Hinata landed on the ground, raising his fist high above his head: "Yes!!"
Miya Atsumu raised his hand to high-five Hinata: "Nice kill, Shoyo!"
Coach Unabara, standing by the sidelines, was experiencing a mix of joy and sorrow at this moment.
What was joyful was that he had found an excellent prospect who could run and jump, but what was tragic was.. that he would likely be targeted by the track and field team later on.
With Hinata's jumping ability, which already exceeds his own height, it's estimated that with systematic training, he could reach 2.1 meters.
Once his height increases a bit more and his skills are further specialized, he will have the potential to challenge the U18 national record..
Unabara stroked his beard.
But the talented prospect is destined to be his; Coach Kosano shouldn't even dream about it!
He turned his head toward a staff member from the public relations department and said, "Go over to the track and field team later and give them a heads-up. Tell them not to dream; they won't be getting a single person from Hoshiumi Hinata's group."
The man hesitated slightly. "Then, should we include Shoyo in the winter training.."
"No, his fundamentals are lacking; he still needs training," Unabara replied decisively.
The PR staff remained silent for a few seconds.
How can he not eat it himself and then not let others eat it either!
Unabara said with a face full of righteousness, "Which one, Shiratorizawa or Itachiyama, is holding a training camp at the end of November? Hasn't Ushijima become a permanent member of the Junior National Team? Let him help lead them."
Even though Shiratorizawa might be preparing for Haruko, Ushijima, who doesn't have to follow the official national team schedule for now and has no pressure regarding school admissions, is essentially a man of leisure.
In that case.. then, of course, he must make full use of every resource.
I just don't know what Kurosu Masamune is thinking; I hope he isn't unwilling to sacrifice the child.
During the technical time-out, Hinata, who had returned to the side of the coach's bench, said immediately, "Coach, let's change these over here too."
He felt that these knee pads provided him with a considerable sense of security, they were thin, breathable, lightweight.
Kurosu happily agreed, "Sure."
Anyway, Hinata doesn't need to wipe the floor frequently, so there's no real impact from making all the substitutions.
Glancing at the 8:5 scoreboard, Miya Atsumu turned his head to look at Miya Osamu, who was saying something to Coach Omimi.
From his angle, he could see that the screen of the thermometer was green, which meant that Miya Osamu at the very least didn't have a fever.
This was, of course, good news.
After all, as one of the cores of the Quick Attack, Miya Osamu's role is much greater than anyone imagines.
However, even if Miya Osamu left now, it wouldn't make much of a difference, because.. it's obvious that Itachiyama is having trouble keeping up.
Everyone returned to the court, Aran prepared to serve once again.
"I've got it!" Sakusa lowered his center of gravity and received the ball.
Amatori Toru, who had rushed to Position 4 once again to prepare for a forceful attack, called out for the ball: "Give it to me!"
Miya Atsumu and Oori Ren followed up, with the blockers exerting all their strength to touch the ball from the back.
Touch!
I'll get it!
Akagi followed up, sending the ball, which had already been weakened by the block, toward the attack line.
Hinata retreated behind Position 3, paused for a moment, then rushed toward Position 4 at maximum speed, while Oori Ren also circled around Miya Atsumu.
Aran, in the back row, moved near the baseline to coordinate the defense, while Miya Osamu almost crossed the entire court to Position 1 to prepare for a back-row attack.
Koldorf didn't even look at the others, lunging straight for Hinata Shoyo.
Setting Oori Ren aside for a moment, Miya Osamu was clearly not in a state to perform a spike. He was either preparing a direct tip or it was simply a feint.
But regardless of which one it was, there was no need for the block to follow up.
Stuck in front of Itachiyama's block, Hinata spiked a short diagonal with a backhand, but unfortunately, Komori dove forward to save it with a diving save.
Akagi shouted, "Opportunity Ball!"
As he landed, Hinata instantly stepped forward and ran toward Position 2.
The sudden increase in speed directly broke through Itachiyama's block, then, near the edge, he took one final half-step and leaped into the air.
Before Komori Motoya could even scramble back to his feet, he looked up to see the volleyball smashing down at him, but by the time he reached out, it was already too late.
The spike hit the line, making it a textbook line shot.
The whistle blew, Inarizaki scores.
The score jumps to Inarizaki 9:5 Itachiyama.
A full four-point difference seemed quite startling at this moment.
YES!!
Go, go! Inarizaki is the strongest!
