Koshi Sugawara

Sugawara is shown to be average in height with a slender build. He has slightly thick eyebrows, light grey hair, and hazel-brown eyes with a birthmark mole under his left eye. He is usually seen with a gentle smile on his face.

Being the vice captain, he has a soothing and gentle personality for his teammates and acts as a pillar of support for them. Even though he isn't Karasuno's regular setter anymore, he does not dream of giving up on playing. As such, he encourages himself and all of his teammates to never give up.

Sugawara's dedication to volleyball is clear when he decides to continue club activities even when most third-years choose to retire in order to focus on their futures.

He is also quite perceptive as he noticed how Tanaka asked for the key to the gym just before the first years' 3-on-3 match even though he always comes in late. He is also intelligent as he can come up with helpful tactics during games that his team members can use. An example of this is when he came up with the idea of saying "bring it" and "send it to me" for Kageyama and Hinata's combo. Sugawara also came up with the hand signals overnight while his team was all sleeping.

Despite his nurturing behavior, he is sometimes mischievous, as seen from how he supports Hinata when he crashed the First Year Training Camp uninvited. He also tends to get violent when he teases his teammates, often smacking them around when he's excited to join the game; although this does have the effect of cheering up the team as well. While he is a calming presence most of the time, he does have moments where he can be just as frightening as Daichi which can cause some of his teammates to be very cautious around him.

He is also rather proud, although it is rarely shown. examples are when he said: "Kageyama, from here on out if you start getting bombarded by interviews, you're gonna say 'I learned everything from a magnificent senpai called Sugawara', got it?", and when he bragged about how he came up with the name of Kageyama and Hinata's new technique 'Back Minus'. During the game with Shiratorizawa, he was so irritated by the loss of their team that he started rambling and pouting, which is very unlike his mature demeanor.

Coming from Nagamushi Junior High, Sugawara joined the volleyball club during his first year with Daichi and Asahi.[2] The three of them were excited to join Karasuno, a school that performed well in the recent nationals. However, they quickly found that reality differed from their expectations. The club lacked a proper coach and couldn't organize practice matches due to their lackluster performances. Everything seems lost until the first-years decided to do extra practice under Daichi's leadership. The team made some progress and became fired up to go to nationals once again. The first-years were particularly excited when the Miyagi Prefecture's Interhigh Qualifiers began, but they were quickly disappointed when Karasuno got knocked out early in the second round. Later, Sugawara, Daichi, and Asahi listened to their previous captain, Tashiro, telling them to take advantage of any chances that arose.

Sugawara had always played as a setter and was the official setter at the start of his third year. During the Aoba Johsai High match of the Interhigh, Sugawara mentions that, despite being on the team for three years, he has played in very few official matches due to Karasuno having other setters. Kageyama has likely played more games in his first year.

He can be seen often acting like a slightly agressive mother. he lectures his teammates like a mother and when they get out of hand he occasionally resorts to violence, mostly with. Nishinoya and Tanaka. He is quite the maternal figure in a weird agressive way.

Daichi Sawamura: Sugawara and Daichi are known to have a strong friendship. As the captain and vice captain of the team, they are able to confidently lead the rest of the team and Sugawara supports the decisions Daichi makes in hopes of having a good outcome for the whole team. They work extremely well together during matches as they have been playing together since joining the volleyball team. Since they have known each other since their first year of high school, they are shown to have spent a lot of time together in hopes of becoming stronger and becoming a champion team again. Sugawara heavily respects Daichi as the team captain but is known to be the only one who is able to lecture the captain. Post-timeskip, they are shown to still be close friends and continue to meet when they can. Sugawara and Asahi have known each other since first joining the boys' volleyball club. From having known each other so long, Asahi Azumane: Sugawara knows Asahi very well. He is aware of Asahi's doubt at being the ace after their loss against Date Tech. Once Asahi returned to the team, Sugawara shows a great amount of support for Asahi to regain confidence in himself and tends to scold him if he ever shows signs of nervousness or a negative outlook regarding their matches. As a setter and spiker, the two are a lethal combination as Sugawara will set to Asahi without hesitation as he knows Asahi's favorite set and knows that the ace is capable of scoring. Sugawara at times can be seen getting overly excited at Asahi's spikes, to the point where he dubbed Asahi's block-out attack as the Block Crusher. The two remained close after they graduated. Yū Nishinoya (Noya): Like many on the team, Sugawara sees Nishinoya as a great libero and the team's strongest defender. While he tends to be amused at the second-years excited nature and outbursts, Sugawara heavily praises and supports Nishinoya's skills on the court and how he is able to keep the team together and in high spirits.

Tobio Kageyama: Sugawara acknowledges Kageyama as an incredibly talented volleyball player with skills far above his own. Knowing that Kageyama was most likely the setter that Karasuno needed, Sugawara was willing to step down from being the team's official setter in order to give them the best chance at as many victories as possible. While Sugawara is aware of how talented Kageyama is, he also knows of his trouble with communicating and establishing bonds with others and has tried to help him improve on this by giving helpful advice wherever he can. Knowing that Kageyama can get angered easily, Sugawara tends to be the one to stop him when he starts getting worked up. When the two are on the court together, Sugawara is able to inform the younger setter of a plan and it be carried out without question. Thanks to this, they work extremely well together and can often throw off the opposing team with their tactics. After Kageyama joined a professional team, Sugawara becomes overwhelmed with emotions at seeing how far he has made it and continues to show great support. Shōyō Hinata: Sugawara is very supportive of the younger middle blocker. Since they first met, Sugawara has seen how Hinata is always striving to move forward and get stronger which has inspired both himself and their fellow teammates. Sugawara has assisted Hinata in trying to better his receives and also helped him with learning hand signals that they would later use during matches. The two are shown to work very well together with Sugawara always praising Hinata's hard work and even internally thanking him for inspiring him to move forward even more than Sugawara already does. When Hinata eventually joined a professional volleyball team, Sugawara showed great support and praise to the former middle blocker.

