But.. it was barely enough to even touch the ball.
The two of them also knew this, so they didn't stand too close to the net, ensuring they had the chance to adjust their touch at any time; even if Hinata prepared for a Woguo, they would be able to react in time.
Then there wouldn't be much left for the spike's trajectory either; judging by all of Hinata's past performances, the answer pointed almost exclusively to a single option.
Matsuda's pupils contracted.
That body orientation, that spiking arm movement..
—Short Diagonal!
The moment he made his decision, Matsuda decisively moved one step toward his front right.
Miya Atsumu and Hinata Shoyo both smirked almost at the same time.
The fish has taken the bait.
In the next second, Hinata snapped his wrist, spiking the ball straight down with a backhand motion while his body was leaning to the left.
The ball passed by the blocker, who had already leaned toward the short diagonal, landed near the sideline.
The whistle blew, the referee signaled that the ball was in, giving Inarizaki the point.
"Huh?" Matsuda's confusion reached the heavens.
Are you kidding me! That ball was terrifying! What happened to the promised short diagonal!
As he landed, Hinata turned and rushed toward Miya Atsumu, throwing himself onto him. "Did you see that, Atsumu-senpai! I did it!"
Miya Atsumu was also quite satisfied: "That was amazing, Shoyo."
This feeling of making the opposing Libero dance around with my Spikers.. it's just perfect.
Hinata turned his head again toward Coach Kurosu. "Coach! I did it!"
He looked exactly like a middle-aged man who had successfully caught a fish, showing it off to every passerby.
As for the "fish" himself, he was quite depressed.
Matsuda suddenly felt that the upcoming matches would be hellish, his entire life was about to lose all its light..
Hoshiumi was also quite satisfied with Hinata's performance: "The downside of empiricism."
The essence of Fukuda General's anticipation is essentially a summary of the opponent's past choices; it relies not on reaction speed or intuition, but on powerful memory.
Just like just now, Hinata would foolishly follow along if someone merely dropped a small hint.
In short, he was overly confident in his mediocre experience; he really needs to reach the level of Komori Motoya, where experience is transformed into instinctive muscle memory.
Komori scratched his face. "He wanted to do that yesterday, but his movements were indeed a bit obvious."
However, he mostly relied on intuition to judge; if he had a bad feeling, it was almost certainly a bluff.
Amatori blinked. "Really? I couldn't tell."
The intention to spike a short diagonal was too strong, besides, what normal person would think of spiking a backhand shot just to hit a line?
Komori replied, "I mean yesterday's."
The preparation for that last play was too thorough, with all the various conditions stacking up, he might have been momentarily confused, but in the end, he will definitely save it.
Ushijima let out a deep sigh, his initial surge of fighting spirit somewhat deflated.
This kind of opponent who is constantly evolving..
As expected, they're so annoying.
Chapter 120: The One Hundred and Twentieth Fox
——So tired.
Shiratori cleared his mind.
Not being able to keep up with the opponent's rhythm is one thing, but the main issue is that maintaining the status quo brings no hope at all.
But even if he refused to accept his fate, what could he do?
Although he felt that no matter what outrageous thing he tried to do, someone would follow him, he wasn't sure if it would be effective.
Let me take another look..
Hesitation stalled in his mind, because a guy with incredible mobility on the other side of the net had looked over.
Feeling strangely guilty for two seconds, Shiratori decided to cast aside his self from two seconds ago.
What are you looking at? He's about to try it.
The serve passed to Oori Ren.
Lifting his shirt to wipe the sweat from his face, Hinata stared intently at the other side of the net.
Although Akagi-senpai is not on the court, the three offensive points in the front row are undoubtedly their best scoring points right now.
Oori-senpai's receiving skills aren't bad, Ginjima-senpai's fundamentals are quite solid.
Moreover, since he was playing as the Opposite this set, he didn't need to worry about the first receive; he only needed to focus on how to score.
I've got it!
