Yaku dove, barely managing to save the ball.
“Kenma!!”
His voice was urgent; the set wasn't in position, so he could only rely on Kenma's movement.
Kenma took two quick steps and jumped, leaning his body slightly backward, sending the ball over Yamamoto, who was being marked, toward Inugami, who was jumping toward the sideline.
Watching the ball fly toward him, Inugami was incredibly nervous.
This time, I have to—
There was almost nothing in front of him but an empty net, with only Ginjima, who had rushed over from the side and hadn't yet taken his position, remaining.
Stuck between the block and the sideline, Inugami used all his strength to spike the ball straight down.
Hinata's diving was still unpracticed; his movement to lunge was a bit slow, he failed to reach the ball.
The volleyball slammed into the ground, making a heavy sound.
Hinata didn't get up immediately; instead, he shouted, "Out!"
The referee looked down to check, finally raised the flag to signal that Nekoma's spike was out, giving Inarizaki the point.
"Damn it—" Kuroo felt a deep sense of regret.
Miya Atsumu pulled Hinata up and patted his back. "Shoyo, your judgment was good."
Hinata scratched his head and just grinned foolishly.
What kind of good judgment was that? In reality, he didn't even know if he had touched it; it was only when the volleyball hit the floor that he realized it was out of bounds..
Across the net, Inugami bowed to the Nekoma team: "I'm sorry! I made a mistake!!"
Yaku clapped his hands. "Don't worry about it! Keep trying on the next one!"
The previous rally had already proven that their playstyle was not the problem; before Inarizaki could make targeted adjustments, they could continue trying to close the gap in the score.
Compared to the previous state of being so restricted, this feeling of following Inarizaki's lead to set the tempo.. was unexpectedly good.
If we get used to this style of play, I expect we'll be able to use it against other teams as well.
Inugami nodded vigorously: "Yes!"
However, Nekoma's attempt still came a little too late.
Although they had closed the gap slightly, they still couldn't pull off a comeback.
The final score was 25:22, with Inarizaki taking the victory in the second set, winning the match 2:0.
Inugami let out a long sigh. "After finishing this match, I feel like I won't be afraid of any match in the future."
Inarizaki was terrifyingly strong; he had never encountered such an opponent during junior high, but in his first official training match of high school, he was forced to undergo a baptism.
The blocking can't keep up, the offense can't score.. it's too painful!
Fortunately, he already knew that Inarizaki was top-tier in the nation; if the entire high school circuit was at this level, he would want to just lie flat.
Kuroo nodded. "It was a miscalculation; I should have brought Lev along."
That guy who can't see the reality of the situation and is arrogant every single day needs to be taught a proper lesson.
"Give me a break.." Kenma protested.
Usui relaxed his clenched hands, his palms covered in sweat. "Those last few rallies were incredibly intense."
Although he had known all along that Inarizaki would win, he still couldn't help but feel nervous under the pressure of such long rallies.
Bōwàng also nodded. "Nekoma is a typical slow starter; they perform much better in the later stages than they did at the beginning."
Actually, the quality of the receives had been consistently stable; what truly changed was the overall tactical deployment and the rhythm—things that are quite difficult to explain.
Looking at the whole match, it clearly gave him the feeling of someone who was slowly observing and summarizing, gradually becoming familiar with the opponent and then responding to every move.
If Inarizaki didn't reveal new things so quickly, they would most likely be caught by the opponent.
So.. who is Nekoma's setter?
Watching Miya Atsumu, who had cast countless glances toward Kenma after the win, Aran couldn't help but complain, "Look at that smug face of his. He clearly didn't even account for Nekoma's setter two or three times, several times he messed up and had to rely on others to save the day."
Kita Shinsuke turned his head to look over. "Having strong teammates is also a form of strength, isn't it?"
Aran froze for a moment, then finally nodded, "That's true."
After a few seconds of silence, Aran still couldn't help himself: "Atsumu, are you some kind of scheming star? No one is even paying attention to you!"
Miya Osamu and Ginjima laughed mercilessly, while Suna silently pulled his phone out of his bag.
Coach Kurosu was quite satisfied with this match.
Nekoma can be called one of the best in the high school circuit when it comes to comprehensive defense, the coordination between the twins, Hinata, the ace Wing Spiker has fully proven its value by being able to break through even in such situations.
Rishia is still immature, so he often fails to seize the opportunity.
If it were Aran.. with Hinata acting as bait, he would definitely be able to perform even better.
Coach Kurosu looked at Miya Atsumu: "What about Atsumu? How does it feel?"
Miya Atsumu thought about it seriously, reflecting on the whole game; he hadn't actually felt fully satisfied: "Hmm.. there are too few tactics that can be played from the middle blocker position. I feel like there are many things I could try from the back row as well."
This was a rare occurrence, a new playstyle completely dominated by him, but because Hinata would rotate to the back row and leave the court, it wasn't used very often.
Coach Kurosu directly rejected Miya Atsumu's proposal: "We'll have to wait until Shoyo can receive the ball properly before we talk about that."
