However, given Nekoma's current blocking proficiency, they could indeed react and get in position in time.
And the Quick Attack..
Kuroo's expression was serious, he exhaled to calm his emotions.
—For a Quick Attack, you only need to ensure you make contact with the ball.
Heisuke!
Nice spike!
I'll get it!
The spike from Nekoma was received by Unabara and sent right over Miya Atsumu's head.
Unabara's pass was very steady; after that serious error, he actually found a sense of inner balance.
Almost at the same time the volleyball flew over the setter's head, Hinata also started from his original position and rushed toward the net.
"Here it comes!" Kuroo shouted, maintaining enough focus on Hinata while simultaneously being on guard against Rishia Heisuke's spike.
On the side where Nekoma had fewer blockers, Hinata moved as close to the edge as possible, then jumped with a heavy thud.
The gazes being cast from all directions were exceptionally obvious at this very moment.
Ah.. are they looking at him?
Is she being wary of him, on guard against him, watching him with total concentration?
This feeling.. it makes one feel incredibly excited.
Watch him!
Don't look away, just keep watching him like that, until—
The ball left Miya Atsumu's hands, flying in the opposite direction of everyone's gaze.
Rishia Heisuke, already in Position 4, leaped high into the air and delivered a heavy spike toward the empty space in his field of vision.
BANG!!
The volleyball slammed down less than a meter away from Yaku, but that single meter felt like an insurmountable chasm.
Such perfect timing, positioning, jump—it was all just bait?
Miya Atsumu gave Kenma a light smile.
This time, he won.
Exhaling a soft breath, Kenma lowered his eyelids.
It felt as if, if things continued like this, he would be swallowed by the bottomless surface of the water without even a single struggle.
There was a strange sense of.. unwillingness to let it end like this.
Coach Nekota stood up by the sidelines and signaled a timeout to the referee.
Yamamoto, who hadn't been able to land a single proper spike in two sets, was going crazy. "Aaaah! That feeling of only touching the ball from the other side is so eerie!"
Kuroo spoke up to soothe everyone, "Don't worry about it. It just shows the opponents aren't confident they can block your spike, right, Kenma?"
Kenma did not respond to Kuroo.
Everyone noticed that Kenma was acting strangely, Yamamoto Takeo was the first to ask, "Kenma, what's wrong?"
Wiping the sweat from his face with a towel, Kenma shook his head. "It's just the feeling of playing a high-difficulty stage without a strategy card."
"Huh?" Yamamoto didn't understand at all.
Kuroo, on the other hand, understood exactly what Kenma was trying to say.
Inarizaki's current lineup has undoubtedly strengthened their offensive power.
Except for the Libero, basically everyone else was constantly participating in the offense, putting pressure on them from every position, which was a bit different from their previous, more stable state.
Relatively speaking, there were weaknesses in their defense, especially with the missing block and the Libero occasionally being caught in a scramble.
But.. the ace Yamamoto is being closely guarded, they lack other means of breaking through.
Kenma was thinking.
Without a doubt, their tactics have been constantly adjusting, but Inarizaki has been doing the same; in fact, the tactical shifts of Inarizaki as a whole are even greater than theirs.
And their Nekoma was constantly in a state of being on the defensive.
They couldn't keep going on like this; they had to be more proactive.
“Inugami,” Kenma suddenly looked up at his team's rookie Middle Blocker, “once you get on the court, try to perform a wide spread to the left and right like Shoyo does.”
“If we keep going like this, we won't find any breakthroughs. I think.. we should try to find new ways to attack."
This wasn't something Nekoma excelled at, but at this moment, they had no choice but to make a change.
Inugami nodded. "I understand!"
Hinata serves.
The members of Nekoma breathed a sigh of relief. "Is he finally coming off the court?"
But at the same time, Suna, who entered the court with him, made their hearts race with tension.
Unlike Hinata, Suna is strong in both offense and blocking; although he is making contact, his overall proficiency is far behind Hinata's.
