Suna frowned slightly, but he still moved a step toward that side, following Kenma's movement.
Whether it was a feint or not, there was a two-thirds chance it would go toward Position 4, as for Haiba Lev.. leaving it to Miya Osamu would be enough.
Watching Lev's massive figure leap up with a thud, Miya Osamu felt it was a bit insufficient.
This guy's hitting point.. it's a bit too ridiculous!
The volleyball flew through the air at that exact moment, Kenma sent it to a high point over Position 2.
In that position, even if Miya Osamu and Suna performed a standard block, they would definitely be tooled. Moreover, the overall ball speed was very high; it was a standard back-row attack to Position 2.
But Nekoma had played this kind of ball before; the result back then was that Lev and the ball completely missed each other. Even like this, would Nekoma's setter still choose to give Lev an opportunity?
Oikawa Tooru, standing on the sidelines, expressed deep doubt: "Can this guy even spike?"
Considering Lev's overall error rate during quick attacks before this.. he was worried the ball might hit him directly in the face.
But as it turned out, even Lev could manage to land a few spikes occasionally.
With a loud bang, the volleyball flew over Miya Osamu, crashing down near the Inarizaki baseline.
Akagi dove for it, sending the ball up with one hand: "Atsumu!"
Balls like this, whether they require speed and height, skill, or just height.. they're just too easy to receive.
Atsumu rushed forward in two steps, setting the ball toward the net with both hands.
Hinata, who had already jumped there, raised his hands and spiked the ball, precisely aiming it at the space behind Kenma.
The entire process was extremely fast, leaving no time at all for anyone to react.
Even so, Yaku still managed to use his feet to dig the ball at the very last second.
Oikawa Tooru felt his scalp go numb: "He received it!"
This defensive ability.. is just a bit too terrifying!
"What a torture." Shiratori felt his palms getting a bit sweaty, without realizing it, even his clenched fists were starting to feel numb.
For both sides, it's an equally long struggle to break through.
Kuroo raised an eyebrow. "Nekoma is going to find it even more difficult, wouldn't you say?"
It was Nekoma who had taken the initiative to launch strong attacks these past few times, since this was Miya Atsumu's Service Turn, if he lost this point, Miya Atsumu's subsequent serves would only cause them more headaches.
"Opportunity Ball!" Miya Atsumu shouted.
He also didn't let Akagi receive the ball; with Miya Osamu and Hinata both preparing to jump on both sides of the net in the front row, he also had to increase the speed of the set as much as possible.
Moreover, even if Inarizaki has the initiative right now, there's no guarantee that Nekoma won't target him again later. Especially once Fukunaga moves to the front row, the frequency with which he is targeted will only increase, so he must adapt in advance to the feeling of attempting a pass immediately upon the first touch.
“A touch!” Although it was only one person, Kashiinayuki also moved in to follow up with a block touch.
"Great touch!" Yaku followed up once again.
Miya Osamu clicked his tongue softly, but he could only retreat to prepare for the subsequent defense.
Following Yamamoto's feint, Fukunaga received the ball from Kenma once again.
The moment he saw Fukunaga jump, Miya Atsumu, realizing something was wrong, was already moving toward Akagi's position.
He couldn't let Hinata lose his ability just because he was receiving the ball for him; this pressure had to be transferred to the Libero as much as possible.
Akagi pushed Miya Atsumu behind him and used his hands to set the ball high into the air.
He also knew that in this situation, Miya Atsumu had almost no way to move forward toward the Attack Line to set the ball, so he simply sent the ball toward the area behind him, near the baseline.
Lev looked at the group on the opposite side, trying hard to analyze the situation in his mind while recalling Kenma's instructions from yesterday.
When Miya Atsumu is forced to make a set near the baseline, he will most likely pass the ball to his twin brother..
The moment he reached this conclusion, Lev took a step toward Miya Osamu without a second thought.
His movement was so decisive that even Miya Osamu, who was just about to jump for a feint, was momentarily stunned.
Kuroo, standing by the sidelines, was almost driven to laughter by frustration, his entire being radiating an aura of helplessness and despair.
Having the awareness to make a judgment was certainly a good thing, but this movement was far too preemptive; even if Miya Atsumu had reacted to change the target of the set, he would have had plenty of time.
In the next second, without a doubt, Miya Atsumu sent the volleyball right to Hinata.
Although Lev fell behind significantly, fortunately, both Yamamoto and Kashiinayuki have very fast reaction speeds.
Moreover, neither of them was particularly short, their blocking skills were much stronger than Lev's.
In addition, Miya Atsumu's ball was limited by the angle of the set, making it impossible to make it high enough.
Therefore, Yamamoto and Kashiinayuki successfully met Hinata at his highest point.
Hinata's expression remained unchanged.
Although he played quick attacks and high balls most of the time, trying his best to avoid facing the block head-on.
But because the opponents were all terrifyingly skilled, he was blocked far too many times.
