Miya Atsumu's own height was only 1.83m, so trying to block a 1.9m Middle Blocker's high ball was nothing short of a fantasy.
The only one with a strong enough block was Oori Ren, but even he couldn't stop the opponent's ten hands with his bare fists; in the end, they would likely all be let through.
Of course, the Inarizaki members understood this principle as well.
Knowing that his blocking wouldn't be very effective, Shoyo didn't bother following up to block, but instead dropped back to prepare for a front-court ball.
Miya Atsumu and Oori Ren were positioned on either side of the Center, waiting at any moment for Oikawa Tooru to perform a back set.
With Seijo's current initial positioning, the only one who would have absolutely no reaction time after the set would be Kindaichi's quick attack at Position 3 Center.
Therefore, both Atsumu's and Aran's positions were very close to this area, meaning they could easily move to cover any balls that landed slightly further away.
After all, based on the previous footage, this Libero was unable to coordinate with the Ace for a Quick Attack from the back row.
Just as Miya Atsumu's gaze drifted toward Oikawa Tooru, who was preparing for a back-row attack, Watari Chikaharu raised his hands and sent the ball flying forward with a precise set.
The ball's trajectory was very flat, the speed was incredibly fast; it was a perfectly standard quick attack flat ball.
Watari Chikaharu had a serious expression as he landed on one foot and absorbed the impact to prevent injuring his ankle.
He had indeed never performed a Quick Attack in coordination with the Ace, but it wasn't because he didn't know how.
He was a former setter, after all; if he couldn't properly execute a Quick Attack, it would be nothing short of an embarrassment to Aobajohsai.
The reason he didn't give it to him was simply because Iwaizumi was better at spiking normal high balls.
As for Kyokutsu.. he would find the ball himself, so it didn't matter what was given to him.
Watching the ball fly toward him, Kyokutsu jumped with a thud from Position 4, while Oori Ren rushed over, he performed a backhand spike into a short diagonal.
There was no one on the Inarizaki side at this moment..
Ugh!
Hinata, who had rushed forward in a single step, failed to judge the distance correctly and was hit directly on the shoulder by the ball.
The volleyball flew diagonally out of bounds.
Miya Atsumu's reaction speed was very fast; after catching up in two large strides, he jumped and leaned his body slightly backward, preparing to perform a back set.
Kindaichi stared intently at Miya Atsumu's movement.
He had also done his homework on Inarizaki; Miya Atsumu had used that basketball-like fadeaway set-up style many times before, so one had to pay attention to his arm movement.
"Give me the ball!!" Aran shouted for the set, Miya Atsumu also seemed prepared to set the ball.
Without hesitation, Kindaichi locked onto Aran, lunging toward him at the same time as Kyokutsu.
But in the very next second, Miya Atsumu arched his back and sent a back set toward Hinata.
With no one blocking, Shoyo raised his hands and spiked a line shot with such extreme speed that Watari Chikaharu couldn't catch up at all.
The volleyball slammed against the floor and bounced out of bounds.
“Atsumu-senpai's sets are amazing! Aran-senpai's cover is amazing!” Shoyo raised his hands and rushed toward the two, giving them heavy high-fives.
It was worth his while to keep secretly staring at Two-Stripe-senpai's spiking form; the opponent's movement to prepare a backhand shot was very obvious, making him much easier to read than Kami-senpai.
Completely deceived, Kindaichi's mind went blank, as he turned his head, he was met with a look of deep sympathy from Kunimi Akira, who was waiting in the substitution area.
Kunimi Akira lowered his eyes, no longer looking at Kindaichi's pitiful face.
Kindaichi is being completely toyed with by the Inarizaki members..
The decoy, Aran-senpai, sighed deeply once again.
Although Hinata offered some comfort, it was hardly enough.
In times like this, he needed a refreshing spike to relieve the frustration in his heart!
Miya Atsumu and Oikawa Tooru locked eyes for a moment, then Atsumu raised his hand, pointing at Aran, then at Kindaichi.
Finally, he forced a smile and made an OK gesture.
Ace, decoy, useful.
As Iwaizumi Hajime raised an eyebrow beside him, Miya Atsumu added, "But it's a shame, Oikawa-senpai doesn't seem to have any decoys he can use."
The prerequisite for using an Ace as a decoy is that the Ace must be in peak condition, such that anyone would expect him to spike, secondly, there must be other spikers who are not inferior to the Ace.
But for Aobajohsai, as long as the Ace is in peak condition, he will always be the setter's top priority.
Not to mention that the other players' offensive capabilities themselves are insufficient; sometimes, using the Ace as a decoy is actually a waste.
In the end, the remaining options were mostly just Iwaizumi and Kyokutsu; by observing Oikawa Tooru's setting movements, one could basically make a judgment.
Oikawa Tooru tilted his head slightly and glanced sideways at Miya Atsumu.
He wasn't actually angry, since Miya Atsumu was telling the truth after all.
Inarizaki's greatest advantage is having enough attacking options, but as the defending side, they cannot completely ignore a powerful Ace; being deceived is almost inevitable.
