Sakusa, in the back row, stepped forward with large strides and performed a dig under the ball.
"Nice!" Iizuna rushed over from the other side, reorganizing the attack.
"Give me the ball!" Iwamoto shouted, calling for the ball.
But Iizuna ignored him, instead sending the ball to Sakusa at the right back.
When it came to tooling the block, Sakusa was undoubtedly a master among masters, his grasp of opportunity and angles being countless times better than Inamura's.
The volleyball hit Miya Osamu's fingers and flew far out of the court.
Itachiyama scored, breaking Miya Atsumu's service game.
After receiving Amatori Toru's powerful serve, Akagi sent the ball to a spot two steps away from Suna.
It was slightly off, but to Miya Atsumu, it was no different from a perfect receive.
Hinata, who had originally been behind Position 2, charged out once again, coordinating with Miya Atsumu at Position 4. As he leaped up on one foot, he hit a short diagonal toward Itachiyama's Position 4 before the blockers could close in.
Even though Sakusa was right there, the ball lacked any reduction in speed or spin, causing him to miss it.
The volleyball grazed Sakusa's arm as it flew out, hitting the side railing almost parallel to the ground.
"Alright!" Hinata clenched his fists.
He slightly tilted his head toward Agatsuma, who had also just landed, his gaze conveying a message of only a few words.
—I won.
Clenching his fists, Agatsuma took a deep breath and regained his composure.
Miya Atsumu's continuous use of quick attacks to Position 4 made him feel an involuntary sense of pressure.
It was nothing more than the fact that he simply couldn't keep up.
The result of an ineffective block was that the ball would smash through with no reduction in speed, the landing point of the volleyball would have even more variations, adding significant difficulty for the back row to receive it.
Combined with Miya Atsumu's frequent use of Hinata, he has to follow up at all times, making it difficult for him to break away.
After all, at this stage, Miya Atsumu only gives Hinata quick attacks toward Position 4, but that doesn't mean he won't play to Position 2 or Position 3.
On the contrary, as long as he loosened up a little, the Double Quick that Inarizaki executed in coordination with Miya Osamu would give them a sensation that truly made their skin crawl.
So.. he also had to increase his speed once again.
Fortunately, on his next rotation, he will return to the back row, allowing him to observe Hinata's movements more clearly.
When he returns to the court, he will definitely take down Hinata.
Hinata serves.
Even though he had significantly improved his serve, his serve was naturally quite underwhelming here.
After Komori received the serve, Iizuna moved Agatsuma to cover the center, Sakusa, who had already rotated to Position 4, performed a spike.
The fast, spinning ball bypassed the block and slammed down; Hinata dove to the side to receive it, but unfortunately, he couldn't control it.
Itachiyama scores, the serve passes to Agatsuma Soushi, another Middle Blocker, Koldorf, moves to the front row to act as a blocker.
Hinata sized up this foreign face, recalling the opponent's performance during that Interhigh match.
If one were to say that he uses speed to shake off Agatsuma Soushi, then in the back row, he can only rely on various technical shots against Koldorf.
In terms of physical ability and sharpness alone, Koldorf is inferior to Agatsuma Soushi, he is also easier to target with a combination of Quick Attack and technical shots.
But this didn't mean Hinata could slack off because of it.
He had to maintain his high threat level throughout the entire match, constantly forcing the blockers to focus a portion of their attention on him, without slacking off for even a moment.
Only by being strong enough will one be noticed.
If you fail to provide enough value on offense, you will be ignored by the block and easily handled by the Libero, just like Hinata was when he first stepped onto the court.
At this level of play, whichever side relaxes first will inevitably reveal a weakness.
Nice receive!
Miya Atsumu let out a loud shout as he leaped, preparing to set the ball.
Hinata's figure swept through the back row, while at the same time, Miya Osamu rushed to Position 3, preparing for a Back Quick.
—Are they going for a Double Quick at Positions 2 and 3?
Koldorf watched the movements of the opposing side cautiously.
He specializes in follow-up blocks, many times he chooses a more stable touch.
"Give me the ball!!" Aran shouted, calling for the toss.
Just as Sakusa's gaze swept toward Aran, who was preparing for a spike from Position 4, the ball in Miya Atsumu's hands had already flown out, a back set toward the center.
A Back Quick from Position 3?
The next second, the sound of a spike rang in everyone's ears.
