Hinata, positioned below and ready for a counterattack at any moment, stared intently at Sakusa's spike.
Sakusa's wrists are very flexible, but because of this, his hand movements are quite large when adjusting a topspin side-spin, making it difficult for him to adjust back.
And this kind of thing.. can be defended against through reaction speed.
Just as Hinata expected, the two who were extremely familiar with Sakusa accurately caught the moment Sakusa hit a topspin side-spin, working together to adjust their positions and block the ball.
Hinata lunged forward instantly.
After several days of three-on-three matches, his diving had become much more skillful than at the beginning, he managed to save the ball by reaching for it at an extremely difficult angle.
"Beautiful!" Sakusa, who had just landed, couldn't help but offer a word of praise.
Washijo, standing by the sidelines, nodded. "That's more like it."
A weakness cannot remain a weakness forever; one will always improve bit by bit, eventually reaching a normal level, or even becoming even stronger.
If you just stay stagnant forever, then you're nothing but a complete failure.
Shirabu adjusted his position to chase after it, raising his hands once more to give the ball to Sakusa.
Sakusa seized the opportunity, hitting the ball off Agatsuma Soushi's hands to score using the touch.
Having just scrambled up from the ground, Hinata licked his lips, committing Sakusa's entire movement to memory.
Noticing Hinata's restlessness, Sakusa proactively stepped back a bit to receive the ball in the next round of offense, freeing Hinata from his defensive position.
But as soon as he finished the receive, he felt a bit of regret.
—He seemed to have gone a bit overboard.
For Hinata, being able to reset and get back on his feet after a receive is also an important training point.
Hinata doesn't need anyone to cater to him; he will proactively seek out his own space to survive.
In the next second, Hinata's voice completely interrupted Sakusa's thoughts: "Give me the ball!!"
Hearing the request for the ball, Shirabu did not hesitate, raising his hands to send the ball directly in front of Hinata.
Hinata took four steps forward and leaped with a thud.
Shirabu didn't set the ball that high, but because the opposing side was on guard against Sakusa, the blockers didn't follow up quickly.
For Hinata, there was still plenty of space to spike this ball.
Can he spike?
This question flashed through Goshiki's mind as he chased after him.
He'll spike it.
Agatsuma jumped decisively to block, using his height to shut down the trajectory of Hinata's spike.
Sakusa's expression remained calm, though his mind had already formed a judgment that aligned with Hinata's actual actions.
—He can't spike.
Hinata's arm swing, which had been extremely fast, slowed down at the moment it was about to make contact with the volleyball, his hand lightly tapped the lower half of the ball, tipping it over.
With a soft thud, the volleyball hit the ground, Hinata scored.
Komori, who hadn't reacted in time at all, was stunned: "It was a feint!"
He thought it would definitely be a short diagonal. After all, considering the situation just now, considering Hinata's pressured state of mind, it was a great opportunity for a spike.
“Ita-senpai, great receive! Shirabu-senpai, great set!” Hinata cheered with both hands raised high.
Komori glanced at Hinata, who was cheering for the point, couldn't help but rub his chin. "In a sense, he's truly impressive."
To be able to control his emotions in that situation and ultimately execute a calm tip..
"These Aces are incredible." Having already sat down beside her younger brother, Suzuki Garaku couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
Sannomiya Industrial is currently a bit better at blocking, but based on today's matches against Itachiyama and Shiratorizawa.. the loss was exceptionally devastating.
When the entire team's overall quality is up to standard, the benefits brought by a super Ace will only be even greater.
"And that little guy from Inarizaki, I thought he was a Libero because he was constantly receiving the ball at first.." Suzuki Garaku recalled the recent misunderstanding.
That makes sense. At noon, Hinata was practicing explosive vertical jumps with Shiratorizawa's Ace successor; he was clearly preparing for his approach for a spike.
Suzuki Nanao nodded, his originally calm emotions now being involuntarily pulled along by the action on the court.
He was indeed incredible; he had never seen such a powerful Spiker before. It was also the first time he had realized that there could be so many different ways to overcome this kind of Block.
So cool, truly so cool—
He showed absolutely no fear, always thinking about his next move.
It seems.. it has a magic that tugs at one's heart.
Great receive! Sakusa!
