Now, the only thing he had to think about as a coach was who to substitute for Miya Osamu.
Their original plan was to substitute in Ginjima, but they had already built a five-point lead over Itachiyama and had exhausted the opponent's blocking core, so there was no longer any point in substituting Ginjima in to strengthen their blocking and offensive capabilities.
A more stable strategy would be to find a way to maintain the score gap; as long as they held on until the end, even if it was only a two-point lead, Inarizaki would win.
Kurosu looked toward Kita Shinsuke, who was checking on Hinata Shoyo and Miya Atsumu's condition: "Shinsuke, warm up, get ready to take the court."
Kita Shinsuke nodded calmly: "Understood."
Miya Osamu didn't say anything either, he just silently adjusted his own state.
Anyway.. he left the court later than Agatsuma this time, so he won.
It turned out that Coach Kurosu's decision was correct; after Kita Shinsuke subbed in, he completely took over the defensive duties, freeing up Aran's offensive power to focus on breaking through the defense.
As the play continued, the advantage did not shrink much.
Following Sakusa's spike, the score jumped to 23:20, Itachiyama's Iizuna served.
Spinning the volleyball in his hands, Iizuna took a look across the net at Akagi and Kita Shinsuke, who were already positioned at opposite ends of the court.
First, avoid these two, second.. there is no second; his only remaining target is Aran.
However, in the absence of Miya Osamu, suppressing the Ace through a serve reception is actually a good choice.
Having made up his mind, Iizuna decisively sent the ball into the space between Akagi and Aran.
Compared to the extremely rational and energetic Kita, it really is.. much easier to target this side!
BANG!!
Akagi subconsciously took a step closer toward Aran, the two of them reached out almost simultaneously to prepare to receive the ball, only to pull back when they saw the other was also preparing to receive it.
Fortunately, Akagi's reaction was fast enough; as the ball fell between the two of them, he kicked it.
Miya Atsumu didn't say a word either.
Seeing the ball about to clear the net, he leaped up with a thud in front of the net and then reached out with one hand to scoop the ball.
In the next instant, the volleyball flew up steadily, passing over Suna's head and flying toward a position further back.
Suna, who had provided front-row cover, landed, while Aran, in the back row, was also preparing for a back-row attack after recovering from his dive.
But the volleyball didn't stay at Aran's position; instead, it flew past him, landing closer to the sideline.
Over there.. an orange figure had already leaped into the air.
Shiratori, standing by the sidelines, gasped, as if he had seen a monster that shouldn't even exist on a volleyball court.
A one-handed tip from the back four?
And that's after a severe reception error?!
Is this even humanly possible?!
Before anyone could react, Hinata had already jumped at the highest point of the ball's trajectory, raising his hand to prepare for a spike.
Bang!
He didn't even need to look at the person who spiked it; just by hearing that clean, solid sound of the reception, Atsumu could judge the final result.
The dark shadow of the volleyball flew over his head, skimming above the net that had just jumped, slammed heavily behind the three-meter line at Itachiyama.
It wasn't a Quick Attack, but this kind of surprise attack was essentially no different from one.
24:20, Inarizaki match point.
After Hinata landed, excited voices rang out: "Atsumu-senpai's set was amazing! So cool!"
The blockers on the other side didn't even react! Gen-senpai didn't keep up either!
Feeling as if he had been stabbed in the chest, Komori Motoya forced a strained smile.
Amatori knelt on the ground, unable to get up: "Inarizaki's.. they're practically not human!"
In a moment when he had almost stopped thinking, Miya Atsumu was actually still thinking about a high-difficulty move like a one-handed tip to the back four.
What was even more outrageous was that even though Miya Osamu had already finished his play, someone actually followed him.
That was so cool! Atsumu-senpai! You're practically a superhero!
Blinded by the lights overhead, Miya Atsumu narrowed his eyes, his eyes gradually becoming moist from involuntary tears.
Just as Suna was about to poke him, an incredibly arrogant laughter suddenly rang out, startling Suna enough to make him take a step back.
“Hahahahaha—”
Miya Atsumu lowered his head again, only to be met with Suna's gaze, which looked at him as if he were an idiot.
The words caught in his throat for half a second, but Hinata, peeking from behind Suna, immediately occupied his entire field of vision.
