—This gap was the perfect opportunity for a Short Diagonal.
The moment Hinata rotated his wrists, Rei and Kuroe Kao moved to cover that gap almost simultaneously.
And Hinata stopped his movement in the next second as well.
The block in his field of vision had already shifted in an attempt to defend against his short diagonal, at this very moment, the original trajectory of the ball had been revealed, clear and bright.
Hinata's spike went straight down, not a short diagonal, but a standard line shot.
But the moment he spiked the ball, a hand suddenly reached out from the side, precisely blocking the ball's path.
The ball slammed against the ground with a loud thud, the entire process happening so fast that Unabara Uta didn't even react in time.
Completely caught off guard by the ball being blocked, he looked toward Hinata, who had just landed on the floor, his mind going blank for a moment.
“Huh?”
The score jumped to Inarizaki 18:19 Ichibayashi, Ichibayashi took the lead.
Rei felt a buzzing sound in his head and looked at his hands in disbelief.
A block.. he blocked it?
It wasn't a touch; he actually blocked the ball?
He scored with a block?
Hinata looked up, meeting Rei's eyes with a look of shock.
He thought his fake move just now had been quite subtle, but it had been completely seen through..
Rei-kun, you really are amazing.
Looking back on it now, although Rei showed no movement on the surface, he had actually been staring at him from the very beginning.
Moreover, that reaction speed and judgment.. were indeed very strong.
Shiratori rubbed his chin. "It feels like Shoyo is inexplicably eye-catching; once he starts playing, the opponents will start focusing on him.."
Kuroo expressed his deep agreement: "Because he's jumping around everywhere like a flea; anyone watching would find him annoying."
Because in a match that was becoming increasingly intense, a guy who could still hold up physically in the later stages and maintain high-frequency movement was simply too difficult to deal with.
The best way to handle it was, as expected, to find a way to keep him from moving much, which resulted in everyone spontaneously starting to target Hinata.
They had done this before; they really did start shifting the focus of the battle without even realizing it.
Being targeted and suppressed is a lesson every Ace must undergo.
Hoshiumi crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes cast down as he watched the match on the court.
It's obvious that Shoyo is already able to adapt to this rhythm; with their Captain there, they will only play even more easily than they did a few days ago.
At this point, Hoshiumi paused for a moment, then let out a hearty, cheerful laugh.
I'm saying, if they can still produce enough of an effect under this kind of high pressure, then Inarizaki has already won.
Rei's hands were trembling, but he immediately bit his lip hard, forcing himself to calm down.
At times like this, he had to remain rational; he absolutely could not let a moment of success go to his head, he had to press his advantage..
A heavy hand slapped his back, he turned around to see Nasu flashing him a wide grin.
“Nice one, Tomo!”
Rei froze for a moment, a momentary crack appearing in his expression, before he lowered his head again, his entire demeanor becoming calm to the point of indifference: "It is what I should do."
Ouji Son straightened his already disheveled hair: "If you don't smile when you're this young, you'll be careful not to turn into an old man in a few years."
Rei's expression turned serious. "It's because you were too careless with number 17 before, Ouji Son, that we lost the advantage we worked so hard to gain."
Too careless!
Exposed by his junior, Ouji Son shuddered all over. "Can you just pretend you didn't see that!"
I just had a momentary lapse in judgment! There's no need to keep bringing it up!
Seeing Ouji refuse to admit it, Rei pressed him further: "In the last set, Senpai.."
Ouji apologized repeatedly: "Stop, stop, stop! I was wrong, I was wrong, alright?!"
He wasn't afraid of anything else, but he was terrified that this little guy would bring up his business while listening to the Coach's lecture.
Although they briefly gained the advantage, Fujisawa's serves simply weren't enough to pose a significant threat or cause any real disruption to Inarizaki.
There was almost no chance of replicating the point Rei had just scored with a block, as Hinata's spikes became even more cautious. After Suna scored a point with a spike, the serve returned to Miya Atsumu once again.
Facing Miya Atsumu's relentless spike, Nasu slipped on the sweat that had just dripped onto the floor while moving, narrowly missing the ball.
Inarizaki scored consecutively, taking the lead once again.
Kuroo rubbed his chin. "At this stage of the match, both sides have unexpectedly started getting opportunities for consecutive points."
Shiratori replied calmly, "Because their condition is declining, they have to seize the opportunity to score while they still have the rhythm, as a result, their errors increase the longer the game is dragged out."
As the saying goes, 'Success comes from a single burst of energy; if you try again, you lose momentum, by the third attempt, you are exhausted.'