“I've got it!”
Goshiki serves as an important scoring option for Komori's side, his spike frequency is also quite high, but Hinata and Sakusa still managed to prevent him from scoring much through their coordination on defense.
By contrast, Agatsuma had a higher frequency of scoring through running a three-man attack and direct blocks.
On the court, Sakusa stepped back to receive Goshiki Tsutomu's spike, while simultaneously moving forward to prepare for an attack.
Shirabu glanced at Sakusa, who was being watched warily by Komori, ultimately chose to use a back set to give the ball to Hinata.
Hinata stared at the flying volleyball, adjusted the stride of his approach, finally jumped with both feet in front of the net.
A heavy thud echoed in his ears.
In that instant, it was as if Suzuki Nanao saw wings unfurling.
Ah..
It's airborne.
The reaction from the other side of the net was equally fast; Goshiki, having already anticipated Hinata's spike, Agatsuma rushed to surround him at the same time.
The moment he jumped, Goshiki frowned slightly.
This ball was not Hinata's highest contact point; clearly, the goal was not a super-hand spike.
This also meant that they, who aimed for a higher point.. had jumped too early.
In Hinata's field of vision, Goshiki's fingers were reflected; he aimed at the target's spot and raised his hand to deliver a heavy spike.
As usual, the rapid arm swing made the volleyball travel so fast that neither Goshiki nor Agatsuma could react in time.
The volleyball flew high into the air, landing outside the court.
Komori Motoya tried to save it, but he couldn't reach it.
Hinata scored using a hand.
Shirabu looked at Hinata, who had just landed, gave him a sincere compliment: "Nice play."
After a light high-five with Shirabu, Hinata looked toward Sakusa on the other side with eyes full of anticipation: "Sakusa-senpai!"
Sakusa remained silent for two seconds, then lightly wiped the sweat from the tip of his nose. "Well played."
Not only did he possess a keen sense for seizing opportunities with his hands, but he also used his vertical reach to induce the opponent to jump too early, creating opportunities for himself.
—It certainly has that Inarizaki style.
Hinata jumped up and down excitedly.
He was praised by the incredibly skilled Sakusa-senpai!
“Nanao?” Suzuki Garaku looked at his younger brother, who had suddenly frozen, looking a bit bewildered. For some reason, he suddenly had an ominous feeling.
Suzuki Nanao's face was filled with excitement that he couldn't hide at all, his gaze toward those two people on the court was full of longing: "Brother, I've decided."
"What?" Suzuki Garaku was stunned for a moment.
Decided on what?
But this was still the first time he had seen such an expression on his younger brother, especially, especially regarding volleyball, which he usually had little interest in.
"I'm not playing Middle Blocker anymore." Suzuki Nanao's voice was extremely decisive.
“Huh?” Garaku's mind buzzed.
Because of his brother's usual attitude toward volleyball, he subconsciously thought that he was going to give up on the sport.
But in the next second, the child's energetic voice rang out again.
I'm going to be the Ace!!
Author's Note:
A surprise from Hinata is about to arrive at Inarizaki (?)
Chapter 55: The Fifty-Fifth Fox
Looking at the scoreboard showing 21:19, Shirabu lowered his eyes toward the floor.
—We won.
Originally, he had refused Coach Washijo's request to come and set for Hinata and Sakusa, after all, Hinata's skill level was something everyone could see.
But.. the most important point was that Shirabu actually lacked enough confidence to use these two.
In Shirabu's impression, both Hinata and Sakusa were spikers who required a high-level Setter.
It was still somewhat difficult for him to set the kind of tactical balls that those two usually played, after all, the ones he set most often were the kind of balls Ushijima liked to spike.
But after playing this set, he realized he had been wrong.
Whether it was the still-inexperienced Hinata or Sakusa, one of the Three Major Spikers, both instinctively moved to actively cooperate with his setting. Regardless of what kind of ball he set, both of these people could spike it perfectly.
Perhaps for a Setter.. this is the greatest happiness.
Shirabu took a deep breath, lifted his foot, walked toward the sidelines to swap places with Iizuna, who had just returned from eating.
None of this mattered to him; all he had to do was always set a more comfortable ball for Ushijima-senpai.
No need to care, no need for praise.