With a light chuckle, Miya Atsumu reached out to catch the volleyball thrown from the opposite side and stepped forward, preparing to serve.
As they passed the Coach's bench, Miya Atsumu, unable to hold himself back any longer, called out softly to Miya Osamu, "Hey, Osamu."
Thinking that he had something important to say, Miya Osamu looked up. Having already adjusted his breathing and put his mask back on, his eyes were filled with exhaustion as he looked at Miya Atsumu.
Miya Atsumu looked at his hands and said somewhat impatiently, "The feeling of using Shoyo to toy with the opponent's over-the-top block.."
Miya Osamu clicked his tongue lightly, indicating he didn't want to hear the next sentence.
But hearing is not something that can simply disappear when you want it to, Atsumu's terrible remark still reached his ears.
—It was absolutely exhilarating.
Miya Osamu rolled his eyes.
He knew that Miya Atsumu's mouth was nothing but foul.
He raised his hand to call a halt to Inarizaki's cheering; with the victory practically secured in this situation, Miya Atsumu relaxed considerably.
He had a smile on his face as his gaze swept across the faces of everyone from Itachiyama.
This time.. the one crying won't be him.
Staring at Miya Atsumu's serve, Komori took a step forward and knelt on one knee to support his body: "I've got it!"
Sakusa spoke up, actively calling for the ball: "Give it to me!"
Iizuna passed the ball without hesitation: "Please!"
It wasn't that there was no chance of winning; as long as they won this point and caught up in one breath, there would still be opportunities to keep playing.
Kita Shinsuke's calm and steady voice rang out: "Touch."
Nice touch!
Aran! Spike it down!
I'll take it!
Just like when this set first began, the body, driven by willpower and fighting spirit, continuously repeated the actions of diving saves and spiking.
Miya Atsumu sent a back set to Hinata: "Shoyo!"
Feeling a shadow cast over his face, Amatori's eyes held nothing but shock.
In the very end.. can he still hit a high ball of this caliber!
Hinata's gaze swept across the fingers of player number 3; instead of relaxing his guard to go for a direct spike, he chose the safer option of tooling the block.
Pop it as high as possible, to deny the opponent any chance of a dig.
—That's what Hoshiumi-senpai said.
With a loud thud, the volleyball bounced off the fingers of the player in Position 3 and flew out of bounds at an incredibly high speed.
Komori Motoya, who had just dove to save the ball and fallen to the ground, pushed his protesting legs to their limit as he chased after the ball that had already been knocked out of bounds.
Get up and chase after it.
The match isn't over yet; they still have a chance..
Sakusa gradually slowed down and came to a stop just before he could chase after the ball out of bounds.
—It's impossible to save it.
Komori's brain had already judged the outcome, but his body stubbornly refused to stop.
Leaping over the railings, leaping over the crowd of people watching him with looks of pity, he reached out.. to touch the volleyball.
The fingers completely missed the volleyball, which continued to soar high before finally crashing into the Itachiyama team flag.
Komori, who had almost crashed into the wall, used his hands to brace against the wall's surface, absorbing the impact while lowering his center of gravity to roll backward in a circle to avoid injury.
The volleyball rolled to his side, in his blurring vision, there was nothing but that yellow team flag.
—【Everlasting Victory】.
The overwhelming cheers erupted, completely drowning out their sorrow.
It was the joy of the strongest challengers, suppressed through countless days and nights, so intense that.. it brought tears to one's eyes.
The long whistle sounded at this moment, bringing the entire match to a close.
The scoreboard jumped to Inarizaki 25:20 Itachiyama.
With a large score of 2:1, Inarizaki wins.
By the sidelines, Shiratori Natsume clapped her hands, her tone filled with sincere admiration.
“Possessing both strength and unyielding perseverance.. he will surely be invincible.”
Chapter 112: The One Hundred and Twelfth Fox
Hinata landed on the ground, rolling to dissipate the impact while preparing to adjust his position to provide cover for the subsequent serve.
But the moment he looked up, his peripheral vision met Sakusa's across the net.
Sakusa was panting, sweat dripping from the corners of his jaw.
He didn't move, but instead softly closed his eyes after glancing at Hinata.
It wasn't until this very moment that Hinata finally reacted.