, Hinata is very good at baiting people, so he should find dealing with Hakuma quite easy.
Coach Kurosu used a laser pointer to indicate Hoshiumi Hikari on the screen: "Number 4, Vice-Captain, Ace Hoshiumi Hikari."
You could say his strength has no blind spots; at this stage, he is the epitome of high school aerial combat.
When mentioning Hoshiumi Hikari, Coach Kurosu's expression remained somewhat serious: "Hoshiumi Hikari has no obvious weaknesses; he is proficient in everything from serving and receiving to blocking, spiking, setting. He is a player who simply cannot be targeted."
“Watch out for his technical shots during the block. Also, Hoshiumi's contact point is higher than Hinata's, so the back row must, must keep up with him when he's playing above the block.”
Unabara Uta and Arima Shuji replied in unison, "Understood."
Miya Atsumu added, trying to ease the pressure on the two of them, "But Hoshiumi's power level is just average, his speed isn't as terrifying as Hinata's. As long as you judge it in advance, it can be received."
But.. whether Hoshiumi Hikari will give them a chance to receive it is another matter entirely.
Thinking of this, Miya Atsumu spoke again, "Just make sure not to give Hoshiumi Hikari a chance to tool the block; under normal circumstances, he can't save a tool from the block."
Tokura responded quickly, "Okay."
Coach Kurosu continued, "Wing Spiker Number 5, Norikura Isao, Middle Blocker Number 6, Bessho Chigen—there isn't anything particularly noteworthy about them; they are simply excellent players."
Miya Atsumu didn't offer any evaluation, he simply silently stuffed a mouthful of rice into his mouth.
Players from strong schools generally have no issues with their fundamentals; being simply excellent means they have no obvious weaknesses, in a weaker team, they could even become the Ace.
A relatively unfamiliar face appeared on the screen, Coach Kurosu added, "Number 9, Setter, Kongming Asahina."
A first-year student from Karasuno, the best Setter from the Nagano Interhigh Junior High, his serve is quite good and his setting ability is strong, but his technical skills in setting itself are relatively average.
But Karasuno doesn't rely on scoring through those kinds of complex tactics, so that isn't really an issue.
Swallowing what was in his mouth, Miya Atsumu hummed, "Mm.."
To be honest, in Karasuno's current lineup, the one who makes dealing with Hirugami Yukio, Hoshiumi Hikari, Hakuma Mebuki a headache for him is this Setter.
When Suwa was around, Karasuno's Setter had a very low presence, mostly acting as a player who simply performed the basic duties.
But this freshman was different; he.. he was exceptionally conspicuous.
It wasn't just that he could complete setting tasks more efficiently; it was a different kind of uncanny feeling.
He hadn't watched the video of the Semifinals yet, so he didn't know if it would provide him with the answer.
Just then, Kumagai suddenly raised his hand: "Coach, I was at the scene watching Karasuno's semifinals just now, this person.. it feels like he's acting as a decoy on his own."
—Regarding the block.
Author's Note:
Inarizaki High School Hinata Shoyo (August 2013)
Position: Wing Spiker Number: 10
Height: 167.5cm Weight: 61.8kg
Recent troubles: Because his fingers aren't long enough, he has some trouble controlling the ball when setting.
Ability Parameters [Inarizaki High School, Second Year, Summer]
Strength: 2 Serve: 4
Vertical Jump: 5 Receiving: 5
Explosiveness: 5 Dig: 7
Intelligence: 3 Setting: 5
Technique: 3 Spike: 8
Speed: 5 Block: 4
Chapter 351: The Three Hundred and Fifty-First Fox
Hearing Kumagai's words, Miya Atsumu immediately asked, "Is there video? Let me see it."
Yes, I just took some brief notes," Kumagai said, flipping through the notebook in his hands. "The most obvious part is this second set between Karasuno and Fukuda General, at the seventeen-point mark.
Upon hearing this, Miya Atsumu looked toward Coach Kurosu.
Coach Kurosu quickly found the footage from this morning, adjusted it to the part Kumagai mentioned, played it directly on the large screen.
In the video, after Matsuda received the ball, Fukuda General's starting Setter quickly set a decent high ball toward Position 4. After the Ace jumped, two players from Karasuno followed suit, jumping up to block right in front of the Ace.
Fukuda General's setting split Karasuno's block, so at this moment, only Hirugami and the spiker on one side were following up.
And this block wasn't absolute; for a spiker with strong ball control, there was enough space on both sides to break through.
Just as the Fukuda General Ace adjusted his position to create a small diagonal to his right, Hirugami's arms pressed down almost instantaneously, precisely intercepting the ball's path.
With a loud thud, the ball was slammed straight back into the court.
The whistle blew, Karasuno scored.
"Did you see anything?" Miya Atsumu looked at Hinata, who was eating his bento beside him.
Staring at the paused screen for a while, Hinata lowered his eyes and thought, "Hmm.."
His hair, having just woken up, was still a mess, sticking up like a fuzzy ball.
Miya Atsumu propped himself up on the table with one hand, tilting his head to watch Hinata close his eyes.
The first image of the court instantly formed in Hinata's mind, reconstructing everything he had just seen.
If he were to put himself in the perspective of Fukuda General's Ace, Hakuma-senpai would be directly in front of him, Hirugami-senpai would be slightly to the right. If he were to choose his own angle for a breakthrough, both a line shot that hits the line and a short diagonal would be viable options.
However, the distance between Hakuma-senpai and the sideline was very narrow, the Fukuda General Setter's set wasn't precise enough; if there wasn't enough time to adjust, a Line shot would easily result in a touch on the block.
So the only remaining options were a dump or various angles of short diagonals.