As for how to break through a block.. he has his own little insights for Positions 1, 2, 3, 4.
In that split second of airtime, Hinata's gaze swept instantly across Yamamoto's fingers as he reached forward to block him.
Hinata's insight point one—if you can't beat them, deceive them.
The moment he sensed Hinata was about to use the block to score, Yamamoto clenched his fist and pulled his hand back as much as possible to avoid being tooled.
A slight curve appeared at the corner of his mouth as Hinata's arm, which had been swinging straight down, slowed just before the moment of contact, ultimately tapping the ball away lightly.
The volleyball flew over Yamamoto's already retracted hand with a slight spin, then dropped toward the edge of the court.
The referee looked down, checked the ball, raised his flag to signal it was in bounds. Inarizaki scores.
YES!!
After landing, Hinata raised both hands high and rushed toward Miya Atsumu behind him, high-fiving everyone in his path to celebrate.
"Nice play, Shoyo!" Miya Atsumu opened his arms to Hinata.
"Atsumu-senpai, what a great set!" Hinata threw himself onto Miya Atsumu, using both his hands and feet.
Standing by the sidelines, Kumagai was almost at the point of shedding tears.
Scoring after such a long rally.. it's just so wonderful and touching.
"Haste makes waste." Shiratori rubbed his chin.
In the final ball of that long rally, it was obvious that Nekoma's coordination had broken down.
Kuroo sighed. "There's nothing we can do. Anyone would panic in this situation."
They couldn't break through the defense, the opponents were consistently maintaining control of the initiative.
The more uncomfortable the play becomes, the more one seeks a way to break the deadlock, as a result, more mistakes occur.
In this situation, the more patient side is the hunter," Shiratori said, crossing his arms over his chest. "In this round, Inarizaki's cunning has taken the lead.
Especially Hinata, he deceived them far too well.
Nekoma's Ace and their gray-haired Middle Blocker both had some issues with their mindset; they were being a bit too impatient.
Yamamoto Takeo's face was written with shock: "That little brat, number 17! Since when did he become so cunning!"
That use of a feint to deceive.. was far too practiced!
Kenma let out a long sigh. "Shoyo used that a lot in the match footage we watched yesterday.."
He had clearly shared the strategy in advance, but once they were actually on the court, everyone still easily fell into mental traps.
It's just as expected; Inarizaki is just too dirty-minded.
Coach Nekota stood with his arms crossed over his chest, remaining silent.
Watching Miya Atsumu prepare to continue his serve, he turned his head toward the waiting area.
Feeling the gaze of the coach, number 9 from the waiting area slowly walked over: "Coach."
Coach Nekota was brief and to the point: "Kenma's stamina should still hold up. You'll serve for Lev in a moment; don't let the opposition pull ahead in one go."
Inarizaki's specialty is playing defensively once they have built up a significant lead, so it is essential to disrupt their rhythm as much as possible while they are still in their strong offensive state.
Teshiro Kyuhiko nodded: "Okay."
Watching the movements of Nekoma on the other side of the net, Coach Kurosu also called Ginjima Yui over without hesitation: "Ginjima, get ready to serve for Hinata in a moment."
Ginjima patted his chest. "Understood."
Having scored several points in a row, Miya Atsumu's confidence was bursting; this time, he decisively chose a six-step approach for his Power Serve.
Under Kita Shinsuke's gaze, Miya Atsumu stared straight ahead at the opposing side, completely ignoring the somewhat helpless looks from the people in the substitution area.
Setting everything else aside, an Ace serve really is the coolest thing at a time like this!
The whistle blew, after taking a deep breath, Miya Atsumu tossed the ball straight up into the air.
After taking several large strides for his approach, he used all his strength to spike the ball.
The ball turned into a shooting star, crossing the net and reaching Nekoma's side almost instantly.
Although he was getting a bit caught up in the heat of the moment, Miya Atsumu still maintained enough rationality to avoid Yaku's area, instead spiking the ball toward Fukunaga Masahira.
Fukunaga looked up at the ball, attempting to analyze its trajectory.
The moment his eyes swept over the ball, he noticed something was incredibly wrong.
The trajectory of this ball..
It veered a bit too much; it wasn't a straight line at all, but rather a curve that could only be described as a semicircle. It stayed just inside the line, so it couldn't quite be called a Banana Ball.
This deviation wasn't due to a service error, but rather caused by the spin on the ball itself.
It also meant that this wasn't just an ordinary power serve, but a side spin.
The moment he reacted, Fukunaga adopted the same receiving posture that Yaku had used before.
But Miya Atsumu's serve this time spun in a different direction, with a completely different amount of rotation.
Fukunaga failed to control this ball; after it hit his arm, it immediately bounced out of the court.
Miya Atsumu scored on the serve.
Bathed in the cheers of the entire crowd, Miya Atsumu raised his right hand high, enjoying the applause coming from all directions like a superstar.