After all, if they truly let the Ace go, Miya Atsumu would really just pass the ball to the opponent.
By comparison, their current defensive state is still able to maintain a certain balance.
As for what needs adjusting..
Oikawa Tooru turned his head toward Coach Irihatsu, after they exchanged a look, the captain Oikawa took the initiative to request a time-out from the first referee.
Before leaving the court, Oikawa turned his head and said a few words silently to Miya Atsumu.
Hinata, who was blocked from view, didn't see it, but Miya Atsumu saw it clearly.
—Just you wait.
Chapter 189: The One Hundred and Eighty-Ninth Fox
Iwaizumi looked at Oikawa Tooru, who had proactively called a time-out: "What should we do?"
Coach Irihatsu stood on the sidelines, letting the players take the opportunity to sit down for a moment.
Since the Haruko tournament, Aobajohsai has had to play one more round of matches than Inarizaki, even their bench depth is far inferior to Inarizaki's.
Inarizaki has already built up a three-point lead, even with their starting Middle Blocker Suna not on the court.
Kosaku's appearances on the court are not even a fraction of Suna's, but in terms of the offensive support he just demonstrated, there isn't a significant gap in performance.
In fact, because Suna relies more on his own core strength to execute change-ups, Kosaku's spike actually possesses greater raw killing power than Suna's.
"I want to test something out," Oikawa Tooru warned everyone quickly.
Kawarai, who had been drinking water, immediately put down his cup and became alert upon hearing this: "At a time like this?"
Miya Atsumu glanced at the Aobajohsai members opposite him out of the corner of his eye, nudged Miya Osamu, who was tilting his head back to drink water, with his elbow. "What do you think they're going to do?"
“Isn't he telling you to wait? That's to disprove your claim that Seijo has no decoy.” Miya Osamu, nearly choked, elbowed him back.
“It's most likely using number 16 or number 12 as a decoy, or.. Oikawa-senpai prepares to spike directly himself.”
Miya Atsumu rubbed his chin. "That makes sense."
But something so simple that even Osamu could understand it, Oikawa-senpai probably wouldn't deign to use it.
"Huh?" Miya Osamu raised an eyebrow.
Aran hurriedly reached out to separate the two: "Don't fight, don't fight.."
The only Men's Volleyball match currently being played on the court is this one, it's under a global spotlight; don't ruin the image of Inarizaki.
But Inarizaki didn't really have much of an image to begin with. Setting aside their casual fans for a moment, the school's supporters were mostly just bystanders to the fights the Twins usually got into.
But for the sake of potential new fans, for the future reputation of the juniors..
It's better to just be honest.
Ahem.
A light cough reached everyone's ears.
Without even having to look back, everyone knew it was the deep, heavy gaze of their captain.
The Twins fell silent at the same time, not daring to even breathe heavily.
Coach Kurosu interjected at the right moment: "Heisuke will take the service turn for practice. Atsumu, pay attention when you serve; just suppress the Libero and don't do anything unnecessary."
"Yes." Miya Atsumu stood at attention.
Just as Hinata was about to approach the giggling Kumagai and Unabara Uta, Coach Kurosu's gaze fell upon him.
“Shoyo-kun, don't stand too far forward when receiving the ball. It's different from when you played against Nekoma; the spike speed from Seijo players is very fast.”
Moreover, their cover is very thorough, making it easy for our blocks to be rendered ineffective.
Thinking about how Shoyo had almost been hit in the face once and hit in the shoulder another time, Coach Kurosu felt a headache coming on: "Try to keep your positioning deep. Don't dive to receive heavy balls, don't face them head-on."
After Hinata began participating in large-scale defense, Seijo could be considered the first team they encountered that focused primarily on strong attacks.
Whether it was Municipal Kobe or Nekoma, their tactics were essentially built on counter-attacking through solid reception.
But Seijo is different; Seijo goes all out on their attacks even when they only manage the bare minimum for the First Receive.
If Hinata's receives weren't barely improving, Coach Kurosu would even have to consider whether or not to let Hinata play in this match.
After all, Seijo's offensive intensity is essentially much greater than their defense; it just depends on how Position 3 acts.
After weighing several options, they ultimately decided to sub Suna in to preserve Suna's stamina.
Coach Kurosu continued to instruct, "Don't be afraid if you get tied up by the opponent; prioritize ensuring the receive before considering anything else."
Anyway, if you consider Seijo's approach, they would always have to target either Hinata or Aran.
Previously, it was obvious that Seijo preferred to suppress Aran, but after being washed over by Hinata's quick attacks mixed with various technical play styles.. it's hard to say.
Miya Atsumu pushed in forcefully and gave Coach Kurosu a thumbs-up: "It's fine, even if Shoyo-kun is tied down by the opponents, I will clear a path for him."
Hinata was so moved he almost burst into tears: "Atsumu-senpai! You're so reliable!"
Aran protested, "This is absolute preferential treatment."
When Hinata was being suppressed by the opponent, Miya Atsumu was thinking about how to clear a path for him.
And when Aran was being held back by the opponents, that guy Miya Atsumu was actually still thinking about how to clear a path for Hinata!