Although there were still minor flaws in his handling of the jump float serve itself, judging by his preparation for the diving motion and the speed of his subconscious reactions.. he had improved by more than just a little compared to before.
It was clearly evident that Hinata had put a tremendous amount of effort into his receiving during this period; one could even say he was turning his once frantic receiving state into second nature, bit by bit.
And that standard posture, devoid of any unnecessary movement, was truly.. a sight to behold.
Kumagai quickly took his position, preparing to set the ball: "What a great first receive!
Hinata's first receive was truly standard.. wait, since when could Hinata handle a jump float serve like that?!
Setting aside those doubts, Kumagai prepared to send the ball to Ginjima.
But just then, Hinata's voice suddenly rang out behind him: "Akuma!"
Almost instinctively, Kumagai sent a back set.
Having already rushed under the net, Hinata Shoyo leaped up with a thud, his eyes following the ball as he raised his hand to intercept it just above Aran's outstretched hand, spiking it straight down the line.
On the other side, Kita Shinsuke dove to chase it, but unfortunately, he couldn't reach it.
Kumagai was the first to cheer, "Nice one, Shoyo!!"
Wow, he instinctively sent the ball out as soon as he heard Hinata's voice, without even looking at Hinata's position, delivering a standard high ball to Position 4.
After receiving the first pass, Hinata followed up incredibly quickly, so much so that even Aran didn't react in time.
High-fiving Kumagai, Hinata's face was filled with the joy of having narrowly escaped disaster. "Akuma, that pass was incredible! I hadn't spiked in so long, I thought I was going to mess up. That last ball was so high and decisive!"
Hinata gave a thumbs-up in admiration: "That was amazing!"
Miya Atsumu, who was running laps, narrowed his eyes, his expression sour: "What's so great about that? It was clearly Shoyo himself who made such a decisive move."
As a setter, he still can't maintain a full overview of the situation.. Tsk.
Kumagai scratched his head: "It's, it's alright.."
On the contrary, he found Hinata a bit scary. Setting aside how steadily he received the float serve, his approach just now was incredibly decisive, something even he, as a setter, hadn't expected.
Coach Kurosu's smile deepened.
He certainly noticed that Hinata was scared at first, but in reality, there were some things that required no fear at all.
For Hinata Shoyo, the awareness of attacking was an instinctive part of him; as long as the ball came, he would naturally spike it.
And the truly surprising part was how much cleaner Hinata's movements had become.
Coach Inubata truly lives up to his reputation as a famous coach specializing in volleyball enlightenment; he has already seen some results in such a short amount of time..
He can rest easy leaving Hinata there.
Coach Kurosu smiled, his eyes curving into crescents. "Now we can finally get the old man to shut up."
Coach Omimi hesitated, wanting to say something but holding back.
Why does this person look so arrogant? It's not like he taught him that.
But it was true; every coach had their own area of expertise.
For example, Coach Aran is famous for his skill in training blockers, while Coach Kusubashi is considered top-tier in the field of technical plays and is very meticulous in adjusting a player's condition.
Coach Kurosu's strength.. is actually in discovering and stimulating the players' potential, whereas he is not particularly skilled with the details.
With Coach Inubata's help now, Hinata will get back on the right track much faster.
Coach Kurosu looked at Coach Omimi, a clear look of smugness on his face: "By the way, speaking of Shiratorizawa.."
Coach Omimi had a faint, bad premonition; Kurosu wouldn't go out of his way to provoke the Old man, would he?
No way, they usually talk behind people's backs.
Kurosu gave himself a thumbs-up: "Didn't he want Shoyo from me? I'll pack Heisuke along with him."
Anyway, teaching one is the same as teaching two; it'll give the old man Washijo something to do.
After all, it was a training camp for freshmen. If it weren't for the fact that Miya Atsumu was going to the Junior National Team training camp, the team there needed a setter and was short on players, he would have taken Kumagai and Unabara together.
Inarizaki's freshmen are still freshmen!
It's still unclear what the situation for Miyagi will be at this year's Haruko. Although Karasuno has Kageyama, their weak foundation isn't something that can be fixed in just a few months, especially since Karasuno itself doesn't have that many resources.
The finals will likely still be between Shiratorizawa and Seijo, but speaking of Seijo..
He was a bit curious about what Seijo and Shirabu were doing together; whenever he chatted with Kusubashi, she would always bring up Oikawa.
—It was obvious she was very envious.
But no matter how much she craves it, it's no use; she is already in her third year of high school.
Instead of staring at Oikawa, he should find a way to put Usui through Spartan training, but unfortunately, both Kusubashi and Kiryu are far too indulgent toward him.
Temporarily setting Shirabu aside, Kurosu looked at Omimi. "Is there any inside information regarding Municipal Kobe?"
These are the opponents they must take seriously at this stage. After all, they are among the top eight teams in this year's Interhigh, in terms of pure strength alone, they can go toe-to-toe with Shiratorizawa.
Moreover, Shiratorizawa has a biased specialty, but Municipal Kobe does not; their Setter's offense is also quite impressive.
Omimi rubbed his chin: "Last week they played a practice match against the boys from neighboring Kojo, word is their libero seems to have finally come into his own."
