His presence seemed a bit too low; whether it was blocking or receiving an attack, he always seemed to be on the periphery, failing to play the role a wing spiker should.
"I've got it!" Hoshiumi stepped forward, steadily receiving Miya Atsumu's serve.
Unlike the unfamiliar Kumagai, they had already figured out the logic of Miya Atsumu's Dual Wield.
As long as they can judge it correctly, whether it's a power serve or a jump float serve, it won't be difficult for Hoshiumi and Kamibayashi to receive.
After receiving the serve, the only thing left to do is attack and score.
"Give me the ball!" Nozawa jumped from Position 4, calling for the setter to set the ball.
Right now, this position on the sideline is his best channel for an attack; as long as he breaks through the block—
Suwa raised his hands and sent the ball to Bessho Chigen for a pipe attack.
The Inarizaki blockers, distracted by the wing spikers on both sides, quickly converged toward the center. Having misjudged the height of Bessho Chigen's spike, Hinata Shoyo jumped a bit too early and was instantly shut down.
The volleyball hit Hinata's fingers and then popped out of bounds.
"Nice!" Bessho turned and gave the Captain a high five.
Immediately after, Suwa raised a hand to Nozawa: "Nice cover!"
Just as Karasuno was preparing to make a comeback, the serve switched to Hakuma Mebuki.
The sound of a substitution echoed from the sidelines as number 12, Tokura Ria武, replaced number 10, Hakuma Mebuki.
Akagi quickly said to Aran, "Setter, setter, go for a power serve!"
What a great serve!
Tossing the volleyball in his hands, Tokura Ria武 tossed the ball into the air at the very last second of the service time limit.
As a first-year substitute setter serving as a key server.. he cannot lose to Inarizaki's number 3!
A powerful serve smashed over the net, Kita Shinsuke, dropping to one knee to back up the play, received the ball steadily.
But the placement of this ball was perfect; even though Kita Shinsuke adjusted his movement as quickly as possible, he still blocked Miya Atsumu's path forward.
“Shoyo!” Miya Atsumu called out Hinata's name.
Usually, in this situation, Miya Osamu would set for him, but now it was Hinata's turn.
Hinata carefully adjusted his position.
Kita Shinsuke's positioning on this ball was perfect; even Hinata could easily keep up with it.
There was no need for hesitation when targeting the pass; he only needed to trust Aran-senpai.
Bend the knees, jump.
His fingers formed a C-shape, facing upward, with his ring and pinky fingers guarding both sides of the ball, while the other three fingers applied force—
After a momentary touch, the volleyball was steadily set by Hinata to Aran, who had jumped up in the back row.
As a setter, Hinata Shoyo was a complete novice who knew nothing about cover or feints, so his target for the set was quite obvious.
The moment they realized it, the three members of Karasuno had already closed in on Aran, facing the back-row spike from this top-five national ace in a perfectly prepared defensive stance.
Hinata's mediocre set was equally standard, transferring all the pressure onto the Spiker.
If it had been a toss from Miya Atsumu, Aran would probably already be considering a tip by now, but.. the one who made the toss was Hinata Shoyo.
I absolutely cannot let my junior down!
Under the gaze of all the Inarizaki members, Aran leaped into the air, puffing out his cheeks and holding his breath in preparation for a powerful spike.
Miya Atsumu was startled; against a block like that, a tip would have been a much safer option!
The next second, a massive crashing sound rang in the ears of the Inarizaki members.
The volleyball slammed heavily into the space between Bessho Chigen and Captain Suwa, knocking Suwa down before piercing through the block like a drill and pinning itself to the floor.
Miya Atsumu, who was just about to call for Aran to stay calm, stood with his mouth agape, watching Aran land, his face filled with shock.
Even Coach Unabara by the sidelines was a bit stunned. Was that a spike Aran could actually pull off?
For a split second, he thought he was seeing Ushijima.
"Nice!!" Aran clenched his fist tightly.
Spiking into the net is certainly satisfying, but as expected, the feeling of spiking right through the block is on a whole different level.
Aran glanced at Miya Atsumu, who was looking at him with disdain, decisively turned his head toward Hinata, opening his arms to him.
Setter" Hinata readily complied and hugged Aran: "That was so cool! Aran-senpai!
He had thought things were about to take a turn for the worse, after all, the blocking from Karasuno was so aggressive.
At this moment, Miya Atsumu no longer had the luxury of caring about his childhood friend's retaliatory provocation; what he cared about more was..
Aran, has your inner universe exploded?!
"Can we lock in this state?" Miya Atsumu rubbed his hands together.
If Aran could spike every ball like that.. he swore he would never complain about Aran again!
Akagi spoke up, "That would be exhausting."
Besides, there's no need; they aren't Shirabu's Shiratorizawa, needing an Ace's spike to maintain morale.
It's better to score using technical plays; it can save a lot of physical strength.
Amatori Toru had already seen through Aran's thoughts: "This is the buff from a junior's state."
