For many teams, the reason for placing a player in the Middle Blocker position might be that their receiving skills are average, but they have an advantage in height or Quick Attack.
But the two Middle Blockers from Fukuda General are actually quite versatile; they leave an impression more similar to that Nekoma captain.
—Their receiving skills are quite solid.
But it didn't matter; even if the opposition was the combination of Komori and Yaku, he was confident he could score.
A great serve from Atsumu-senpai!
The whistle blew.
Miya Atsumu didn't hesitate for a second before sending the ball high into the air, then he took a large stride forward.
He didn't intend to hit a float serve; although the opponent might not be good at receiving it, what he needed to do at this moment was to completely build momentum following Hinata's surprise attack.
So.. let's try something new.
The moment Miya Atsumu's palm made contact with the volleyball, he applied force to the side, making the ball practically "scrape" away.
Oikawa Tooru, before the live broadcast, narrowed his eyes.
With a loud bang, the volleyball, struck with full force, soared over the net in an instant, only to veer off course the moment the libero, Midorikawa, stepped back to prepare for the powerful serve.
Wait, it curved?!
Not only was Matsuda stunned as he lunged forward, but the old rivals from Inarizaki in the stands were also left dazed.
Since when did Miya Atsumu learn how to do a side-spin serve?
The ball, carrying heavy spin, slammed down near the sideline before bouncing out of bounds.
Even though Matsuda reacted, he had no chance to chase it down.
Miya Atsumu, whose serve had just landed, pumped his fist and cheered, "Yes!!"
In the stands, Iizuna gasped, "He scored on a service ace on only the second point of the match."
How did I remember that Atsumu didn't use serves like topspin or side-spin yesterday? Was he hiding his true abilities?
—Not at all.
Basking in Hinata's cheers, Miya Atsumu gave a smiling glance at the Libero on the opposite side.
After finishing that match against Aobajohsai, he had been thinking about the possibility of using a triple-wielding style, so he had been researching Oikawa Tooru's banana serve together with Miya Osamu.
He wasn't actually proficient enough at it yet; if he tried to use it recklessly, it might turn into a disaster like the one he experienced when he first started using the jump float serve.
After learning yesterday that Fukuda General's receive was only average, he spent the night researching the topspin and side-spin techniques used in professional matches, he even tested them out on the adjacent court this morning.
Fortunately, there were no errors.
That was amazing! Atsumu-senpai!
Nice spike, Atsumu-senpai!
Miya Atsumu took the praise as a matter of course, a grin spreading across his face that nearly reached his ears.
As long as it wasn't a mistake, it was simply a part of his skill!
"One more!" the crowd in the waiting area cheered on.
In the previous match against Itachiyama, they played quite frustratingly, with the number of points scored from serves being countable on one hand from start to finish.
Cold sweat rolled down Matsuda's forehead.
It was widely acknowledged that Miya Atsumu's Dual Wield could be judged by the distance of his approach run.
But there is no real difference between a standard power serve and a topspin side-spin; it is difficult to make a judgment even when you know the ball is going over the net.
Shiratori shouted sternly, "Don't panic! Stay calm, just make contact."
In the match between Inarizaki and Itachiyama, there was no room for holding back, the only reason Miya Atsumu wouldn't have used it before was a lack of confidence.
Then it was almost certain that his control over this kind of ball was very low; he only needed to be a little patient, he would be able to catch the flaw.
Tossing the volleyball in his hands, Miya Atsumu tossed the ball up again just as the referee blew the whistle.
His target was still the Fukuda General Libero; as long as he could break the Libero, he would have won half the match.
However, he didn't control this ball perfectly like before; instead of landing almost right on the sideline, it fell much further inside.
With his height of 1.75m, which was quite good for a Libero, Matsuda was still able to reach the ball.
Almost at the same time as the volleyball took flight, Fukuda General had already completed its overall repositioning.
Beautiful!
Oori Ren placed both hands by his head, quietly observing the opponent's movements along with Ginjima.
It was a very standard Position 1 and 2 rotation; the front-row Wing Spiker and Middle Blocker had already moved to Position 3 and Position 4, respectively, while the back-row Opposite was preparing to spike from Position 1, the back-row Wing Spiker and Libero stayed back to prepare for a counterattack.
Impeccable, it was almost textbook-perfect positioning and coordination.
And in this situation, the best attacking point is..
While Shiratori was preparing to set a ball toward the front, Oori Ren and Ginjima were already chasing after Fukai.
A spike from Position 4 down the line—that was the optimal choice.
Suna frowned slightly in the waiting area.