Kuroo rolled his eyes. "I don't get it."
Shiratori put it another way: "What I mean is, neither Inarizaki nor Ichibayashi intends to keep dragging this out."
If Ichibayashi loses this set, they are bound to lose the match. If Inarizaki loses this set, it could trigger a chain reaction that leads to them losing two sets in a row.
After all, right now, both sides are essentially playing in a setter-dependent state.
Kuroo nodded. "Yeah, so you're really looking forward to seeing how they play in the Third Set."
Having snapped out of it, Shiratori immediately voiced his protest.
You're being alarmist!
I will always support Inarizaki 2:0!!
Chapter 213: The Two Hundred and Thirteenth Fox
After a quick glance at Hayakawa, who was preparing to serve for the opposing side, Hinata shifted his gaze back to Rei.
He is currently in the back row, but with the protection of others, he can ensure that he can perform quick attacks from the back-two and back-three positions.
—No matter when, he must maximize his own value.
The Ichibayashi players did not relax for a moment either, clinging desperately to the score and forcing the match into a tiebreaker. Even though Inarizaki held the lead, they were unable to secure consecutive points to end the game.
Give me the ball!!
Hinata called for the setter's toss once again, his movement decisive and beautiful, precisely seizing the gap in the opponent's defense while simultaneously hiding himself behind the cover of the others.
Coach Kurosu looked up at Hinata soaring through the air in his field of vision, a smile spreading across his face that he couldn't hide at all.
Although the situation was tense, he showed no signs of panic.
Because.. he had unconditional trust in his players, he was also extremely confident in his own tactical management and stability.
In this situation, his players would certainly bring back a perfect score.
Thinking of this, a face appeared in Coach Kurosu's mind.
—In fact, there was another very important reason why he had always been at odds with Old man Washijo.
High school players change at an extremely rapid pace, so for every school, there is basically a significant degree of adjustment every single year, many times, there might not be enough time to make adjustments to the overall tactics.
Therefore, Coach Washijo has always firmly believed that the best way to victory is to train a stronger physique, which is also why he favors players with large builds even more.
Of course, Kurosu agreed with this; after all, in volleyball, height is the greatest weapon.
But beyond that, he also recognized the cultivation model of providing players with greater possibilities through tactical thinking and overall technical adjustments.
Compared to Shiratorizawa's training strategy, Inarizaki would screen every single player more meticulously, digging for the flashes of brilliance that could be cultivated within them.
This is also why the first lesson for anyone joining Inarizaki is actual match play, because Coach Kurosu has always firmly believed that everyone possesses their own unique strengths and is willing to invest the effort required to teach each person according to their specific needs.
And now, Coach Kurosu felt that Inarizaki's results had fully proven this point.
Look, that stubborn old man was even moved because of Hinata.
This feeling of being carved from a rough diamond into a masterpiece, being recognized by everyone.. it was simply incredible.
Wiping the sweat from his face with a heavy swipe of his hand, Hinata let out a long breath.
He could feel his heart rate was a bit too fast, his heart felt as if it were about to leap out of his throat.
The high intensity of the play throughout the Second Set had caused his stamina to plummet, his perspiration was also somewhat excessive.
But they had already used up all their time-outs, leaving them with no more opportunities to step off the court and make adjustments.
Just hold on a little longer; he cannot collapse from exhaustion in a place like this.
With their current lead, Inarizaki has been at match point throughout. As long as they can find the opportunity to score consecutive points, they will be able to end this match.
For this reason.. he would work even harder, putting everything he had into spiking every single ball to death.
Hearing the sound of Aran-senpai bouncing the ball on the ground behind him, Hinata slightly lowered his center of gravity.
Aran-senpai's serves are quite stable, right now the opposing Libero's condition has also declined significantly; as long as we can score from the serve, the entire match will be over.
The whistle blew, after a brief moment of adjustment, Aran raised his hand and tossed the ball into the air.
He took a three-step approach and leaped in front of the baseline to deliver a spike.
Aran's own power level allowed him to deliver a powerful spike even without a full approach run.
But Nasu was also quite willing to throw himself into harm's way, lunging forward to act as a human cushion and managing to receive the ball in a bizarre manner.
What a great first receive!
Kuroe Kao's voice was a bit hoarse.
To be honest, the analgesic he sprayed at first had worn off long ago, so he had sprayed it a second time during the previous time-out.
Even though he had done his best to reduce the swelling, his fingers had still swollen to a certain extent.
Spiking became even more difficult than before; his fingers, bound in bandages, were stiff and had lost the flexibility he was so proud of.
But.. he didn't want to lose.