Iizuna added, "A limited edition."
Tokura Ria, whose service was broken in just one ball, emptied his mind, pitifully swapped positions with Hakuma, walked back to the substitution area.
Fortunately, Hakuma's offensive ability reached a new level after he rotated to the back row; after all, he no longer had to engage in tactical struggles with blockers at the front row, making it a pure contest of power and height.
The advantage of attacking from the back row is greater penetration compared to the front row; Hakuma's effectiveness in smashing through the block directly from the back row is even higher than before.
After Karasuno managed to claw back a small portion of the score, Suna from Inarizaki rotated back to the front row after Nozawa's service turn ended.
With both Suna Rintaro and Aran in the front row at the same time, there is no doubt that this is Inarizaki's strongest moment.
Glancing at the 20:16 scoreboard, Suna prepared to slack off.
But in the very next second, Kita Shinsuke's voice rang out from behind him: "Rintaro, watch the back row attack."
The timing was so precise, it was as if he possessed some kind of mind-reading ability.
Suna Rintaro's hand, which had just been about to drop, rose again and was placed on both sides of his head, providing cover for Oori Ren's serve.
Yeah, if I win this match as quickly as possible, I'll have more time to rest when I get back.
He hadn't processed the match footage from the last two days yet, he still had to make new multi-angle meme packs for Atsumu..
The Karasuno members, who had already figured out that Suna could not freely perform that kind of off-beat Quick Attack, were not fooled again; they decisively focused their defense on Hinata and Aran at both ends of the net.
Watching Hinata jump, Hoshiumi quickly swapped positions with Bessho beside him and jumped, timing it perfectly.
Because Inarizaki's offensive tempo was simply too fast, there was a certain distance between Karasuno's block and the net.
For Hinata, this was actually the perfect time to play a Woguo, just as Hoshiumi and Hakuma had said before.
But..
Taking a glance at Nozawa, who was already approaching to wait for the opportunity, Hinata decisively gave up.
He adjusted his wrist following the direction of his spike with his right hand, hitting the side of the volleyball with a loud smack, sending it on a short diagonal toward the open front court on the other side.
The corners of Hoshiumi's mouth curled slightly. "Nice one!"
Almost at the same time as Hinata's spike, Hoshiumi's hands were already blocking the path of the ball.
Clang!
The volleyball smashed back toward the Inarizaki side, but unfortunately, Kita Shinsuke didn't have time to save it.
Looking at Hinata's somewhat frustrated expression, Hoshiumi lifted his chin: "You still have a long way to go."
Hinata's line shots have become sufficiently mature; especially when paired with a Quick Attack, the speed of his arm swing is top-tier even when looking at the entire high school level.
But the short diagonal is different; because of the difference in the spike's position and angle, Hinata has no way to increase the speed of this ball as well.
The Hoshiumi that was deduced had used this very point to successfully lead the opponent into the trap.
"I will train hard," Hinata Shoyo said solemnly.
Watching Hinata's retreating figure as he turned to leave, Hoshiumi let the smile on his face fade little by little.
It was true that Hinata was currently at a distance from him in various fields, but his victory did not mean Karasuno had won.
Volleyball is not a one-person sport; in terms of the overall game.. they are the losers.
But it doesn't matter.
Hinata will grow stronger bit by bit to catch up to him, Karasuno will likewise strive to catch up to the leading Inarizaki.
Coach Utsunomiya, standing by the sidelines, was nodding incessantly: "To be able to combine technical play on top of being both tall and fast.. you could say they are moving toward becoming a team without any blind spots."
He glanced at Kumoita out of the corner of his eye, only to find that instead of agreeing with him, Kumoita had fallen into deep thought.
After a long time, Unabara suddenly said, "I was wondering if replacing Miya Atsumu would affect his speed performance."
For the national team, it is impossible to use the same setter from beginning to end, world-class competitions demand much greater physical exertion.
If he doesn't play in coordination with Miya Atsumu, would Hinata Shoyo's value be reduced to some extent..
No, to put this another way, the real question is whether they can find a second setter capable of reaching Miya Atsumu's level.
Utsunomiya wasn't actually that optimistic about this either: "There will be, I suppose, with so many talents still waiting to be developed."
Even if he doesn't perform a Quick Attack, Hinata's value in hitting high balls and drawing the blockers is significant enough, his physical conditioning can also sustain this kind of high-intensity running play throughout the entire match.
It will definitely be highly effective in situations where a stalemate occurs.
And while some people say it won't work, they are already thinking about finding a partner at this very moment..
Utsunomiya withdrew his gaze and spat at Kumoita once again.
A long whistle sounded in the ears, the score on the scoreboard ended at Karasuno 22:25 Inarizaki.
Inarizaki defeated Karasuno to narrowly reach the Semifinals.
Looking at the scoreboard, Iizuna swallowed hard. "We'll need to study this match thoroughly when we get back."