Standardization means efficiency, but at the same time, the so-called textbook optimal choice is also one of the common distractions used when creating questions.
Once you ignore a part of the known conditions, you will naturally walk into a trap.
—So this ball couldn't possibly be for the two Wing Spikers in the front row.
The next second, the sound of a heavy spike rang in everyone's ears.
Shiratori's height itself supported his setting speed; from the moment the volleyball left his hands until it reached Kuroo, the entire process was so fast it was hardly different from a Back Quick from the center.
The volleyball slammed down from the other side of the net like a cannonball, without any block to stop it, it headed straight for Hinata, who had already moved around to Position 2 to prepare for the follow-up attack.
Hinata's mind went blank, by the time he came to his senses, the volleyball was less than thirty centimeters away from him.
He raised his hands almost instinctively to shield his face, but immediately lost his balance and fell backward under the massive impact.
Miya Atsumu shouted loudly to Aran on the other side, "Nice kill! Cover, cover!"
No one on the court had time to worry about Hinata; under Miya Atsumu's direction, they rapidly organized a Pipe Attack.
"Get ready—" Kiyoko Shimizu's drawn-out voice rang out.
In the moment before Aran was about to spike the ball, his and Shiratori's voices rang out together: "Jump!"
The iron wall formed by the three players appeared in front of Aran, its absolute height and seamless coordination completely blocking the path of the ball.
With the added velocity of Aran's full-power spike, the volleyball slammed down almost instantly, leaving no room for anyone to react.
Hinata, who had just scrambled up, lunged forward, wanting to save the ball.
But the ball was faster than his movements; by the time he reached out, it had already slammed into the floor.
Red liquid dripped down along with the sweat.
Still a bit dazed, Hinata instinctively wiped his face, only to find his hand covered in crimson.
Eh?
Hinata looked up at Coach Kurosu, who had already stood up by the sidelines; the way his face was flushed red was quite terrifying.
Kurosu was scared half to death and hurriedly shouted for a time-out: "Time-out, time-out!"
Kuroo covered his face with his hand: "We're doomed."
Shiratori opened his mouth, but ultimately stopped himself from getting up to check: "It shouldn't be a big problem.. right?"
Watching Inarizaki frantically tending to Hinata's nose, Iizuna, sitting in the stands, felt a phantom pain in his own nose bridge: "What goes around comes around."
Amatori didn't know what to say: "Even the form is the same."
Sakusa's voice came in a low murmur: "We should add practicing heavy spikes using the arms to the mandatory training list."
Iizuna raised his hand to cover his ears. "I get it! Stop nagging me!"
Miya Atsumu's voice drifted from far away on the court: "Aran—that ball Hinata-senpai worked so hard to save—"
Aran fell silent.
He admitted that he had put all his strength into the spike, but the opponent's timing was too precise; even if they brought in the much stronger Ushijima, he probably wouldn't have been able to spike through him.
Tsk, it should have been a technical play.
Aran raised his hand to take the blame: "My bad, my bad, my bad.."
After giving Hinata simple first aid, Coach Kurosu breathed a complete sigh of relief. "It's not serious; the bleeding has stopped."
Miya Atsumu frowned as he looked at Ginjima and Oori Ren beside him. "Don't let the opponents lead you by the nose during blocking. If you don't touch a spike like that, there's no way to receive it in the back row."
Suna added, "The opposition is playing a great psychological game."
The reaction time was very short; once you fall into habitual thinking, you end up just like that.
The best way to handle it.. is still to split it into two plus one.
Coach Kurosu also gave the same instruction: "Shoyo, go block, but focus on touching the ball rather than trying to shut them down like you did when playing against Karasuno."
Hinata, who was wiping his face with a wet wipe, nodded. "Understood."
He was very skilled at touching the ball, which basically guaranteed he wouldn't get injured.
Miya Atsumu stood to the side with his hands on his hips, mentally reviewing the situation of the last few plays.
Compared to yesterday, Hinata's level of concentration has clearly decreased.
Using Hinata like yesterday would likely have limited effect, Fukuda General's blocking isn't suited for a direct, heavy Quick Attack.
As expected.. it's still Aran.
As he returned to the court, Miya Atsumu once again shouted his childhood friend's name: "Aran!"
Aran, who was still contemplating how to play a technical game without being able to use his normal super-speed, was startled: "What?"
Miya Atsumu issued a deathly command: "Spike every single ball to death, let the opposition know what a super-high-level Ace truly is!"
After a half-second of silence, Miya Atsumu added, "Don't let Shoyo down!"
Aran's mouth twitched. "You make it sound like Shoyo died a hero's death."