After Matsuda received the ball, Fukuda General quickly organized an attack on the other side of the net, which was still a very standard set to Position 2 by the setter.
Raising his hand to wave Suna off, Shiratori stood his ground and lightly pushed off the floor to send the ball toward the area behind the Ace's spike, without jumping at all.
Hoshiumi wrinkled his nose: "Having height really lets you do whatever you want."
To be able to deliver such a short back set without jumping is absolutely ridiculous.
After following up to make contact, Hinata retreated immediately to prepare for the subsequent attack.
Nice hit!
Kuroo clicked his tongue, feeling quite irritated.
This style of play, with its frequent touches, lacks much offensive power, but it is extremely insulting, the pressure it exerts is even greater than being blocked directly.
Atsumu used one hand to push the ball toward Suna, who was jumping in the center.
Suna twisted his waist, sending the ball toward the empty space in the back half of Fukuda General's court.
Matsuda dove forward, digging the ball directly toward the three-meter line.
Shiratori rushed out from the side, with a heavy thud, he leaped and turned his body to chase after the ball.
Is he going to spike it directly?
Hinata licked his slightly dry lower lip, his eyes fixed on Shiratori's movements without blinking.
It seemed as if he were observing, yet it also seemed as if he were recording.
Although it looked like he was going to spike, he could have easily transitioned into a different move instead; he had already noticed this when he watched Atsumu-senpai and Osamu-senpai practicing before.
Moreover, Inarizaki's front row had already locked onto him, so spiking at this moment would be a terrible move.
Thinking this, he moved a step toward the direction where Kuroo was positioning himself.
This Position 2 senior loves to spike straight down the line to pin the three-meter line when his block isn't in place, so if you want to defend, you can't position yourself too far back.
As Suna and Aran closed in on the center, Shiratori seized the momentum, pivoted, raised his hand to set the ball toward Kuroo.
Hinata's expression became even more excited.
As expected, it was a fake spike leading into a real one.
Everything unfolded exactly as expected; Hinata stepped forward once again, lunging forward on one leg to meet the ball.
BANG!!
His entire upper body was jerked slightly backward, but his body did not shift because of it.
The ball, making contact with the front of his arm, flew up steadily, landing into Miya Atsumu's hands.
Nice!
The ball was sent to Position 4, where Aran caught it, the Ace delivered a heavy spike that crashed straight down between Fukai and Shiratori, falling like a drill with immense piercing power.
Aran, having scored successfully, clenched his fist: "Yes!!"
Great play, Aran!" After giving Aran a perfunctory response, Miya Atsumu looked toward Hinata. "That receive just now was perfect.
Hinata also strongly agreed: "I think so too!"
As expected, the feeling of being recognized in a field you aren't good at.. is even more exhilarating.
Kuroo gave Shiratori two firm pats on the shoulder. "Don't lose heart, keep going, keep going."
"Okay," Shiratori replied.
The volleyball was controlled and spiked precisely toward Miya Atsumu's position; having had no intention of receiving the ball, Miya Atsumu was forced to reach out and dig it up.
“Shoyo! I'm counting on you!” Miya Atsumu called out to Hinata, who happened to be right underneath the ball.
Hinata spread his hands in a gesture, turning his back to the net as he prepared to receive the ball.
To be honest, he was a bit unsure of how to set from Position 4 in this posture..
His mind raced through what he should do, but ultimately, all of his attention was locked onto the knowledge points Miya Atsumu had shared with him before.
After slightly bending his knees, he jumped directly, raising his hand to attempt to make contact with the volleyball, then..
With his arm swinging back, Hinata spiked the ball directly over the net.
With a loud thud, the volleyball had already hit the floor in the court.
Shiratori was completely stunned.
A back spike, a second attack at that.
More importantly, this wasn't hit by Miya Atsumu, but by Hinata.
"Hahahaha—" Shiratori laughed, laughing until tears welled up in the corners of his eyes.
So much fun.
Playing volleyball is truly so much fun.