According to Inarizaki's normal tactical rhythm, Hinata should be playing a supporting role alongside Miya Atsumu and Miya Osamu, while Rishia should be the one responsible for heavy attacks at Position 4.
But since he had already made such bold claims at the start, he simply waved it off and placed Hinata completely in Aran's position.
After all, the idea of letting Hinata experience the position of Ace had already been mentioned, so it wasn't too late now.
Atsumu spun the ball in his hands and tossed it up into the air under the gaze of everyone from Shiratorizawa.
This could be called the most formal match he and Shoyo had played together, since it started with his serve.. then he had to deliver the most spectacular serve on an away court!
Yamagata and Miya Atsumu faced off in serves quite a few times, but this was the first time Miya Atsumu's Jump Float Serve had been received.
There aren't many players at the high school level who excel at receiving serves, so the jump float serve has always been a lethal weapon in matches.
But Miya Atsumu was different.
Because.. his very first serve of this set went out of bounds.
Watching the float serve that could only be described as a home run, Yamagata Hayato could barely keep his composure.
Tendo, standing below the court, gave a thumbs up: "Nice play."
Miya Atsumu was going crazy.
Damn it, he originally wanted to hit a line-skimming jump float serve that would shock the entire stadium!
Down on the court, Kita Shinsuke's gaze swept over, staring fixedly at Miya Atsumu.
Miya Atsumu locked eyes with Kita for half a second, shuddered violently, then obediently returned to his position.
Help, stop looking at him with that "if you keep trying to act cool, you're going to roll right off the court" look..
He knew he was wrong.
Kawanishi from Shiratorizawa served, Akagi quickly moved in to receive it, sent the ball steadily up to Miya Atsumu.
Ohira Shion quietly watched Miya Atsumu's movements.
What could it be?
Suna's spike? Miya Osamu's Quick Attack? Or an attack from the little brat without a uniform in the back row?
In the next instant, Miya Atsumu sent the ball into the hands of Rishia Heisuke on the other side.
In fact, there weren't really that many options; at this stage, Shiratorizawa didn't need to be wary of Hinata at all.
Because.. Hinata's back-row attacks are still a complete mess.
Tendo was a bit too far away, so Ushijima followed up with a block, but Rishia managed to jam a straight spike between the block and the sideline to score.
After the spike, Rishia Heisuke turned his head to look at Hinata.
Hinata also cheered without hesitation, "Super straight shot! Heisuke, you're amazing!"
Across the net, Goshiki Tsutomu frowned slightly.
For some reason, he suddenly felt as if some unknown flames of battle had been directed at him.
Rishia Heisuke served, Hinata also moved to Position 4.
Tendo's gaze was cast upon Hinata, who was almost directly facing him, as he thought, let him see just what kind of play this guy is capable of..
Rishia Heisuke took a deep breath; his condition today was unexpectedly good.
Having been out on expeditions with the team for so long, this was the first time he had actually played in a match.
After watching from below for so long, he had already more or less memorized Shiratorizawa's defensive habits.
In short.. this ball will go to the Setter first.
In this formation, Ohira Shion from the front row retreats to receive the ball from Shirabu, while Goshiki Tsutomu and Yamagata Hayato are on the other side.
Because of the issue of staying in position during the initial formation, Shiratorizawa's left wing is quite crowded at this moment.
In this situation, it's enough to play from the Setter's position.
Ohira Shion reached out and received Rishia's powerful serve: "I've got it!"
Although Rishia's serve was very powerful, it was still easy to control for him, who received Ushijima's serves in his own club every day.
But Shirabu's momentum had been delayed, because of this, Ohira Shion did not send the ball to a normal attacking position, but instead sent it closer to the sideline, to a position where Shirabu could smoothly perform a set.
"Ushijima-senpai!" Shirabu once again sent the ball to Ushijima Wakatoshi, who had already rotated to Position 4.
Hinata stared intently at Ushijima's movements as he stepped forward, while simultaneously dropping back into position, ready to receive a spike at any moment.
From the very first day he joined the Inarizaki High School Volleyball Club, Coach Kurosu had been emphasizing the importance of observation to him.
Having watched from the sidelines for so long, remembering opponents' habits through observation had almost become his instinct.
After all, when he had no way to take the court to serve, this was the only thing he could do.
Suna kept some distance from the net, alongside Miya Osamu, taking the initiative to control the timing of his spike when Ushijima performed a spike.
"Touch!" Miya Osamu's fingers made contact with the ball.