Miya Atsumu opened his arms to Hinata Shoyo: "Shoyo, you played well!"
Hinata jogged over and gave him a hug, his slightly damp clothes wetting the front of Atsumu's shirt as well: "Atsumu-senpai, that was a great set!"
After hugging Hinata, Miya Atsumu rolled his eyes at Miya Osamu.
This guy.. he just ran so half-heartedly.
Hinata returned to the net, brushing past Amatori, his footsteps so light it was as if he hadn't just played two and a half high-intensity sets.
Judging solely by the results, after replacing that lead-like knee brace, Hinata's mobility had actually increased, with his movements not being affected by the bandages at all.
It was as if a heavy weight had been cast aside, completely liberating the latent physical potential that had been suppressed underneath.
Amatori pressed his calves, his face twisted in pain: "This is ridiculous.."
If only he could have a bit of that stamina; he really can't keep going.
Chapter 111: The One Hundred and Eleventh Fox
Under Kita Shinsuke's gaze, Owari Aran shrank his neck.
He knew he was wrong, he would definitely focus all his concentration on preparing for defense afterward, never to pass such a terrible ball again.
But that doesn't matter; the focus now is.. he is going to score with a serve!
To be honest, compared to Hinata and Miya Osamu, he practically coasted through the entire match.
He failed to score on his serves, his spikes scored pitifully little, he even got protested by Miya Atsumu for his reception.
No, it can't go on like this.
In the front row, Hinata Shoyo tilted his head slightly to glance at him as he prepared to serve, his eyes filled with intense anticipation.
A raging fire instantly ignited in his heart, Aran's grip on the ball tightened.
—He is a senior and an Ace!
As the whistle blew, Owari-senpai took a deep breath and tossed the ball into the air.
His physical condition still had plenty of reserve; in the current situation, he could completely choose to continue with a conservative playstyle to leave more room for tomorrow.
But first, let's just focus on scoring a point.
A perfect approach, a perfect jump, followed by a full-power spike, then..
Glory went out of bounds.
"Aran!!" Miya Atsumu cried out in despair.
Aran covered his face with both hands, wanting to find a hole to crawl into.
It's over, he wanted to avoid Komori Motoya too much, as a result, he overshot the serve.
Coach Unabara, standing by the sidelines, also raised his hand to cover his face. "If Aran and Bokuto could just keep their form a bit more stable, they wouldn't have been suppressed by Ushijima and the others for so long."
Being too hot-headed or too passive will both affect one's performance..
Koldorf breathed a sigh of relief. The feeling of being spiked by an Ace was terrifying; if he were hit, his hand might break, so he had to duck as much as possible to prevent the ball from hitting him in the face.
He had just walked to the service position holding the ball when the announcement for a substitution sounded from the sidelines.
Itachiyama is making a substitution for a key server.
Coach Kurosu was momentarily stunned: "That's rare."
Itachiyama is even stricter regarding serves; their Middle Blockers can also perform jump serves, their techniques are quite good, so they rarely substitute their key servers.
Because of this, not only Akagi but also Aran had no impression of this number 19, who had never appeared in a match before.
Aran turned his head and asked Miya Osamu, "What position does he play?"
Miya Osamu gave up on thinking about it: "I don't know."
What position they play doesn't matter in itself; since there is no video footage to refer to, they have no idea what kind of serve this person will choose.
However, since Koldorf himself uses a power serve, he likely won't send out a substitute who uses the same style.
After all, in terms of pure power jump serves alone, this substitute is no more skilled or experienced than Koldorf.
As it turned out, the Inarizaki members' judgment was correct.
This serve from number 19 certainly wasn't a power serve, but it wasn't a jump float or a topspin side-spin either; it was..
A high lob serve.
Commonly known as a ceiling serve, this was also the first time Hinata had encountered a player who could perform this kind of serve on an official court.
Although the difficulty of training for it isn't as great as a jump serve, it is quite rare among teams at the level of the top eight in the nationals.
There is no other reason, it's simply because.. it's extremely hard on the wrists.
Any player who wanted to consider their future professional career would basically never touch it, strong schools had more time to help their players practice their jump serves.
This kind of ball itself has strong spin, a high arc, an extremely fast speed under the effect of gravity, not to mention the incredibly high ceiling of this high-spec gymnasium and the overhead lights that are almost blinding..
Players with less experience basically have no way to accurately judge where it will land.