Quite the opposite, for a Libero with his large build, a counterattack was simply too painful..
Bad news, if Inarizaki wins this match, then Itachiyama will win the next one, tomorrow it will be a match between them again.
And since they can't block Hinata's technical balls, it means he'll have to go crawling all over the court again to save every ball.
The good news was that after finishing this Haruko, he would be able to escape this sea of misery. Once another year passed and he and Hinata became teammates, he would be the one experiencing the sensation of facing much less pressure from counterattacks.
Komoriya couldn't help but chuckle, causing Sakusa to cast a puzzled look at him.
In the match, Inarizaki's playstyle leaned towards stability; although it included some quick attacks, most of their plays were used to break down Inarizaki's block.
Tsukishima Kei was extremely irritated.
Inarizaki's playstyle was no different from three birds of prey disguising themselves as mosquitoes, buzzing in his ear, unable to control this or that.
Karasuno's blocking power was also being torn to shreds; the only reason they could stabilize the current situation was thanks to Nishinoya being reliable enough, while Karasuno's offense could also take advantage of Inarizaki's weak blocking under Kageyama's leadership to score points.
Enoshita Chikara and Tokita are both players who are not good at blocking; bringing these two into the blocking positions to face Inarizaki's strongest offensive zone was clearly a mistaken decision.
To solve this problem, he felt that Karasuno's rotation needed a major targeted adjustment.
There's definitely no way to solve this for this set.. I'll just have to take it one step at a time.
No matter how freely Inarizaki's offense operates, it will eventually reveal logical flaws that he can detect, he will try his best to capture them.
As Karasuno began to take a more proactive approach in extending the rallies, the Itachiyama members in the stands gradually relaxed as well.
After winning this set, Inarizaki held two match points. For Inarizaki, who was highly skilled at consolidating their advantage, it could be said that they were already in an invincible position.
Although they would have preferred an opponent who was slightly weaker from the perspective of aiming for the championship, they still had a lingering knot in their hearts regarding Inarizaki.
Their interim goal was to defeat Inarizaki!
Listening to the sound of the volleyball colliding with bodies near his ears, Komori felt it was quite hypnotic.
He turned his head to ask Sakusa beside him, "What are you planning to do after Haruko?"
Sakusa replied subconsciously, "Preparing for exams.."
Komori was startled into alertness: "Don't tell me you're planning to take the exam for Todai!"
Sakusa looked up. "I have self-awareness."
His good grades were only good in comparison to everyone else playing volleyball; it didn't mean he was truly some academic genius capable of scoring so well while spending more than half of his energy and time on volleyball.
Even if someone who could achieve that played mediocre volleyball, they would still be worthy of his respect.
Komoriya was puzzled: "Then why are you taking the exams?"
With Sakusa's volleyball skill level, any school with an interest in that aspect wouldn't possibly deny his application for admission.
Just like him, Kyoto had actually approached him before. However, at that time, he had already ended the bet with Miya Atsumu and confirmed his future academic plans.
Sakusa pulled at the mask on his face: "I'm planning to try for Waseda. My deviation score is high enough; as long as I can pass the entrance exams, it should be fine."
As everyone knows, Waseda only offers four athletic admission slots each year, with the simultaneous development of so many different programs, Sakusa didn't think he would be one of them.
Especially in baseball, football, basketball, tennis, there are many extremely outstanding players in the same year as them.
Huh?" Komori was even more shocked. "Waseda is going to give you a recommendation, don't you know that?
This time, it was Sakusa's turn to be stunned: "Huh?"
He had asked the coach this question before, but it was a long time ago, the coach hadn't told him the results yet.
Moreover, he felt very confident in his chances of passing, so he didn't push himself too hard.
Komoriya made a peace sign toward Sakusa. "The tennis team had a player who was a nine-time high school champion and had received a recommendation, but he decided to study abroad. Then, a player from the basketball team decided to go to America to play professionally. Now, two recommendation spots have opened up."
Volleyball is certainly not Waseda's top priority, but under these circumstances, it would be hard to overlook it.
Unless they could recruit someone with better results like Miya Atsumu, Sakusa would be their number one choice.
Having heard this, Sakusa and Komori both looked toward Coach Himegomiya and Coach Utsunomiya, who had just sat down in the very first row.
Coach Himegomiya, having finished listening to the two of them, raised a hand and scratched her head. "Ah, that is indeed a matter."
The reason I didn't mention it to you is because we were planning to negotiate the terms again; it's just that a recommendation seems a bit too little for our Itachiyama kids.
Sakusa's expression was serious: "I think we can."
Coach Himegomiya reacted blankly: "Can what?"
Sakusa emphasized: "Recommendation."
Coach Himegomiya raised her hand to signal the end of the conversation: "No, not yet."
“They're cornered, so I'm going to take everything they have, hehehehe—"
Hearing Coach Himegomiya let out a villainous, terrifying laugh, the members of Itachiyama shrank their necks.
S-so scary..
Coach Himegomiya rested one hand on the back of the chair and turned to Sakusa with a very reliable expression: "Anyway, you don't need to worry about this. If the other side really wants you, you really want to go, just leave the bargaining to the two of us."
Sakusa nodded. "I'll leave it to you, Coach."
