And this Libero's pass on this ball.. wasn't it a bit too off-target?
Kenma, who had subconsciously adjusted his position by two steps, was stopped almost instantly as Miya Osamu and Suna realized something was wrong at the same time.
This setter.. is inducing their movements to create openings for an attack.
However, the two's reaction was ultimately a bit too late; Kenma had already tossed the ball high into the air, sending it toward Lev Haiba on the other side.
"Nice one!" Lev rushed forward excitedly, leaping in front of the net with a thud and raising his hand, preparing to spike.
Hinata kept his eyes fixed on his movements.
Although the contact point was very, very high, there was no concealment in the movement at all; instead, it allowed one to see through the intention at a single glance.
The arm movement and the body orientation of this spike should be..
A standard sharp cross that landed near the corner on the other side.
Just as Hinata took a large step forward to prepare for the receive, Lev Haiba's hands missed the volleyball.
The volleyball landed on his head, bounced off, fell toward the back row in a line.
Hinata's mind went blank instantly.
The Inarizaki front row members almost simultaneously complained, "What the hell was that!"
But fortunately, Akagi reacted extremely quickly, lunging forward with two steps and diving to save the ball, barely managing to keep it alive: "Atsumu!!"
This ball flew to an absurdly off-target degree, but the person responsible for the set was Miya Atsumu.
After quickly chasing down the ball, Miya Atsumu maintained his high sprinting speed while leaning his torso backward.
He forced himself to control his height, delivering a set that could only be described as "perfect."
The volleyball traveled in a parabolic arc, precisely controlled to pass through the hitting point of Hinata, who had already jumped near Position 4 on the wing.
The ball moved so fast it was like a bolt of lightning, arriving in front of Hinata almost instantaneously, as Hinata's arm whipped out like a lash.
Even in the Haruko, which was filled with top-tier players, Hinata's spiking speed could be described as "unrivaled."
While the front row blocker Lev was still dazed on the wing, the ball had already passed over his head and slammed into the Nekoma back row.
Yaku, with extremely fast reaction speeds, tried to keep up, rolling to the side while using one hand to touch the ball.
But this ball wasn't just fast; the ball speed and the spin itself were also delivered perfectly by Hinata.
The volleyball hit Yaku's arm and then bounced off the court. On the other side, Fukunaga lunged to save it, but unfortunately, he didn't touch it.
"Nice play!!" The Inarizaki members immediately cheered.
Yaku's expression was solemn. The speed of this attack was indeed more outrageous than what he had seen on the video, especially since being on the court himself meant various factors would only make the situation even more unpredictable.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye; in just a split second, Nekoma, who had been on the counterattack, lost a point.
Yamamoto wiped the cold sweat from his forehead; too much had happened in that single instant, leaving his hands feeling a bit numb. "This is just too ridiculous.."
Not to mention a stunned Lev, he, just like Kashiinayuki, failed to react in time.
That kind of Quick Attack.. it was a total first-sight killer.
Hinata, who had just scored a great spike, was also very excited, raising his hand and rushing straight toward Miya Atsumu: "Atsumu-senpai, that set was amazing!"
That's Yaku-senpai!
Yaku-senpai, who left a shocking impression on him during their first match!
Yaku-senpai, who has repeatedly received their previous quick attacks and turned them into points for Nekoma!
He actually managed to score a point right at the start of the match..
He is simply incredible!
Noticing Hinata's excitement, Miya Atsumu laughed, "That's awesome, then let's score even more points."
"Yeah!!" Hinata nodded vigorously.
That's right, it's not just Yaku-senpai that needs to be overcome; everyone from Nekoma is incredibly skilled at receiving and blocking.
After catching the volleyball thrown back by the people in the stands, Miya Atsumu prepared to go back to serve his second ball.
It was still a four-step approach, still a jump float serve.
Komori, standing by the court, nodded: "A very wise choice."
Yaku's height is insufficient, his performance in overhead receives is actually far worse than his forearm receives, so playing a jump float serve is the best choice.
Moreover, poor reception from the top is a common issue among high school players; even without Yaku, it would still have a decent effect.
On the contrary, with Yaku's experience and reaction speed, a simple power serve is actually quite difficult to score with, it's even hard to disrupt Nekoma's subsequent attacks.
Miya Atsumu spun the volleyball in his hands.
This time he didn't choose to wait until the very last second, but instead tossed the ball up at the seventh second.
Just like the previous logic, when facing a Libero of this caliber, not waiting until the very last second is the real surprise attack.
With a loud thud, Komori, standing by the sidelines, gasped.
You could tell just by the sound that this jump float serve was quite heavy, under the influence of its force, the ball's trajectory was erratic and completely unpredictable.
—It's a matter of relying solely on reaction time.