The volleyball flew past Miya Osamu, heading toward Hinata, who had jumped from the back row behind him.
It wasn't a lateral Double Quick, but a vertical one—essentially a Quick Attack from Position 3 with an extra step.
Fortunately, in the heat of the moment, Koldorf exploded with incredible reaction speed; after stepping back half a step to create distance from the net, he managed to touch the ball, just barely reaching its height with only one hand above the net.
Touch!
Beautiful!
Having just been substituted out, Hinata instantly felt Sakusa's gaze upon him.
On the Itachiyama side, Iizuna and Sakusa coordinated at Position 4 to execute a spike, a quick attack that nearly caused Hinata, who had just taken his position, to miss it.
Hinata used one foot to cushion the volleyball beneath him; the ball hit his shin and then bounced toward the back of the court.
"Nice receive!" Miya Atsumu rushed forward in two steps to cover, crouching on the ground to pop the ball up.
Meanwhile, Hinata had already taken his approach, leaping up behind Position 2 at an extremely high speed and moving toward the net.
Koldorf was momentarily stunned.
That distance from the net.. if he goes for a line spike, he won't be able to catch up to it at all!
What's going on? Is this guy long jumping?
He jumped all the way from behind the three-meter line straight to the net?
Bang!
Koldorf's self-assessment was quite accurate; he indeed failed to reach the ball.
The volleyball flew over his head, being spiked down toward the three-meter line of Itachiyama.
The moment he landed, Hinata's feet stepped on the sweat left on the floor.
The sudden loss of friction sent him stumbling forward uncontrollably; the momentum he hadn't fully dissipated forced him to take another step forward before he lost his balance.
Damn, I can't stop, I'm going to cross the line.
Fortunately, Miya Osamu, who had also just landed on the side, was quick to react, grabbing Hinata's arm and pulling him back.
The volleyball landed in the Itachiyama court, Inarizaki scored.
Staff rushed in from all directions, quickly wiping the court clean.
Hinata, who had almost been forced to give up a point because he had interfered with the opponent's receive, steadied himself by holding onto Miya Osamu's arm, his legs feeling a bit weak.
—That run just now was too rushed.
Hinata opened his mouth wide and took a deep breath to replenish his oxygen, steadying his heart, which had grown tense after nearly stepping out of bounds.
Koldorf glanced sideways at Iizuna, who was equally stunned, couldn't help but frown slightly.
Since it doesn't involve the explosive power of a lateral turn, is the speed even faster..
Miya Atsumu glanced sideways at Hinata beside him, raising a hand to wipe away the sweat that was about to drip into his eyes.
This amount of running was truly terrifying, but judging by the relatively moderate amount of sweat, Hinata was definitely fine.
But he admitted that he seemed to have gotten a bit too caught up in the heat of the moment, getting swept up in Hinata's pace.
However..
This was the first time he had played so comfortably in a match against Itachiyama.
It was no longer them being suppressed by Itachiyama's block, but rather him being able to actively use the spiker to exert pressure back against the block.
When Hinata rotated back to the front row, Aran's serve was interrupted by a single point from Itachiyama.
The score jumped to Inarizaki 7:8 Itachiyama, the match entered a technical time-out.
Coach Kurosu quickly called Hinata and Miya Osamu to sit down and rest: "Come and take a break quickly."
Mainly, it was because Miya Osamu was already sick, they were actually afraid that his condition might suddenly worsen due to overexertion and cause a fever.
As for Hinata..
He knew himself that the battle had only just begun, the coach certainly knew that he was still far from his limit.
This is the advantage of turning physical fitness into visual data; the coach can also fully grasp the player's condition.
In the Nekoma screening room, Inugami felt his eyes aching; when he raised his hand, he realized that, without him noticing, a fine layer of sweat had already broken out on his forehead.
He suddenly thought of that match half a year ago; he had also once chased Hinata across the court just like Itachiyama's Position 4.
At that time, he could barely keep up, but now..
—He'll definitely be left behind.
The time-out ended, everyone returned to the court as Itachiyama's Koldorf served.
Exhaling a soft breath, Hinata locked eyes with Agatsuma Soushi across the net.
Neither of them could let the other go, so..
Continue.
What a great serve!
Everyone at Itachiyama uses the Jump Serve, including the two Middle Blockers.
Koldorf is skilled at hitting topspin side-spin, but he cannot make the angle curve as sharply as Oikawa Tooru, nor is his ball speed quite as fast.