Nice shot!
The entire stadium erupted in an uproar.
"What was that just now? Did two setters perform a cross attack on the attack line?" Hirugami stared with wide eyes.
Hoshiumi clutched his head: "How can there be a time difference and a positional gap in that set!"
Oikawa Tooru, watching the screen, froze for a moment. "This.."
His mind raced through the information, he hurriedly slapped his thigh and shouted, "Makoto, Makoto, Makoto! Aran, Aran, Aran! Are you there? Are you there!"
He startled Hanabusa Takahiro, who was forcefully pulling Kunimi Akira into a receive drill.
After raising his hand to catch the ball, he turned his head to look at the inexplicably excited Oikawa Tooru. "What's wrong? You startled me. Watari isn't here; he went to the restroom."
Tsk, I forgot to turn on the recording," Oikawa Tooru said, running a hand through his hair to mess it up. After repeatedly checking that there was no instant replay function, he said vexedly, "It's not a big deal, there will be an official recording once the match is over..
At worst.. at worst, I'll just ask Inarizaki. He and Hinata have already exchanged contact information!
Watching Kunimi Akira slip away during the distraction, Hanabusa Takahiro's forehead bulged with veins: "What are you doing? I finally managed to catch him."
Peering at the computer screen, Hanabusa realized it was a live broadcast of the match, so he also gave up on his plan to continue hunting down Kunimi Akira.
Forget it, since I'm already here, I might as well watch it too.
And to get Oikawa Tooru this excited, it must have been an absolutely incredible play.
On the court, Miya Atsumu's expression was contorted: "That's so disgusting.."
He reached out and grabbed Hinata by the collar: "Remember this, don't forget it, you might need it later."
It's a pity Osamu isn't here; the one who really needs a lecture is that guy.
Hinata nodded: "Understood."
I don't quite understand, but I'll agree to it for now.
But.. Suna-senpai's line shots are quite good.
Coach Kurosu, standing by the sidelines, rested his chin in both hands, quietly watching the match on the court.
Fukuda General's playstyle could be described as a volleyball tactics textbook, but it actually contains a lot of expanded content.
Their formation is not a standard 5-1, but rather a pseudo 4-2.
A standard 4-2 formation is like Karasuno's, where the second setter is positioned in the opposite position and serves as the setter when in the back row.
But Fukuda General's number 9 is different, because he is not responsible for any offensive aspects.
His task from beginning to end was to receive for the Ace, to support the Setter when not receiving, to use the Shiratorizawa Setter as a Middle Blocker.
This is also one of the reasons why Fukuda General's positioning is so abstract.
Everyone at Fukuda General knows a lot of different things, which is why they can develop more varied rotations, their roles can be swapped.
But regardless, Inarizaki still held the upper hand, even if the situation turned sour, Hinata, who was being protected at this stage, could still play high balls.
The blocking at the front row for Fukuda General was indeed formidable, but as long as they could ensure a high contact point, they could play directly against their back row Libero.
Having made up his mind, Coach Kurosu raised his hand to his mouth to shout like a megaphone, "Atsumu! Play aggressively, widen the score gap!"
As long as he could widen the score gap to 3 or 4, he could substitute Hinata out and have Kita watch the backcourt.
Given their current situation, stabilizing the score gap is easier than widening the lead.
Miya Atsumu understood immediately and raised his hand to make an OK gesture.
In that case.. I'll speed things up a bit.
"Shoyo." Miya Atsumu reached out and grabbed Hinata's shirt, pulling him closer.
Before Hinata could respond, he had already leaned down to Hinata's ear and whispered, "I'll give you high balls to both sides in a moment; handle them as you see fit."
Hinata nodded. "Understood."
It was telling him not to use a lateral approach anymore, but to change it to a run-up from the front of the court.
A high ball well beyond the sideline.. He really doesn't have much of a chance to hit that.
So exciting!
Chapter 117: The One Hundred and Seventeenth Fox
Hinata was mentally calculating how to move forward for a spike in a moment, while simultaneously raising his hand to his ear to shield his vision during the serve.
Once he had decided to widen the score gap at the opening, Coach Kurosu also substituted Kumagai into the game to serve.
Pressure on the serve is the most unsolvable tactic; they must make good use of this powerful weapon.
Hinata shouted, "Akuma, serve a good one!"
Matsuda wiped the sweat from his forehead, squinting his eyes as he took a lateral step to lower his center of gravity. "Tsk, this never ends."
Dual Wielding or whatever.. I hate it so much.
This feeling of everything being unknown disrupts normal perception, dominating one until the very moment of the serve.
Slapping the ball against the floor, Kumagai confirmed his touch for the day.