Coach Kurosu was not surprised by this: "As expected of the best in the Interhigh."
This was a talent he had wanted to recruit, even if they were only a first-year, after a trip to the national tournament, they would evolve rapidly, like a blade tempered in fire.
Even if their technique itself doesn't see much improvement, the experience from a major tournament will provide enough feedback.
Kurosu sighed softly, "This is getting a bit troublesome. With their current lineup plus an additional Libero who can handle pressure.."
After all, he was half of Itachiyama.
On the court, Hinata stepped back, lowering his center of gravity to steadily receive Oori Ren's spike: "Akuma!"
Then he quickly stepped forward to assist the attack. Although it wasn't a spike, he still had to provide ample cover on the side.
To maintain your offensive capabilities at all times, you must choose to use your forearms as much as possible in any situation; do not dive, as a dive should only be an option for emergency saves.
This was the point Coach Inubata repeatedly emphasized to him, making him engrave it into his very instincts.
Coach Kurosu let out a couple of hums, his entire being visibly brightening with pleasure.
Just half a point, nothing to worry about.
Author's Note:
! National Sports Festival Interview Special!
【Victory needs no recollection, the storm that swept through the National Sports Festival! The challenger who ascended to the peak!】
[Exclusive Interview with the National Sports Festival Champions, Inarizaki High School!]
[Miya Atsumu, the MVP of this National Sports Festival and a setter selected for the Junior National Team.]
Q: Hello, Miya Atsumu. It is a great pleasure to have you for this interview. How do you feel after being named the MVP?
A: I don't have any special feelings about it. Being the MVP is nothing more than an appendage to being the champion. As far as I'm concerned, the National Sports Festival is already in the past, this championship is the same.
Q: It sounds like Miya Atsumu already has plans for the future. May I ask what your next goal is?
A: Five consecutive championships before graduation, I have absolute confidence in myself.
Q: During the semifinals, Miya Osamu used a one-handed tip from the back-four position, but I noticed that you weren't observing your teammates' positions at the time. Weren't you worried about a lack of coordination?
A: I trust my teammates. Setting is my job, I have performed it perfectly; after that, it becomes their task. As long as I deliver the ball, someone will naturally follow up.
Q: Regarding your teammates, Miya, is there any part of this tournament that left a deep impression on you?
A: It has to be when we use Shoyo to make the opponent's blockers spin in circles. In the final matches of this tournament, we played against teams with very strong blocking, it was quite difficult to handle without Shoyo there to tear through the block.
Q: Miya and Hinata indeed have great chemistry; they have pulled off many beautiful plays together.
A: Our usual training mainly focuses on coordination during various emergency situations, so we basically never make serious mistakes. Of course, this is also so that we can execute spectacular plays during matches.
Q: I can feel it from the match. Thank you for your cooperation, Miya. I hope to see more of your active performance in future matches.
A: Of course.
【Kita Shinsuke, the captain of Inarizaki, is a key player who supports the team's operations with his absolute stability.】
Q: Hello, Kita-san. How do you feel after leading your team to victory as the captain?
A: It is the result of everyone's hard work in daily life and their fair play on the court.
Q: Can I ask what your impression of everyone at Inarizaki is, Kita-senpai?
A: Although they can be a bit of a headache sometimes, when it comes to volleyball, everyone is someone who approaches it with ten thousand percent seriousness and sincerity, they will continue to go even further in the future.
[Owari Aran, the Best Spiker of this tournament, a highly anticipated Super High School Level Ace, who was also selected for the Junior National Team.]
Q: Regarding your brilliant performance in the finals, is there any specific moment you would like to reminisce about, Aran?
A: I feel like every single play is worth remembering. In the first set, after receiving the ball, I quickly got back up to participate in the subsequent attack and scored with a spike. I was in excellent form at that moment, which gave me the opportunity to spike right through the block.
A: And then there was the reception for Sakusa's spike, which also successfully converted into a point for our team. After all, an Ace must not only contribute enough on offense, but receiving is also part of the responsibility.
A: But Atsumu is quite terrible; several times when I was full of confidence and ready to spike, he used me as a decoy, deceiving my feelings.
A: Speaking of which, when Atsumu and Kuniharu were playing a 4-2 formation later on, he actually provided cover for me, which was truly surprising and touching, but it only lasted for a moment.
A: But most of the time, it's just people picking on me, like during the third set.. (omitted)
[Oori Ren, the core of Inarizaki's iron wall blocking, providing his teammates with one counterattack opportunity after another.]
Q: What are Oori's thoughts after winning the championship?
A: I need to keep working hard.
Q: How do you decide when to commit to a block? In the finals, Oori chose to touch the ball several times instead of trying to block it outright.
A: That's a tactical secret.
A: But most of the time, it's based on instinct.
【Akagi Michinari, the Best Libero, the guardian behind everyone at Inarizaki High School!】
Q: Hello, Akagi-san. How do you feel after being named the Best Libero?
A: Of course, I want the next one. However, speaking strictly from my own skill level, there is a gap between me and this award; it was mainly through everyone's hard work that we won the championship, I was only able to secure this through that collective effort.
Q: Is there anything you want to say to your teammates?
A: They can rest easy with me here. Even if I have to run my legs off, I will save the ball!