"Understood!" Hinata nodded.
In the entire Inarizaki lineup, Miya Atsumu is the only one being protected.
And this protection was not just tactical cover; it was also a way to protect his physical condition with a long-term perspective in mind.
Coach Kurosu clapped his hands. "Well played. Keep up this rhythm and don't let the opposition catch up."
The Inarizaki members responded in unison, "Yes!"
Coach Kurosu didn't say anything more, leaving the space to Miya Atsumu to make the subsequent tactical arrangements.
After the time-out, Kanzaki managed to claw back a point under Matou's cover.
Matou Yukimaru of Municipal Kobe serves.
Bouncing the ball against the floor, Matou Yukimaru tossed the ball up, timing it perfectly to the very last second of the service limit.
He didn't have any particular specialty in serving, so he had to make the most of everything he could use.
I've got it!
Miya Osamu quickly stepped to his left, predicting the ball's trajectory and receiving it with precision.
What a great receive!
Miya Atsumu followed up, jumping in place to set the ball to Suna.
On the other side, Hinata remained in a state of quick attack cover, steadily drawing away one or two of the opponent's blockers.
Although Suna's spike isn't particularly vulnerable to blocks, if the blocking restriction is small enough, he will have even more room to play.
Wakamura lunged forward to attempt a block, but Suna almost completely ignored him, twisting his waist as he spiked the ball straight down toward Wakamura's left side.
With the Libero Hanae not currently on the court, the responsibility for back-row defense has fallen to Higashiyama.
But compared to the Libero who could be selected for the Junior National Team, Higashiyama was lacking by quite a bit.
Suna's ball trajectory was already tricky, since he was following Suna's movements to defend the short diagonal, he was forced to dive and barely managed to touch the ball.
Captain!
Wakamura quickly moved to follow and prepared to set the ball; although the position wasn't ideal, the height was sufficient.
As long as he concentrates as much as possible, there will definitely be no problem.
As for who to give the ball to..
Tosaka was already in Position 2 preparing for a Flat Quick Attack, while Murata also rushed to Position 4 to prepare for an attack.
Of course, the Inarizaki blockers on the other side of the net had also moved up to keep up at the same time.
So.. passing the ball to them would be a terrible move.
Having made a decision, Wakamura slightly turned his head to look at Kanzaki in the back row.
Come on.
Attack.
The moment Kanzaki locked eyes with Wakamura, he had already stepped back to create enough space for a running approach, just as the ball slipped from Wakamura's hands, sent toward a high point behind Position 3.
—You can make it there.
Taking four massive strides, Kanzaki planted his right foot just behind the three-meter line with a heavy "thud."
Suna, who was preparing to block, was momentarily stunned.
Wait, this person's spike height.. isn't it much higher than before?
Kanzaki's height was about the same as his, so the maximum contact point of his full-effort approach and jump would inevitably be above his blocking height.
The moment he realized this, Suna basically gave up on the block, only jumping symbolically.
"It's starting again.." Coach Unabara, who was watching the match from the sidelines, felt his vision go dark.
Even though his rational judgment was accurate, he should have at least tried to create some distance from the net to reach the ball.
The damage caused to Inarizaki's back-row defense by an absolute back-row attack, or even a spike from an Ace with incredible physical ability, can only be imagined.
BANG!!
Kanzaki's spike came both sudden and fast, with the blockers failing to follow up in time, the ball's speed and spin were not reduced in the slightest.
Plus, Akagi was positioned too far forward, he wasn't even in his best state..
The moment his arms made contact with the volleyball, Akagi, realizing something terrible was happening, shouted out at the same time, "Atsumu!"
Miya Atsumu, who was still at the net, turned his head and saw the volleyball flying toward his waist at an almost parallel angle to the ground.
Meanwhile, Hinata and Miya Osamu had both already begun their approach runs forward.
His brain stalled for less than 0.01 seconds, Miya Atsumu took a small step forward, spreading his feet even wider than they had been at shoulder-width.
At the same time, he lowered his center of gravity, turning his body to control his arm as he touched the ball.
The ball, carrying heavy power, had its direction forcibly changed the moment it contacted Miya Atsumu's arm, flying toward a high point at Position 3 with extreme speed.
Before the opponents across the net could even react, Hinata, who had already jumped to that position, raised his hand and slammed the ball down with a loud crack.
The volleyball, carrying a slight topspin, fell toward the ground at a speed that was not solely due to gravity.
