Chapter 94: The Ninety-Fourth Fox
After covering for Aran to score, the serve passed to Hinata himself.
The situation was slightly different from the previous set; now, Hakuma Mebuki was positioned in the middle, making him an even better target for targeting than in the last set.
Whether targeting the Libero on the left or Nozawa on the right, both are good choices.
Spinning the volleyball in his hands, Hinata adjusted his state and then tossed the ball straight up.
Taking three steps forward, he leaped into the air to spike.
Kamibayashi also took a step forward, extending his arms to block in front of Hakuma Mebuki: "I've got it!"
Bang!
The volleyball soared high into the air, landing near Karasuno's attack line.
Kiryu Ya couldn't help but sigh in admiration, "That receive was incredibly precise."
Kusubashi Michiko was not surprised: "Hinata's habits are quite easy to guess."
"Habit?" Kiryu Ya was stunned for a moment.
He indeed hadn't paid much attention to Hinata's serving habits; after all, watching Inarizaki's matches meant being involuntarily swept away by Hinata's brilliant Quick Attacks.
Kusubashi explained simply, "Hinata isn't very good at hitting short diagonals, so every time he takes his starting position, he adjusts himself to be directly in front of the spot he intends to hit."
This habit was quite obvious to anyone paying close attention, Fukurodani noticed it as well.
"Great receive!" Suwa raised his hands and sent the ball to Hoshiumi Hikari.
When facing Suna Rintaro's block, Hoshiumi Hikari would generally choose to hit a high ball; after all, Suna Rintaro's sharpness at blocking was quite high, simple changes in the ball's trajectory were easily anticipated.
Hinata stared at Hoshiumi Hikari's movements, stepping one step toward his left the moment he was about to spike, following the change in his arm direction.
Akagi froze for a moment, but still stepped aside to give Hinata some space.
But.. isn't this positioning a bit too far back? Can he even receive it?
The moment the sound of the spike rang in his ears, Hinata suddenly dropped into a one-legged crouch to lower his center of gravity, pressing his wrists down as he slammed against the orange floor below.
Bang!!
Hinata's body did not move, but the volleyball hit the front of his forearm steadily before bouncing high into the air.
"Nice receive!" Miya Atsumu praised immediately.
Akagi was completely shocked, nearly crying on the court: "Shoyo—"
He's grown up! He can even handle a spike like that now! I was worrying for nothing!
Hoshiumi, in his descending state, narrowed one eye, a look of indelible shock washing over his face.
Hinata had already moved before his spike, seemingly having predicted the trajectory of his spike in advance.
—Really?
Hinata bit his lower lip, his eyes filled with the excitement of having correctly predicted the topic.
As expected, perception is the most important thing.
It wasn't just that he could observe Fukurodani's serving habits; he could also observe the blocking and spiking habits of everyone on the Fukurodani team.
And the one he was most, most familiar with.. without a doubt, was Hoshiumi Hikari, whose match footage he had watched over and over again like a textbook.
Coach Kurosu raised a hand, suppressing the corner of his mouth that had begun to curl upward.
Although Hinata, who is currently playing as a Stronger Opposite, shouldn't have reached out to receive the ball while the Libero still had energy left, although receiving it this way would affect his subsequent offensive state.. Hinata caught it.
Moreover, he provided an excellent set that would allow Atsumu to utilize the front row to their maximum potential.
After a brief moment of excitement, Hinata also snapped out of it.
Wait, he shouldn't have received that ball.
It's over. Atsumu-senpai had just signaled him to run a Quick Attack at Position 1, but now he can't get back up.
Miya Atsumu didn't care either, instead set the ball directly to Suna Rintaro.
Suna Rintaro did not choose a change in trajectory this time; instead, after Karasuno reflexively prepared to block his line shot, he hit it across the short diagonal.
"I've got it!" Kamibayashi dove out, barely managing to save the ball, but the ball was sent directly to the front of the net.
Suwa called out to his team's Ace, "Hikari-kun! Spike it directly!"
The moment Hoshiumi jumped, he exchanged a glance with Hirugami on the other side.
As Aran and Suna chased after him, Hoshiumi turned in mid-air and forcefully sent the ball toward Hirugami.
It wasn't a standard set; to be precise, he just slapped the ball across the net.
But Hirugami's follow-up was just as fast; the moment the ball flew toward him, he raised his hands and pushed it over the net.
The entire process was incredibly fast, not to mention that Inarizaki's block was completely fooled by Hoshiumi.
The ball pushed by Hirugami landed in Inarizaki's front court, neither Akagi nor Kita from the back row could dive to save it.
Fukurodani scores, taking the serve.
