"Nice save!" The Inarizaki side erupted into cheers instantly.
Across the net, Inamura Gen clicked his tongue: "They actually saved that.."
No communication was necessary; as soon as Miya Osamu retreated from the net, he moved directly to cover the setter's position.
Suna jumped in the center to cover the attack, while Aran, who had already moved to Position 4, leaped high, his eyes following the ball tossed by Miya Osamu.
This was a high ball to Position 4, a set only given to the Ace in critical situations, ensuring that even when facing a three-man block, the Ace would still maintain sufficient offensive power.
With cool water in his mouth, Hinata's gaze was fixed intently on Agatsuma Soushi and Inamura Gen, who were already chasing after Aran, as if he intended to etch their movements completely into his mind.
With a heavy thud, the volleyball slammed against Itachiyama's block and finally flew out of bounds.
Sakusa took a large stride to chase after it, leaping just before reaching the sideline barrier, sent the ball back with a one-handed hit as he stepped forward.
Beautiful!
"Tsk." Aran stepped back, preparing for the subsequent defense.
Although Sakusa managed to save the ball, it flew straight over the top of the net.
Miya Atsumu called out to the nearest Suna: "Rintaro!"
Suna and Inamura, who was directly opposite him, both chased after the ball. The two were about the same height, but because Suna was half a step behind, he could only jump off one foot to reach the ball, using his right hand to extend his body as far as possible.
There is ultimately a vast difference in power between a single hand and two hands; Inamura exerted a sudden burst of strength, slamming the ball straight back down into the court.
Rishia Heisuke lunged from the back row, his body performing a diving save that covered nearly seven meters, getting his fingers under the ball just before it hit the floor.
"Great save!!" The cheers from the Inarizaki supporters erupted.
His heart raced with the tension of the match, his determination to do everything in his power to prevent the ball from hitting the ground continued to create miracles.
After dodging Suna's spike, Rishia Heisuke rolled to the other side and quickly got back up, preparing to execute a counterattack.
Without Hinata to pin down Itachiyama's blockers, the overwhelming defensive pressure from Agatsuma and Inamura nearly left them breathless.
But.. at this moment, Hinata needs to adjust and rest.
He had to win this point no matter what, not just to give Hinata a longer breather, but also to bring them one step closer to victory.
"Atsumu-senpai!!" he shouted, calling out to Inarizaki's absolute core.
The ball, which had been barely saved, held no value for organizing a subsequent attack in the eyes of many setters watching the match from the sidelines, but..
The boy wearing the number 7 jersey took a step forward, not with the shoulder-height stride typically used by a setter, but with a movement that almost pressed laterally against the ground, looking up at the volleyball as it was about to fly over his head.
Long, slender fingers intercepted the ball mid-air, instantly using the force from only two fingers to send the ball in a direction completely opposite to its original trajectory.
Miya Osamu had jumped near the Position 2 marker at some unknown time, just as he usually did when coordinating a Quick Attack with them; he was not in the state of someone about to spike a ball out of desperation in an emergency.
Bang!
The sound of the hit rang in everyone's ears.
In this situation, Inarizaki's ability to forcibly accelerate the tempo to such an extent felt somewhat absurd even to Itachiyama; the Agatsuma twins, who were originally on the other side preparing to defend against Aran's strong attack, had no chance to pursue it.
No, it was Inarizaki's ability to still organize a Quick Attack under these circumstances.. Their obsession with offense was simply terrifying.
The volleyball was spiked right on the line, landing near the corner.
Miya Atsumu's set was just too fast, so Miya Osamu didn't have much time to precisely adjust his approach to the ball.
The moment it hit the ground, Miya Osamu found himself holding his breath.
The referee at the side of the court raised the flag.
—In.
Nice!" Miya Osamu instantly turned back and high-fived Miya Atsumu, "Beautiful!!
"That's insane.." Midorikawa, standing by the sidelines, gasped.
Is this a play a human can actually pull off? From the initial save to the final Quick Attack, it was nothing short of impeccable.
Shiratori's expression remained unchanged, but there was an almost unmaskable sense of admiration and an indescribable envy in his eyes: "A once-in-a-generation talent."
Beside him, Kuroo slightly lifted his eyes and observed Shiratori's expression; seeing that he was merely feeling sentimental, he said nothing more.
Hinata watched the crowd embracing on the court.
Even though his emotions were also swayed by the changing situation on the court, he didn't have that feeling of blood boiling at all.
On the contrary, he was exceptionally calm now.
Taking a long breath, he ran his hand through his bowl cut, pushing his hair back to let his forehead cool down quickly.
Agatsuma will be substituted out after rotating to the back row, while he must continue to stay on the court to keep Koldorf, who has moved to the front row, occupied.
These two people have completely different blocking styles, his playstyle must also make corresponding adjustments.