The ball's excessive speed meant that even Higashiyama, who was positioned near the baseline, couldn't dive in time; he could only watch helplessly as the volleyball slammed into the ground with a dull thud.
The whistle blew, after looking down, the referee raised the flag to signal the ball was in, Inarizaki scored.
Iwaizumi Hajime, standing by the sidelines, gasped, "My god! What just happened!"
It had been less than a second since Kanzaki's topspin serve, so how did Inarizaki score?
Beside him, Oikawa Tooru suddenly let out a laugh.
Iwaizumi Hajime turned his head, only to see the other man's furrowed brow and incredibly sharp gaze.
Oikawa Tooru stood with his hands in his pockets, staring at Hinata and Miya Atsumu, who were embracing and cheering on the court: "Transitioning directly from defense to a quick attack.. that's just ridiculous."
They've certainly got the skill to back up that boldness.
Shiratori applauded sincerely: "Of course, Shoyo and Miya Osamu's follow-ups were also very decisive; you could call it being in perfect sync."
Watching someone praise an opponent's brilliant performance, Kuroo rolled his eyes: "Can you even do that?"
Praising Miya Atsumu like that here shows quite a bit of ambition.
Hearing this question, Shiratori blinked: "I can do that, really."
Essentially, it's just about absorbing the impact of the ball and adjusting its direction upon reception, but it requires a high level of coordination with the spiker; not just anyone can follow up on a Quick Attack like that.
Kuroo rolled his eyes again. "Fine, I'll try it later. If it doesn't work, it's because your set was bad."
Shiratori raised a finger, his expression turning dark. "This isn't right. It should be that you can't even spike my sets properly; you'd better get lost quickly."
.." Kuroo remained silent. "You aren't a fan of Miya Atsumu at all; you're just a hater.
I had heard people mention Kaifang once during a training match before, this guy actually remembered it.
Shiratori smiled very kindly: "How could that be? I like him very much."
"Don't lose heart, Inarizaki just got lucky this time; they won't be able to pull off an attack like that a second time," Wakamura said, clapping his hands.
Of course, the fact that there wouldn't be a second time didn't mean Miya Atsumu and Hinata couldn't do it. It meant that with this experience, Inarizaki's receives wouldn't fail like that again.
But it was also a good thing for them, after all, the power of a surprise attack is the greatest.
That last point lost wasn't a grievance, it wasn't a loss either.
At the very least, they tried the approach Kanzaki had modified after the qualifiers, which truly helped improve their hitting point.
As for the massive physical exhaustion.. that wasn't even within their considerations.
If they lost to the Inarizaki members, they wouldn't have another match, so they had to give everything they had and do whatever it took to win.
Wakamura reached out to pat Kanzaki, then patted Hanae, who had returned to the court: "Keep it up."
The service turn passed to Miya Atsumu's hands once again.
Hanae felt his scalp tingle: "Here we go again."
No matter how much he tried to act calm, it couldn't change the fact that Miya Atsumu himself was currently the strongest server in high school.
Moreover, Miya Atsumu hasn't used a jump float serve in this match so far; who knows if he's planning to give them a huge surprise.
—It's probably better not to.
But reality proved that the more one fears something, the more one encounters it.
This time, Miya Atsumu only took four steps forward before turning around.
Before the referee could blow the whistle, Hanae moved forward imperceptibly.
It's fine, it's fine, he needs to stay calm.
He had received plenty of float serves before, since they didn't have the uncontrollable speed of a power serve, he would definitely be fine.
The whistle blew, Miya Atsumu didn't delay for even a second, tossing the ball directly into the air just as the Municipal Kobe members were tensing up.
With a loud thud, Miya Atsumu struck the volleyball.
Just as Hanae had judged, it was a jump float serve.
But it was completely different from a normal jump float serve; it dropped just as it was about to reach Hanae.
The nerves in his brain went flat, just like his own electrocardiogram at this moment.
Hanae couldn't care about anything else; he could only dive forward by instinct and reach out his hands.
Fortunately, fate was on his side; before the ball could hit the ground, his fingertips were underneath it.
Captain!!
Wakamura rushed forward two steps, raising his hand to set the ball toward Murata.
Just as Suna and the others lunged forward, Murata didn't spike the ball at all; instead, he let it pass right in front of him, allowing it to sail over the net and drop into Inarizaki's court.
Hinata and Akagi both lunged forward at the same time, but neither of them managed to catch the ball.
"Beautiful!!" The crowd from Municipal Kobe cheered.
A single spike interrupted Miya Atsumu's service turn, which was certainly something worth celebrating.