It would be fine if they could hold on through this set, but if they were to run out of steam early without having built up a sufficient lead, it would be very easy for Inarizaki to catch up all at once.
"I've got it!" Owari Aran lowered his center of gravity to receive the short diagonal spike from Inamura.
"Great receive!" Miya Atsumu followed up once again.
Hoshiumi, in the last row of the stands, frowned. From this distance, the scoreboard was a bit hard to see, the large screen next to it happened to be displaying the tournament schedule interface.
He asked Hirugami beside him, "What's the score?"
Hirugami was silent for two seconds, the sound of a block touching the ball rang out in the court once again.
He replied somewhat helplessly, "Zero to zero."
Hoshiumi emptied his mind: "No, how did they even play like that?"
How did he remember these being two teams with such intense firepower? This wasn't some grueling match like Karasuno playing against Sannomiya Industrial or Shonan, was it?
This ball has already gone back and forth over the net at least five or six times; how is it still flying?
The volleyball flew to the front of the net. Hinata had already rushed to Position 2 to prepare for a Flat Quick Attack, Suna was also in position in the center.
With that jumping posture, Miya Atsumu spun violently in mid-air after leaping, raising his hand to spike the ball straight down.
The powerful spike from a Second Attack at the three-meter line almost caught Komori and Sakusa off guard, but fortunately, Sakusa's reaction was extremely fast and he wasn't too far away, so he managed to cushion the ball with one hand just before it hit the ground.
“Great save!”
Iizuna lowered his center of gravity, almost squatting on the ground as he sent a back set out.
He was just not good at setting those difficult balls, but.. he could still do it if he pushed himself.
This point cannot be given up. If Inarizaki were to break their service streak right at the opening, they would have to face Miya Atsumu's serve combined with the strongest three-point attack from the front row.
Amatori held his breath, leaping from Position 4 and preparing to spike.
A powerful spike slammed down right next to the block, landing on the line within Inarizaki's court.
Akagi dove forward, steadily digging the ball.
"Free ball!" Komori shouted this time.
That ball was going straight into the ceiling; there was no way anyone could keep up with the spike.
Kuroo gasped, "He actually saved that."
He thought Itachiyama was about to score, but he didn't expect Akagi's sudden burst of speed to allow him to save the ball.
Shiratori said, "Akagi's explosive power in diving and his sharpness in saving balls are top-tier in the entire high school world."
"That may be true, but the pressure Itachiyama has applied since the opening is just too much." Kuroo relaxed his hands, which had been clenched tight, realized that his entire hand felt somewhat numb.
Playing against Inarizaki.. it feels like your nerves are so taut they could snap at any moment.
"It's true, having the advantage of the serve gives you a natural edge." Watching the volleyball fly into the air once more, Shiratori's expression remained very calm.
However.. there is a saying that holds true.
Kuroo put his hands on his hips and looked up at him: "What?"
Watching so many of these grueling long rallies made him feel like he was suffocating, even though Inarizaki hadn't really organized any decent attacks, but this feeling..
A light chuckle from Shiratori rang out, at the same time, Akagi's voice rose from the court once again.
Atsumu! Please!
Taking a lateral step, the soles of his shoes screeched against the floor, the sound instantly overlapping with Hinata's almost breaking pitch from behind.
Give me the ball!!
Miya Atsumu tilted his head back slightly, in the second following that voice rang out, his brain, which had been running at high speed, finally found a moment of rest.
I can't give any more particularly good sets..
But as for Shoyo, he'll be fine.
A soft thud suddenly echoed in the ears of everyone on both sides of the net, the volleyball flew out steadily, arriving in front of Hinata with almost no spin.
There were no flashy feints, certainly no dazzling quick attacks. It was just a clean, simple.. tip that was so precise it almost made Amatori cry.
Miya Atsumu rarely gave balls of this standard.
It had no height and no speed, arriving blatantly right in front of the block. It would be difficult for a spiker to spike, but it would be quite easy for a blocker to block.
Taking his final step, Hinata leaped at the net, his eyes following the volleyball itself as he watched the opposing block with bated breath.
Perhaps to Miya Atsumu himself, it was a terrible set, but for Hinata, as long as he could spike it, that was enough.
Every single ball provided by the Setter is worth cherishing.
The face of Agatsuma Soushi appeared in my field of vision along with the volleyball, but.. he shouldn't be focusing only on this one area.
Even if it wasn't fast enough, high enough, or able to bypass the block, Miya Atsumu still maintained a minimum level of presence to give Hinata enough vision.
Miya Atsumu landed on the ground behind him; having forced himself into that jump, he stumbled back two steps, nearly falling to the ground.
Hinata stood with his mouth slightly agape, staring unblinkingly at the iron wall before him.
Observation, observation is what's most important.
Volleyball is a sport that requires thinking; he needs to discern which path truly leads to victory.