Hinata looked up, staring at the volleyball.
He didn't see clearly how Miya Osamu's hand made contact with the volleyball, but the ball's trajectory should be around..
Quickly stepping back two paces to chase after the ball's landing point, Hinata shouted at the same time, "I'll take it!"
Akagi pulled back, while Hinata lowered his center of gravity to stabilize himself and moved to receive the ball.
The purpose of a practice match is training, so they naturally had to give Hinata a chance to receive the ball, especially since Hinata had already called out to them.
Watching the volleyball fly up, Miya Atsumu shouted as he moved in, "Nice receive!"
Regardless of the position, as long as the ball is high enough, it can maximize the time between the set and the attack, giving the spiker more time to react.
Miya Atsumu narrowed his eyes, looking toward a certain position above the net.
First, let's say hello to those big guys from Shiratorizawa..
At the same time, Miya Osamu, who was in the front row, had already moved toward Position 4, which had been left vacant after Hinata Shoyo retreated to receive the ball, Suna, who was originally at Position 2, also took two steps toward the center.
Tendo reacted immediately.
Is that.. a Double Quick?
His brain screamed danger, something flashed past his vision in less than the blink of an eye.
As Tendo followed his intuition and looked over, Hinata, wearing a red jersey, had already jumped a step faster than the other two at the edge of Position 2.
His eyes widened.
—When?
With a loud thud, the volleyball hit the ground.
After landing, Hinata shook the hand he had just used to spike, turned toward Miya Atsumu, proactively reached out to him.
The two of them high-fived. "Nice!!"
The entire Shiratorizawa Volleyball Gym fell silent, every player watching the match from the first and second floors felt their breath catch.
This wasn't just a Double Quick; it was a "Triple Quick" completed by the three players in the front row, number 17 among them.. was fast to an absurd degree.
Coach Washijo, standing by the sidelines, visibly froze for a moment, his hands involuntarily clenching in front of him.
Even at this point, no one from Shiratorizawa had processed what had happened.
What happened? How did the ball get over here?
Before the others from Shiratorizawa could say anything, Coach Washijo's voice rang out: "Tendo! What are you hesitating for! Isn't it in the footage of that Quick Attack?! Have you forgotten it all already?!"
“Tsutomu! You have to be on alert for a Quick Attack whenever you see a Spiker is missing! The back row has a wider field of vision for receiving, so how can you not keep up?!”
The members of Shiratorizawa stood at attention.
Whoa, how terrifying.
After that heart-pounding appearance, Miya Atsumu stopped holding back altogether; not only did he set a Quick Attack for Hinata Shoyo, but he also set for Miya Osamu.
Under the previous lineup arrangement, it was generally the Middle Blocker covering the Spiker, or using a Double Quick to cover the Ace.
And now.. indeed, both Wing Spikers are using a Quick Attack to cover Suna.
Yamagata Hayato felt his scalp go numb.
Hidden behind that Quick Attack was Suna's changeup.
Hinata frowned slightly when a Quick Attack was nearly touched by Tendo.
The adaptation speed of the team on the other side was indeed faster than any team he had played against so far.
Of course, that iron wall team they faced in the Kansai League, which consisted of the best defenders from various schools, was an exception.
Noticing Hinata's expression, Miya Atsumu raised his hand and made a gesture.
Hinata nodded, then turned his gaze back to the court.
Ushijima is currently in the back row, but as an Ace who is equally powerful in back-row attacks, Ushijima's offensive capabilities will not be affected in the slightest.
But unlike attacks from the front row, the trajectory of a spike from the back row is longer, which also means the defending side has more time to make a decision.
Rishia Heisuke stared at Ushijima's left hand as he prepared to spike.
Body orientation, wrist rotation, the position of the block were all key points of observation.
After watching several sets, Rishia also had a strong impression of Ushijima's spikes.
Combining this with his memory, Rishia finally filtered out the answer.
This ball.. will most likely come from the left side of the block.
Rishia kept his center of gravity forward while lowering his upper body as much as possible against his crouching thighs.
He extended his arms, slightly adjusting his position toward his left side.
Thinking about it carefully, what kind of spin does a lefty have..
In the next instant, the volleyball spun past the block and dropped straight toward Rishia Heisuke.
Bang!
At that moment, the front of Rishia's arms made contact with Ushijima Wakatoshi's spike, the ball landed steadily toward the attack line.
Relying on the support of his legs, Rishia stabilized his body, preventing himself from falling to the ground.