“It's fine, it's fine,” Miya Atsumu said, stepping forward to pat him and pull him up from the ground, “Come on, Shoyo, let me see your hand.”
This point was essentially lost by Miya Osamu, didn't have much to do with Hinata.
Miya Atsumu gave Miya Osamu a sideways glare before looking down at the right hand Hinata was extending toward him.
His right pinky finger was a bit red, likely because it had been hit when his positioning was off during the initial receive.
Miya Atsumu lowered his eyes and asked Hinata, "It shouldn't be a big problem. Do you need to take care of it?"
Hinata pointed toward the sidelines where Kumagai Rishia and Ginjima Yui were already sitting in a row. "In a little bit; it looks like the coach is preparing to make a substitution for the serve."
Miya Atsumu nodded. "Alright, I'll have the coach take a look at it for you in a bit."
It probably wouldn't be much of a problem, except it might swell for a little while, it's on his right hand.
“Yeah.” While Hinata nodded in agreement, he couldn't help but look over at Teshiro Kyuhiko on the opposite side.
When it came to the Ceiling Serve, the most impressive person he could think of was Natsume-senpai's teammate. He couldn't remember his name, but he just remembered that the guy had pink hair.
He hadn't expected that this classmate from Nekoma, whom he hadn't interacted with much, was also a master of the high toss serve.
This technique is the most widely used in beach volleyball.
First, the sand itself will reduce the effectiveness of the approach and the jump, if the power is insufficient, it will also be affected by the wind.
Secondly, beach volleyball courts are outdoors, so the threat of sunlight is much stronger than the overhead lights in an indoor gymnasium.
Recalling the random things he had read online, Hinata adjusted his position once again, preparing to receive the ball.
The opposing team was clearly targeting him.
Plus, with the Setter at this position, this ball will likely be sent here as well.
He didn't position himself very well on the last ball, which caused him to fly for the first receive, but he definitely won't make a mistake on this one.
Teshiro Kyuhiko prepared to serve the second ball.
The whistle blew, this time Teshiro Kyuhiko did not wait, tossing the ball straight up into the air.
The reason for stalling during the previous play was mainly because his serve was an unknown factor for Inarizaki.
Now that it is clear he is using a Ceiling Serve, there is no need to stall; instead, the best approach is to deny the opponent any chance to react.
Bang!!
The volleyball took flight again with a loud bang, once more turning into a black dot as it disappeared.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium had just been renovated, it had only been in use for a few years, but its scale was already among the very best of all existing indoor stadiums.
That's why the overall effect of the Ceiling Serve is much stronger than in the gymnasiums of other prefectures, it is also much harder to judge.
Hinata retreated step by step, following the ball's trajectory.
When the volleyball entered his field of vision at about three meters away, he decisively stepped to the side.
The volleyball grazed Hinata's arm as it fell, never touching his body throughout the entire flight.
Hinata raised his hand in front of him without hesitation: "Out!"
At the same time, the referee ruled that the serve was out.
Inarizaki scores.
Everyone cheered, "Great read, Shoyo!"
Moreover, his timing was incredibly early, almost perfectly avoiding contact with such a high-speed ball.
Hinata scratched his head somewhat sheepishly, but he soon stood tall with his chest out.
Great! His receiving practice hasn't been in vain!
At the very least, when it comes to judging the trajectory of a vertical ball, he is much stronger than he was before!
Chapter 181: The One Hundred and Eighty-First Fox
Watching Teshiro Kyuhiko return, Shibayama stepped forward and said, "Don't worry about it, you played very well."
This was Teshiro Kyuhiko's first time playing since entering high school, it was even during the National Tournament, playing against the recent national champions.
Most importantly, Teshiro Kyuhiko actually scored a point.
"Yeah." Teshiro Kyuhiko nodded and stood still again in the waiting area.
He looked up slightly, glancing at Hinata, who had already finished the handover by the sidelines and sat down at the Coach's bench, as he recalled the details of his second serve just now.
Because I was paying too much attention to Hinata and Miya Atsumu's positions, did I go a bit overboard??
Ginjima Yui was already standing by the sidelines, holding the volleyball.
Yaku immediately said to Yamamoto beside him, "Watch out for the power serve."
He is Inarizaki's strongest and most stable second-year wing spiker. Although he is currently playing as a substitute due to tactical arrangements, his actual strength is among the top tier in this Haruko.
Especially when it comes to serving, he is incomparably stronger than Hinata.
Moreover, what he had to be wary of wasn't just the serve; Ginjima's defense and offense were both his strong points.
Patting the ball against the ground, Ginjima took the ball back into his hands.
Since he started rotating with Hinata, he has shifted the focus of his training more toward his serves.