Komoriya asked that same question from the very beginning once again: "So, what do you plan to do after Haruko is over?"
This time Sakusa's answer was different: "Let's go out and clear our heads."
Komoriya, who had been waiting for this answer, lightly tapped his palm with his fist. "Do you want to go skiing in Nagano with me? I've wanted to go ever since I saw Miya Atsumu's social media post."
Wear your protective gear. We'll only play in the family area, so we won't get hurt.
Sakusa thought about it seriously for a moment, then added, "Let's go to Iwate for hot springs, the kind with private baths."
Komori nodded vigorously: "I agree."
Meanwhile, the two coaches in front were continuing their previous conversation: "Regarding that matter we mentioned before, what do you think of Karasuno's blonde Second Year Middle Blocker?"
Coach Himegomiya closed her eyes. "Give it up. They are excellent at studying; they're in the advanced academic track."
Hearing this, Coach Utsunomiya, who had originally been prepared to say a whole mouthful of words, also shut his mouth.
Well, it was impossible for those with good academic records to come to them. The vast majority he recruited were sports idiots, even Shiratori, who was slightly better at academics, was heavily lopsided, scoring near-perfect marks in Japanese and single digits in Mathematics.
Just then, the whistle blew, the scoreboard at the side of the court froze at Inarizaki 25:20 Karasuno, with Inarizaki taking the First Set.
Miya Atsumu's expression was not very good; he glanced at the scoreboard and couldn't help but let out a soft click of his tongue.
The score gap was even larger than when they had the advantage before, but.. this set was ending much more frantically than he had originally planned.
Those Karasuno people.. they're truly detestable.
Chapter 509: The 509th Fox
Sitting on the Coach's bench, Miya Atsumu stretched his wrists.
In the early stages of the First Set, their offensive pressure strategy worked very well, allowing them to build a lead without letting the rallies drag on too long, while also doing their best to deny the opponents any chance to adapt.
His failure to end the match quickly was his mistake; Karasuno had clearly slowed down their scoring pace, shifting their entire focus toward defense and intentionally trying to drag out the rallies against them.
He should have made a decisive decision to make a substitution, or at least substituted Hinata out.
But.. he was being willful.
He knew that Hinata definitely, definitely wouldn't want to leave the court; this was the match he had been looking forward to for so long, he would undoubtedly want to stand on the court until the very last moment.
Even if it was unwise, he still decided to indulge this whim.
As for what happens next..
Don't worry, Atsumu-ge, I'm super amazing.
Miya Atsumu snapped back to his senses and turned his head, meeting Hinata's eyes, which were now right in front of him.
He was just about to say something when the coach's voice rang out in his ear: "Ahem, ahem, ahem."
Glancing at the camera being blocked by the coach, then looking at the photographer who had entered the court with handheld equipment to film them, Atsumu ultimately took a step back.
It really was a bit too close; he had almost kissed him when he turned his head just now..
Atsumu turned his head away from Hinata and responded with a firm voice, "I believe in you."
Hinata gave a smug little huff, then turned his head toward Miya Osamu, who had just been saying something: "Atsumu-ge said he'll follow my lead in the next set."
Miya Atsumu almost laughed out of anger: "I didn't say that."
But as soon as the words left his mouth, Miya Atsumu froze for a moment.
No.. although Inarizaki's tactics are diverse, with his setting skills, it is still difficult for opponents to guess their true tactical intentions. But at the end of the day, he is still a normal setter; even using the method of exhaustion, one could list all of his options.
Moreover, these people were far too familiar with him; to truly make their tactics feel unpredictable, they indeed needed a commander who was "unfathomable."
Atsumu glanced at Hinata twice, but in the end, he said nothing.
He'll just wait and see.. He felt that his heart rate was still healthy and steady today, he didn't want to go on a rollercoaster ride just yet.
The members of Karasuno on the opposite side had solemn expressions, seemingly listening to what Tsukishima was saying at the Coach's bench.
Kageyama rested his chin on his hand, thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
The Head Referee urged Karasuno to submit their rotation sheet for the Second Set, their head coach, Tetsuya Takeda, hurriedly filled out a new one after scribbling over and ruining a previous one, finally submitting it just as the time limit expired.
Akaashi, sitting in the stands, was stunned. "What's going on?"
In Karasuno's memory, this kind of situation had never occurred before, because the rotations were relatively fixed; at most, they would swap one or two positions, but they had never essentially seen a situation where the rotation sheet had to be refilled several times.
Does this mean Karasuno is planning a large-scale rotation adjustment for the Second Set?
Akaashi didn't have to wait long; after the players returned to the court, the Head Referee conducted the rotation confirmation for both sides.
Glancing at Kageyama in Position 2, Miya Atsumu nodded.
As expected, even with Karasuno being at a disadvantage, Kageyama still had the most serves in the first rotation.
His gaze immediately fell toward Position 1.
Position 1 is the Middle Blocker, ensuring that the Libero can be on the court for the first three rotations after the opening..
The moment he caught sight of that blonde hair, a soft sound of confusion escaped Miya Atsumu's throat: "Huh?"
Inamura, who had been looking a bit drowsy, widened his eyes: "Oh? Karasuno changed their rotation?"