Hinata doesn't block because he simply cannot block no matter what, whereas Suna doesn't block only because he judged that this specific ball was impossible to block.
If there were a chance.. he wouldn't just sit there and wait for death.
Hinata's serve was mediocre, only ensuring that the ball cleared the net.
Compared to his stunning Quick Attack, it certainly left the spectators feeling a sense of disappointment.
Coach Omimi laughed from the coaching bench. "That serve still needs work."
The jump serve is a mandatory skill that will have to be learned sooner or later; once things like receiving and blocking are sufficiently practiced, it should be added to the schedule.
But.. at the very least, he'll have to wait until second year. Hinata has too many things he doesn't know yet.
Yaku, behind him, received the ball. Inugami looked at the blockers from Inarizaki on the opposite side, then glanced at the hand signal Kenma made behind him, then bolted forward.
Kenma couldn't set a ball like Atsumu's, he couldn't run with the same speed as Hinata.
But.. they can arrange it in advance.
That gesture is a wide-spread Quick Attack from Position 2!
At the same time, Yamamoto and Kashiinayuki were following from the back row, preparing to move around half the court for a late set.
Coach Kurosu nodded: "The best way to attack is to hide within the crowd."
If Inarizaki's offense was a sequenced arpeggio played on piano keys, then Nekoma's choice was to play chords in unison.
Kuroo, in the waiting area, gave a knowing smile.
This was their old friend's signature move; they were merely making last-minute preparations.
But.. that was enough.
Nekoma's proactive increase in tempo caused Inarizaki to show a severe sense of discomfort; due to a misjudgment, their block completely missed.
Seeing the ball about to hit the floor, Miya Atsumu and Hinata from the other side both dove at the same time, barely managing to save the ball.
Osamu!
Miya Atsumu grabbed Hinata and pulled him up together, while Miya Osamu had already rushed toward the edge of the court, preparing to save the ball.
Miya Osamu's setting ability was also very strong; even though the ball was this far out of position, he still managed to send it right in front of the net.
Spike it! Rintaro!
Suna leaped at the net, but this poor ball left him with absolutely no room to maneuver.
He could only spike the ball diagonally, following its original trajectory.
Having anticipated it, Yaku stepped forward and received the ball: "Kenma!"
Giving another instruction, Kenma passed the ball this time to Hoshiumi, who was furthest from Inugami.
Touch!
The block was successful, Hinata from the back row followed up immediately: "Atsumu-senpai!"
With the Libero not there, his position was the closest.
Fortunately, the set was quite good.
After receiving the ball, Hinata did not stop his momentum; instead, he quickly retreated, preparing to take a running start forward.
The key to a back-row attack.. he still remembers.
Suna raised his hand to call for the ball, charging toward the net against Nekoma's block.
His flexible body allows him to significantly change the direction of his spike even after jumping, combined with his own strength, it is one of Inarizaki's finishing moves.
But this time, Miya Atsumu completely ignored Suna's request.
Because.. an orange shadow had already rushed into his field of vision.
Even though he didn't say a word, Miya Atsumu strangely felt like Hinata was asking him for the ball.
A back-row Wing Spiker?
—Interesting.
After confirming that Hinata's jump didn't step on the line, Miya Atsumu raised his hands to set a perfect ball over.
With a loud thud, Hinata spiked the incredibly precise pass.
Kashiinayuki rushed forward in two steps to try and receive the ball, but it hit him directly in the chest and flew back into the Inarizaki court.
Startled by the recent back-row attack, Inugami stared intently at Hinata.
Can you not relax even when rotating to the back?!
Miya Atsumu pressed his hands down to both sides, signaling that he would set the ball directly without needing a receive.
Having received the instruction, Hinata tried a Quick Attack from the back row once again, but this time Miya Atsumu did not give him the ball.
Rishia Heisuke, having received the ball, poured all his strength into a spike, smashing it straight through Inugami's block, who had been momentarily distracted by Hinata and reacted a split second too late.