But whether it's scoring or just providing cover, it doesn't matter.
—He was not the strategic core of this match.
What he needs to do is create a path for Aran, Miya Osamu, the others by drawing their attention.
To tear through the block.
Seeking a path to victory for Inarizaki.
Chapter 101: The One Hundred and First Fox
After Agatsuma Soushi's serve ended, Hinata stood up and handed the number 14 sign to Rishia.
That save just now was so cool!
Rishia lowered his head slightly and saw the unreserved praise in those eyes.
He raised his hand and gave Hinata a light high-five: "Take them down."
Koldorf tilted his head slightly, watching Hinata return to the back row center, that feeling of irritation surged within him once again.
The impression left by that vertical Double Quick just now was simply too deep; no matter how he tried to block, he felt a sense of helplessness, especially since he couldn't follow up to restrict Hinata like Agatsuma Soushi could.
Even though Hinata needs to handle back-row counterattacks and receive serves, Akagi's defensive coverage is actually quite incredible, he can help Hinata absorb many attacks.
The only thing that could completely crush him at his receiving position would probably be Suna Rintaro's current serve.
And the person currently having the biggest headache in the Itachiyama court.. was actually Komori Motoya.
Just as Hinata had a headache dealing with the two different blocking patterns of Itachiyama, Komori also had a headache.
If they were playing any other team, it would be a different story, as their blocking could basically reduce the opponent's offensive capability by half, all of their matches against Inarizaki before this had been played that way.
But it's different now.. Inarizaki has removed their original secondary cannon and installed a new armor-piercing machine gun, they've even evolved their original machine gun into a shotgun version.
The result was that Itachiyama's originally quite solid block was torn to shreds.
Agatsuma Soushi's overly aggressive style of play, which focused on shutting down the opponent, should have been a scoring weapon for Itachiyama, but Hinata's attacking play combined with Miya Osamu's various feints caused significant trouble for Komori.
Constantly chasing the ball also places a massive strain on his physical stamina.
And Koldorf's perhaps conservative follow-up block was unable to stop Inarizaki's quick attack; in a sense, dealing with a quick attack is even more painful than saving a ball from going out of bounds.
The volleyball slammed down near Komori's feet with intense spin; the fast-paced attack left him with no time to react at all.
Koldorf landed on the ground, turning his head to look at Miya Osamu, who had just spiked a quick attack at Position 2—the furthest point from him—and then looked at Miya Atsumu, who was saying something to Hinata while playing defense in the back row.
From the moment the ball was passed from the receive to the setter, until the final spike by Miya Osamu, he was unable to get even a shred of useful information from Miya Atsumu.
Plus, you have to judge the three attacking points in the front row..
—It was simply impossible to defend against.
Coach Utsunomiya called a time-out; he needed to adjust the team's strategic outline.
At this rate.. the one most likely to be worn down by Hinata first is Komori.
Coach Unabara stroked his beard on the sidelines in a great mood, the frustration he had felt two days ago completely swept away.
A good weapon is certainly important, but as expected, the ability of the swordsman is the factor that can influence the entire team.
In single-core teams like Shiratorizawa and Shirabu, the presence of the Setter is quite low.
But in multi-core teams like Inarizaki and Itachiyama.. the setter's performance becomes the main attraction.
No.
To be able to pull so many players, who could each serve as a solo ace on other teams, into the same squad—the coach is the truly terrifying figure.
Leaning back in his chair in the stands, Coach Kusubashi let out a heartfelt sneer at Kurosu and Utsunomiya on the court.
What kind of famous coaches? These two are just typical examples of people fighting and scrambling over everything.
When Coach Anromi tried to recruit Komori during the Interhigh Junior High, he was forcefully pushed aside by Utsunomiya.
And then there's Suna; the coach of the Yamazaki Boys over in Aichi is probably still holding a grudge against Kurosu every single day.
What kind of famous coach.
These two are excavators of dark, evil forces!
The serve passed to Sakusa.
Hinata, positioned on the back row near the sideline, only provides partial support for the receive, leaving most of the court to Akagi and Miya Osamu to defend.
Unfortunately, Sakusa's serve accuracy is among the best in all of high school, when he wants to target someone with his serve.. it's hard to avoid.
Hinata did not shrink back, either, instead opened his hands and shouted, "I'll take it!"
Sakusa's spike was fast and had a lot of spin; for Hinata at this stage.. it was beyond his level.
With a loud thud, the volleyball hit Hinata's arm and flew out of bounds.
Sakusa scored with a serve.
"Sorry!" Hinata pursed his lips.
It really is difficult; I'll have to find a way to specifically practice how to handle this kind of spin when I get back.
—But not right now.
"Akagi-senpai." Hinata turned back to look at Akagi Michinari beside him.