Coach Nekota rubbed his chin.
In volleyball, the serve is the most unstoppable weapon, without exception.
Whether it is a high-spectacle ACE serve or this bizarre and unpredictable jump float serve, once they reach a certain level, they can truly be called "art."
This art known as the serve.. was performed to its fullest extent by Miya Atsumu.
With a loud thud, the volleyball struck Fukunaga's shoulder and then bounced out of bounds.
Kashiinayuki dove for it, but he couldn't save it.
Inarizaki scores.
Chapter 176: The One Hundred and Seventy-Sixth Fox
That's unexpected, it's too fast.
Watching the scoreboard by the court, which already rapidly showed Inarizaki 2:0 Nekoma, Komori was momentarily stunned.
Inarizaki's scoring speed was a bit too outrageous; even though Nekoma's defensive strength was by no means weak, Inarizaki snatched up two points in a single exchange.
Sakusa was not surprised by this: "It's mainly because they were caught off guard; they need to adapt a bit."
Nekoma has a very typical counter-attacking style; the probability of them establishing a rhythm in the first set is very low.
"That's true." Komori nodded.
They had also faced Nekoma during Interhigh.
Although the final result was a 2-0 victory, the second set was certainly much more difficult than the first, giving us the feeling that our weakness had been slightly exploited.
On the court, Miya Atsumu was already prepared to serve his third ball.
Miya Atsumu took four steps once again, still appearing as if he were preparing to perform a jump float serve.
The previous two balls had already sufficiently demonstrated the value of the jump float serve itself, so continuing with it at this moment was the best choice.
Moreover.. he had no need to focus on Yaku; Fukunaga Masahira on the other side was the best choice.
The whistle blew, the referee signaled Miya Atsumu to serve.
Iizuna Sho, who had just regrouped with the second-year juniors by the sidelines, broke into a cold sweat for Nekoma: "Choosing to use two spikers to receive the serve and then go for a hard hit.."
It shouldn't be a big problem," Komori said, his expression remaining calm. "In Nekoma, Fukunaga is quite good at receiving the initial serve, as a Right Wing Spiker, even though he doesn't seem to have any particular specialty, he is very stable.
This is Nekoma's defense, after all.
As long as they adapt to the opponent's rhythm, they will definitely be able to handle the first receive.
And the reality was exactly as Komori had expected.
Even though Miya Atsumu's third serve was once again the same heavy, floating serve as before, the prepared Fukunaga stepped forward immediately, accurately predicting the ball's landing point.
With his hands on top of the ball, Fukunaga sent it toward the net, right over Kenma's head.
Miya Atsumu clicked his tongue inwardly.
This is exactly what makes Nekoma so annoying; basically, as long as they receive the ball, they can deliver it precisely right above the setter's head.
It was as if there were some kind of automatic tracking device on the ball, capable of pinpointing the Setter's position.
"What a great receive!" Kenma said softly, before jumping up from where he stood.
Hinata stepped back slightly, completely leaving the blocking space to Miya Osamu and Suna.
Since the Nekoma Setter is currently not in the front row, there is no need to consider the possibility of a second attack; what needs to be guarded against is the high ball spiked by Lev Haiba from Position 3 in the front row, which appeared multiple times in previous footage.
Although it lacks technical sophistication, Lev's height and physique are more than enough to support him in hitting balls with sufficient intensity.
Moreover, that whip-like arm naturally imparts a certain amount of spin when it strikes the ball; Atsumu had specifically shown him the footage of the match between Nekoma and Tokura from the Regional Qualifiers last night.
This ball was indeed delivered into Lev Haiba's hands by Kenma.
Suna kept a close eye on Yamamoto, but compared to him, Lev's ability to consistently perform over-the-head spikes made him very effective against a defensive lineup like Inarizaki's.
Under Kenma's intense gaze, Lev did not make another ridiculous mistake; instead, he firmly spiked a sharp cross into Inarizaki's court.
Akagi made a precise prediction and stepped back to receive the ball.
“Atsumu!” Akagi called out to Miya Atsumu.
Kuroo stood in the middle of the net, his hands slightly raised at his sides, ready to follow up with a block at any moment.
Hinata and Miya Osamu started running at the same time, crossing paths in front of Miya Atsumu before charging toward both sides of the net.
Fukunaga Masahira moved a step to the side without leaving a trace, while Kuroo simultaneously took a small half-step forward.
Miya Atsumu also sent the ball toward Miya Osamu at Position 2 in the next second.
Almost at the same time, Kuroo and Kashiinayuki from the other side converged, blocking Miya Osamu's path.
Miya Osamu, who had completely failed to expect Nekoma would follow up so quickly, was unable to adjust the direction of his spike in time.