The volleyball in his field of vision seemed to hang in the air for a moment the instant it passed the contact point, the hand about to make contact with the ball also underwent a slight change at that very moment.
The figure reflected in his eyes extended his hang time to the absolute limit.
At the very moment when a powerful spike was needed most to regain morale, the sound of the ball being struck failed to ring out.
“If you fail to score after a long rally, you will inevitably lose the point.”
The soft sound of Shiratori's second half of the sentence meeting the floor coincided with the ball, his tone filled with undisguised praise and admiration.
The volleyball landed inside the sideline and then slowly rolled to the edge of the court in front of the fence.
Hinata scored with a tip, the score on the scoreboard jumped to Inarizaki 1:0 Itachiyama, while the large screen simultaneously displayed a slow-motion replay of the play.
Shiratori stared fixedly at Hinata, his tone filled with almost unmaskable excitement: "The outcome is decided."
On the court, Miya Atsumu almost immediately reached out and threw an arm around Hinata's shoulder. The long rally had been grueling for both sides, it was only when the whistle blew that things truly settled and they could finally relax.
Nice play, Shoyo!
Amatori's entire expression was somewhat distorted. With Inarizaki's state of almost constant quick attacks, how could they actually choose to tip the ball at a time like this?
In the end.. Inarizaki made a decision so calm it was practically cruel; were they the only ones who had let their blood run hot?
Iizuna raised a hand to wipe the sweat that was already trickling down beside his eyes. "Everyone, stay calm."
This kind of tip-over ball is usually caused by a high number of reception errors, the best way to handle such a mistake is to tip the ball to set up a Second Attack.
It simply shifts the responsibility for this "error" from the receiver to the setter; the method of handling it remains unchanged.
In other words, choosing to spike would have been an unnecessary expenditure of energy.
Moreover, Inarizaki doesn't need the so-called encouragement of an Ace's spike right now.
They were that hungry.
The only thing that can satisfy our hunger.. is final victory alone.
Taking the volleyball that Amatori threw back with a sour expression, Miya Atsumu stood at the service position.
He held the ball up to his eyes with one hand, his gaze lingering momentarily on Amatori and Agatsuma as if taking aim, before finally locking onto the Iizuna setter.
The time for the counterattack has come!
Komori felt his scalp go numb for a moment. If he guessed correctly, Inarizaki might..
The team's conductor raised his hand, calling a halt to the music playing from the brass band behind him.
The notes came to an abrupt halt at the most intense moment, the entire venue fell into a silence so profound you could hear a pin drop.
Miya Atsumu adjusted his starting position, after confirming with him, the referee blew the whistle.
Taking a deep breath, Miya Atsumu did not count in his head.
The motion and timing of the serve were already etched into his body's instincts; he only needed to ensure that his condition was at its peak.
Every second and every minute spent waiting for Miya Atsumu to toss the ball was an endless torture for everyone waiting to receive the serve.
This is..
The threat from the nation's best server.
In the fifth second, Miya Atsumu suddenly tossed the ball up.
The sound of a not-so-compact approach echoed as Miya Atsumu jumped before reaching the three-meter line.
Jump Float Serve! I'll receive it!
Komori Motoya stepped forward without hesitation, accurately predicting the ball's direction the moment Miya Atsumu spiked it.
But contrary to his expectations, even though he had predicted the direction, the ball suddenly dropped just as it was about to reach them.
His expression changed slightly, but Komori's body reacted a step faster.
He gave up on using his hands and instead kicked out with his foot, forcefully sending the ball upward.
"What a great receive!" Iizuna quickly followed up, using one hand to scoop up the volleyball before it could hit the net and send it right to Inamura.
The conditions for this attack weren't that good. Since it was clearly impossible to produce a sufficiently powerful spike, it was better to leave it to the technical Inamura rather than wasting the heavy hitter's stamina.
Suna and Miya Osamu followed instantly. By predicting the short diagonal through their body orientation, Miya Osamu changed the direction of the ball with one hand, making successful contact.
Aran also breathed a sigh of relief: "That was great!"
Receiving a ball that has been neutralized by a block and had its landing point controlled is incredibly easy.
Miya Atsumu stepped back, after a fake back set, he tossed the ball to Miya Osamu on the other side.
Hinata and Miya Osamu's Double Quick completely tore through Itachiyama's block. With the added power, Miya Osamu easily spiked the ball heavily toward Sakusa on the opposite diagonal.
Sakusa's receive was indeed excellent, but being able to perfectly handle this ball essentially meant he wouldn't be able to participate in the subsequent counterattack, and.. with such a significant power difference, the initial ball speed was not that easy to deal with.
Similarly, interfering with Sakusa essentially meant interfering with Itachiyama's counterattack process that would follow.
With a light click of the tongue, the volleyball flew toward the Itachiyama Position 2 marker.
Iizuna rushed forward, turning mid-air as he jumped, sent the ball flying in an extremely difficult set.