During warm-ups, they focused on their serves, his current condition was nothing short of top-notch.
Fukuda General's current back row is a three-person receiving formation, where number 9 drops back to assist the Ace Opposite in receiving the serve.
And his task was also very simple.
—Find a way to break through number 9 and the Libero, to disrupt the Ace's Opposite or score directly.
As the Ace, Kuroo's value to the Fukuda General team was approaching that of Ushijima Wakatoshi on the Shiratorizawa team.
Kumagai's intention was obvious, Kuroo, having realized he was being targeted, quickly exchanged a glance with Matsuda beside him; in that instant, the two had already confirmed their subsequent defensive positioning.
The moment Kumagai's jump float serve cleared the net, Kuroo already shouted, "I've got it!"
Just because he doesn't usually receive the ball doesn't mean he can't.
On the contrary, before being promoted to his third year, he had always been a wing spiker, constantly responsible for supporting the receive.
If Matsuda, one of the juniors, hadn't passed the selection to become the starting Libero, he, who already wasn't very tall, would likely have chosen to become a Libero himself.
A perfect reception neutralized Kumagai's jump float serve, Fukuda took the momentum to organize a counterattack. As Midorikawa set the ball, Shiratori proactively cooperated from Position 3 to spike a high-reaching quick attack.
The notification for a substitution sounded again, Kumagai clicked his tongue before leaving the court.
What a blunder, that player in Position 2 has incredible receiving skills.
"Don't worry about it. There wasn't much footage of Fukuda from the last two years, so it was a good chance to test it out," Coach Kurosu said softly.
It was precisely because there was so little reference material that their vision was limited, because he was the one who had him target Position 2, it was ultimately due to his own flawed strategic deployment.
But it wasn't a total loss; at the very least, they knew that Position 2 was not a defensive blind spot.
Coach Kurosu continued, "Observe closely, you'll continue in the next set."
"Yes!" Kumagai responded.
Before Hinata and Miya Atsumu's coordination was even complete, he had already rotated to the back row; the attack from Position 1 was no different from before, the focus of scoring remained on Aran and Suna in the front row.
The gap between the two sides did not widen any further, nor did it narrow.
After one rotation ended, Inarizaki rotated back to Miya Atsumu serving once again.
Midorikawa shouted, "I'll take it!"
Kuroo, having held his breath, circled to Position 4 to deliver a powerful spike, but Ginjima and Oori were distracted by Shimizu and Kazama on the other side and failed to follow up in time.
The volleyball slammed down without any reduction in force from a block, leaving almost no time for anyone to react.
Akagi stepped forward, his entire body pressing close to the ground, used one hand to cushion the ball from below.
BANG!!
As he fell, he managed to save the ball.
Beautiful!
Great save! Follow up!
Miya Atsumu rushed out of the court, leaping backward outside the sideline, facing Position 4 and preparing to set the ball.
Compared to yesterday's match, Hinata clearly can no longer run at that terrifying speed.
Similarly, this also meant that the blockers would not be left too far behind by him.
The orange figure reflected in the blue eyes rushed past the back half of the court toward Position 4 of Inarizaki, preparing to jump. A smile remained on Shimizu's face as she imperceptibly took half a step back.
On the other side, Shiratori glanced at Shimizu out of the corner of his eye, but ultimately rested his gaze on Miya Atsumu.
Ginjima Yui's presence in Position 2 is actually quite strong, she indeed has the opportunity to hit a line shot.
But.. the initial state of this ball itself was problematic.
Taking Inarizaki's perspective into account, they, who were eager to widen the score gap, would not let a single point slip away.
And in a situation where the Libero's pass is poorly placed, making it impossible even for Miya Atsumu to provide a perfect set, the possibility of a Flat Quick Attack decreases significantly.
—Actually, this kind of rational analysis is just a normal process.
The reason that prompted Shiratori to make a preemptive move was simple.
If it were him.. he would favor Hinata even more; in this situation, setting the ball to his most trusted spiker would be the best choice.
With a soft sound of contact, the volleyball left his hands, flying toward the area in front of Position 4 in a very high arc.
Having already taken his approach, Hinata turned his head to watch the ball, taking his final step with his right leg planted firmly in front of the net.
Thump!
Like the sound of a giant hammer striking a heart, the youth sprouted wings and leaped toward the clouds.
Shimizu and Shiratori stepped up to follow, with Shimizu, who was closer to Hinata, lowering his center of gravity to gain a higher blocking height.
A block approaching 3.3 meters is, in the eyes of most spikers, an almost insurmountable wall of sighs.
But this wall could not stop Hinata.