Kei Tsukishima: Similar to Kageyama, Sugawara sees Tsukishima as a talented volleyball player although he recognizes that Tsukishima relies more on strategy and gathering information. Also, like Kageyama, Sugawara sees how Tsukishima does not communicate well with others outside of mocking jests and has attempted to help. As Sugawara does not know Tsukishima as well as the second- and third-years, he tries to establish a bond with him in order to know him better and know how to best set to him during a match. Sugawara often praises Tsukishima and his blocking abilities but occasionally likes to poke fun at him and try to keep him from arguing with Kageyama. Ryūnosuke Tanaka: Similar to Nishinoya, Sugawara works and gets along well with Tanaka although he can sometimes be overwhelmed by Tanaka's rough and loud behavior. Often times, Sugawara is one of those who tends to keep Tanaka in line, especially when he appears like he is trying to pick a fight with someone. Kiyoko Shimizu: Like several other boys, Sugawara finds Kiyoko very beautiful and at times becomes flustered around her, such as when she held his hands when he was nervous during the match against Shiratorizawa. However, he does not actively try to seek her interest like Tanaka and Nishinoya. Sugawara highly respects Kiyoko as the team manager and a friend and is grateful for everything she does for the team.

Favorite Food: Super Spicy Mapo Tofu (Japanese: 激げき辛から麻マーまー婆ボーぼー豆とう腐ふ, Gekikara Mābōtōfu). Current Concern: A lot of his juniors are taller than him. Star Sign: Gemini. He wears white gym shoes with blue/green accents. He went to Nagamushi Junior High. He, along with Daichi and Asahi, form a set. His jersey number (2) is symbolic of his position as a setter, as a toss is usually the second contact in volleyball. It is confirmed that he shares the same class as Daichi Sawamura. He is the oldest third-year and member on the team.

Karasuno, like most Japanese schools, has a dress code which includes wearing a uniform. The male uniform consists of the classic black gakuran, white collared shirt, cream sweater and black pants. The women have a different uniform, which consists of a white blouse, red ribbon, cream sweater, black blazer, and a grey skirt[1]. However, since many students are often seen without the cream sweater and wearing t-shirts instead of the collared shirt, it is assumed that the dress code isn't strictly enforced.

The boys' volleyball club's uniform consists of a black tracksuit with white details. The members wear white t-shirts and black shorts during practice matches and often don a yellow sports bib on top. During official matches, the majority of players don a black jersey and shorts with orange details. The libero has a contrasting jersey in orange with black details.

Each grade has five classes with classes 4 and 5 being college-preparatory classes. Periods are 50 minutes long with a 10-minute break in between. Subjects taught include English, modern Japanese literature, math, and physical education. After graduation, students generally either continue on to higher education or work.

The passing grade for exams is 40 points. Students who fail their final exams must take weekend supplementary classes and a supplementary exam for each failed subject. These may sometimes be held during summer vacation. The passing grade for supplementary exams is 80 points, and students must take them until they pass.

The school's Boys' Volleyball Club was founded many years ago and has often been associated with crows due to the school's name. Its banner, in fact, reads "Fly" which alludes to crows. It was said that Coach Ikkei Ukai had a ferocious pack of crows during Karasuno's glory days.

For a while, Karasuno did not have a coach due to Ikkei's hospitalization after a few months of coaching the previous year. Daichi Sawamura then took on both the captain and the coach's duties until Ikkei's grandson, Keishin Ukai, became the new coach. The managers of the team consist of Kiyoko Shimizu, a third-year and the original manager, and Hitoka Yachi, a first-year recruited by Kiyoko after the first tournament. A team photo with the official banner in the back. The main starting lineup is composed of Daichi Sawamura, Asahi Azumane, Ryūnosuke Tanaka, Yū Nishinoya, Shōyō Hinata, Tobio Kageyama, and Kei Tsukishima. Karasuno is currently famous for its quick attack performed by Kageyama and Hinata and its unique members: Kitagawa Daiichi Junior High's "King of the Court," Kageyama; Chidoriyama's champion libero, Nishinoya; and the 164cm-tall middle blocker, Hinata.

Karasuno's main rivals within the Miyagi Prefecture are Aoba Johsai High, Date Tech High, and Shiratorizawa Academy. The club's "destined" rival is Nekoma High, which Karasuno has always lost to. Because their animal representatives (cat and crow) are usually found by the dumpster, their matches are called the "Battle at the Garbage Dump". In the English dub, it is referred to as 'The Trashcan Showdown'.

Karasuno's strongest attribute is its offensive power, with a heavy focus on attacks such as the quick strike, pipeline, and synchronized attacks using tempo. It also utilizes uncommon techniques like the Calculated One-Point Two-Setter, the jump float serve, and a libero toss to throw off opponents.