Rishia Heisuke, waiting in the substitution area, grew nervous: "The score is neck and neck in this set."
Unlike the previous set where Inarizaki pulled ahead from the very start, this set feels like it's going to be a long battle..
Kumagai poked him: "This is the time when you should be on the court."
With the score deadlocked between the two sides, the server in the deciding set is the key to changing the tide.
But before Rishia could respond to him, Coach Kurosu's voice rang out from the other side: "Kuniharu, come here for a moment."
Kumagai froze for a moment. "Me?"
That's not right. Shouldn't Rishia be the one going up to serve? Theoretically, he should be the second one to go up.
Despite his doubts, he still walked over to the coaching bench.
Kurosu instructed, "In a moment, you'll serve in place of Suna. You can try a let serve. Try to disrupt the opponent's formation as much as possible, especially to interfere with Hoshiumi's subsequent attacks."
Kumagai, who had not actually played many net touches in real matches, fell silent for a second before asking tentatively, "What if it hits someone?"
After asking, he fell silent under Coach Kurosu's deep gaze.
He is the server, bearing the heavy responsibility of opening the play with his serve; he cannot afford to make a mistake on something so simple.
Similarly, he is not allowed to make a mistake either.
In Hirugami's field of vision, Hinata rushed from his original position to behind Position 4, then quickly rushed back to Position 1 after they moved one step in that direction.
With the assistance of Miya Atsumu's precise set, he successfully scored with a Quick Attack.
Hinata's turn was incredibly fast, the entire acceleration process taking only a second; even Hirugami had no way of catching up through mere reaction.
Hoshiumi spoke up, "Don't panic. The back row's attack path is longer; try a back-row jump to reach the ball."
Unlike those tall players, for a long time, he actually lacked the ability to "kill" the ball at the net.
That is why, just like Hinata Shoyo, he has conducted an extremely profound study of various ball-handling techniques.
Since the judgment for a block only requires a part of the body to extend over the top of the net, it is theoretically possible to use a hand to send the ball back or touch it to dissipate its momentum even if only the fingernails cross the net.
And this would be considered a block, which does not count as one of the three touches.
I really never thought of it that way," Hirugami laughed, "As expected of Hikari-kun.
Hoshiumi raised an eyebrow, considering they were on the court, he resisted the urge to stomp on Hirugami's foot.
And Hoshiumi's method was indeed effective.
As Hinata prepared for another back-row quick attack, Hirugami chased it from behind and made contact with the ball directly in mid-air.
Touch!
Kamibayashi Keiichiro breathed a sigh of relief: "Beautiful!"
If only it had been like this sooner; he was almost driven to despair chasing those quick attacks that were useless against the blocks.
Bessho Chigen rubbed his chin in the waiting area.
That's right, you can do it like that..
Having gradually found their rhythm, Hirugami and Hakuma followed up once again as Hinata jumped.
But this time, Miya Atsumu did not give the ball to Hinata; instead, under his cover, he gave the ball to Kita Shinsuke, who was jumping on the wing.
Kita Shinsuke, who rarely actively participates in the offense, has an extremely low presence; this play was no different from the shock brought by Hinata's Quick Attack.
Not to mention that Kita Shinsuke himself has a significant advantage over Hinata in terms of strength, scoring a point directly with a spike that hit the floor right after crossing the net.
Great play, Kita Team!
Aran, who was serving, wiped away a non-existent tear.
Damn it, he had just started experiencing the joy of spiking over the net before being swapped to the back row.
Aran, serve a good one!
Watching Aran prepare for the second serve, Coach Aran frowned slightly by the sidelines.
He didn't know if it was just his illusion, but although this set seemed to be a grind, the tempo was much faster than before.
Judging solely by the duration of the match, even without a significant point gap, the same number of points was achieved in less time than in the previous set.
—What is Inarizaki planning to do?
The same question appeared in Hoshiumi's mind.
Just as he jumped to his highest point to spike the ball, his field of vision contained not only the libero diving for the ball, but also Hinata, who appeared to be communicating with Miya Atsumu through hand signals.
Hoshiumi felt as if he were hallucinating.
Is this.. Hinata giving instructions to Miya Atsumu?
The next second, Akagi had already dove to save the ball, sending it steadily up toward Miya Atsumu's head.
As Hinata rushed toward Position 1, Aran also rapidly swapped positions with him, the two of them completing a cross behind the setter, allowing Aran to perform a back-row spike from behind Position 4.
Seeing Hinata already in position, Hirugami subconsciously took a step toward the antenna.
But immediately after, he realized why.. Hinata hadn't jumped, Miya Atsumu hadn't set the ball either.