Receiving is not something that can be rushed; it can only be improved through years of practice.
Looking at the current progress, it looks like it'll take another six months of training.
Moreover, back-row attacks are not simple; one careless mistake could lead to an error.
But it's true, once the blocking and receiving are sufficiently practiced, the back-row attack portion can be added in.
Passing.. that's something we can practice as well.
After all, an ace's task is to score with spikes, while other wing spikers more often need to handle balls that aren't as good and also need to consider supporting the setter during critical moments.
After telling everyone to pay attention, Coach Kurosu walked up to Coach Nekota. "Coach Nekota, this is a rare opportunity. Would you consider staying to participate in the training camp?"
Nekota was considered a renowned veteran of the older generation; even Kurosu and Kusubashi were merely juniors compared to him.
Moreover, Nekoma's strength was certainly on point; judging by their performance in the second half of the second set, they were not at all inferior to Seito, were even much stronger than Kaifang.
Forget the training camp," Coach Nekota said, waving his hand. "We have another practice match scheduled for the day after tomorrow, we're going to Miyagi.
"Miyagi? Is it that far away?" Kurosu was stunned for a moment.
From Kyoto to Miyagi is practically crossing half of Japan; when they played practice matches with Shiratorizawa, they only went to Tokyo to rent venues.
Coach Nekota laughed heartily, "Hahaha, there are some old friends that I simply must see, no matter what."
"But speaking of which, the Hinata Shoyo on our team is actually from Miyagi. It's a pity he didn't have a boys' volleyball team in junior high; I suppose he won't be able to act as a strategist for Nekoma." Coach Kurosu sounded polite, but his words carried a hint of boasting about his own player.
Look at my kid, a brand-new volleyball novice, his Quick Attack is absolutely superb!
Hahaha," Coach Nekota said, not paying it much mind, but instead turning to ask, "Are there any other teams here that excel at offense? Before everyone heads back on the Shinkansen, we can play a few more matches.
Coach Kurosu made the final decision: "That works out perfectly. We'll have five teams on a bye right now, so Nekoma can join in today as well."
Hearing his own name, Hinata pricked up his ears and listened to the coaches' conversation. After catching the key words, he suddenly looked toward Kenma: "Kenma! Are you guys going to Miyagi!"
Kenma nodded. "Yeah, we've scheduled two practice matches against Shirato and Karasuno."
Hinata's eyes widened. "Karasuno!"
"Shoyo knows?" Kenma looked up at him.
"Yeah, the Little Giant's alma mater. If I hadn't come to Hyogo, I probably would have applied to Karasuno too." Hinata nodded vigorously, his eyes filled with regret.
Miya Atsumu placed a hand on Hinata's shoulder: "What's the matter? Is our Inarizaki not good enough?"
Hinata shut his mouth; he felt that if he didn't answer this question well, he would be finished.
After his brain spun at high speed, he spoke decisively, "Inarizaki and the seniors are all very good."
Hearing Hinata's words, Miya Atsumu suddenly remembered the moment he locked eyes with Hinata in the teaching building yesterday.
[It's wonderful that you got into Inarizaki.]
He chuckled softly, letting Hinata go. "That's a good answer."
Kenma sized up Hinata and Miya Atsumu with a hint of curiosity, but ultimately ignored Miya Atsumu and continued speaking, "Coach said that Karasuno has a very formidable setter this year, but I'm not sure about the specifics.
Besides, with the renowned Coach Ukai not present, there really wasn't much to look forward to.
Hinata's attention was instantly pulled away from Miya Atsumu: "An amazing Setter!"
He clasped his hands together. "I'm really curious! If possible, Kenma, could you tell me about it after you're finished? This is a once-in-a-lifetime request from me!"
Kenma looked up slightly and saw Miya Atsumu standing behind Hinata, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot.
He looked back at Hinata. "Sure, I'll send you a message then."
"Long live Kenma!" Hinata cheered, quickly pulling out his phone to exchange contact information with Kenma.
In his excellent mood, he didn't hear someone click their tongue behind him.
The phone Suna was holding displayed "Recording."
Miya Osamu leaned toward the lens, making a peace sign next to Miya Atsumu.
Meanwhile, Usui Mitsuru, who had already returned to Gym 1, was gesturing toward Inubushi Higashi and the others.
They scored just like that, in a flash. That little guy runs so incredibly fast, he can jump so—high.
Inarizaki is even more terrifying now than before.
Kai Kiyoharu expressed his disbelief: "Really?"
Author's Note:
No update tomorrow, no update tomorrow, a triple update the day after tomorrow [pigeon]
By the way, I'm attaching my best friend's next upcoming book; the synopsis is at the very bottom.
"Even Silver-Haired Dead Fish Eyes Must Play Volleyball," by Nanyang Xi—the sexy Yorozuya boss is currently being persecuted by Inarizaki!
Additionally, her second work is also being serialized; check out "The Character Design is the Volleyball Club's Comedy Relief."
↓Boss Silver's synopsis is here↓