Unlike standard attacks, there is no interference from a block during a serve, the opponent cannot move before the server. He only needs to do his absolute best to deliver his most powerful spike.
This is also why the serve is called the most unstoppable weapon.
And now.. that weapon was held in his own hands.
With his target locked on Kenma, who was being blocked by Yamamoto, Ginjima tossed the ball into the air halfway through his service motion.
While applying a simple ice pack, Hinata's gaze remained fixed on Ginjima.
In the next instant, the volleyball flew over the net and smashed toward Yamamoto's side.
"So accurate." Hinata was somewhat shocked.
This level of precision and the quality of the serve.. it's incredible.
Coach Kurosu chuckled, then said while watching the match on the court, "I won't sub you in just yet; you'll go on once you've rotated to the front row."
"Alright." Hinata didn't ask why; since it was Coach Kurosu's instruction, he just had to follow it.
Coach Kurosu reached out and patted his back, still explaining, "The lead has already been widened; we just need to solidify our advantage."
Besides, when it comes to defense, Atsumu can rely on Ginjima, which will also allow him to adjust his own state.
This time, Hinata was truly bewildered: "Does Atsumu-senpai need to adjust his condition? I feel like Atsumu-senpai's touch is great right now."
Whether it was his serves or his tosses, the quality of everything was even better than usual.
Coach Kurosu said with a hint of helplessness, "That's exactly why he needs to force himself to calm down."
Under the collective gaze of the three first-years, Kurosu raised his hand to wipe his nose, explaining quite patiently, "Although we've been in long rallies because of Nekoma, the actual tempo of the match has already been picked up."
While it won't have much impact on the overall match right now, we can't let Atsumu-senpai's energy be excessively depleted at this time, since there are still matches this afternoon.
As he spoke, Coach Kurosu raised a finger and pointed toward Oikawa Tooru, who was standing by the sidelines with his arms crossed, gesturing toward the players on the court.
Hinata nodded.
Conserving strength and recuperating, right? He understands that.
Indeed, if they can win the Aobajohsai match in a little while, they will be their opponents this afternoon.
Oikawa.. he really is excellent at studying his opponents.
Thinking of this, Hinata swallowed back some ideas that he felt might be immediately rejected by the coach.
Coach Kurosu didn't notice Hinata's momentary guilt at all, instead continued, "It's also to let Atsumu-senpai regain his feel for regular Non-quick Attack playstyles."
If we're targeting the Nekoma Setter, the significance of the Quick Attack itself won't be that great.
Hearing this, Hinata blinked. "But Coach, if it's Ginjima-senpai.. he'll just get hot-headed along with Atsumu-senpai."
As he remembered, the reason Ginjima Yui or Aran-senpai were substituted out before was always this, in the end, they could only be replaced by the Kita Team to force everyone to calm down.
Coach Kurosu fell into an eerie silence for a few seconds.
Finally, he raised his hand and slapped Hinata on the head.
You're the one who's best at fanning the flames; anyone else would be exactly the same.
As long as that instigator Hinata isn't around, even if Atsumu-senpai gets overly passionate, he would only ever be in this current state.
Hinata stopped talking.
The time-out at eight points arrived a step faster than Ginjima's rotation to the front row.
Coach Kurosu's substitution this time was timed quite precisely; by bringing in Ginjima, he directly eliminated a potential factor that could have caused Miya Atsumu to play too aggressively.
Moreover, Ginjima's more stable performance in defense also ensured Miya Atsumu's safety, it was almost visible to the naked eye that Nekoma had given up on any tactics targeting the Setter.
However, Kuroo and Kai's blocking abilities were among the best in all of high school, so the score gap did not continue to widen, but instead maintained the advantage that Atsumu-senpai had initially established.
Glancing at the scoreboard, Kenma lowered his head and rubbed his fingers.
After a long silence, he finally said, "Based on our current style of play, we should further strengthen our block; even if Shoyo tries to target me, it shouldn't be an issue."
Compared to his extremely fast Line and Short Diagonal, it's much easier to handle it when he consciously uses a tip toward my position.
Kuroo gave a helpless smile: "Are we starting to fish again?"
It was like a variation of their playstyle from yesterday, but.. it was clearly much more difficult.
Noticing everyone's concern, Kenma shook his head. "It's fine."
The Nekoma members had no objections to Kenma's decision: "Alright, we'll play it your way."
On the other side, Hinata, however, had a different opinion: "I'm not planning to play like that."
“Even if we were targeting Kenma, it would only be when there's no clear offensive direction. Why would I spike directly at him when I can score?”
He wasn't stupid! How could he possibly let Kenma lead him by the nose!
Facing Hinata's protesting gaze, Miya Atsumu said with deep emotion, "I'm very gratified that you've actually realized that, senior."