Miya Atsumu didn't hold back, immediately shouting, "Opportunity Ball!"
Mokoba's expression twisted.
Although he admitted that Bokuto's serve was indeed ugly, still.. calling it an Opportunity Ball was going too far!
Having already started his approach, Hinata charged straight toward the net, lowering his center of gravity and swinging his arms upward in preparation to jump.
Saru Yamato and Washio Tatsuo followed Hinata the moment they caught Miya Atsumu arching his back, preparing to deliver a high-angle back set.
The two of them jumped a split second after Hinata, raising their hands to block in front of him and exerting absolute dominance from above.
The Hinata who had just jumped up came down in an instant; clearly, that arm swing was just a feint, he hadn't actually put any force into it.
—A difference in timing.
The moment Hinata landed and jumped again from his original position, Washio and Saru Yamato had already descended from their highest points.
The final result of the completely mismatched attack and block was an absolute block-out.
Fortunately, a player from Mokoba had just slid over, barely managing to suppress the trajectory of Hinata's sharp cross spike.
Hinata didn't think too much about it, decisively spiking the ball straight down the line.
Komi, who was a bit further away, dove to reach it, but unfortunately, he couldn't control the ball. The ball flew at an extremely low height, almost parallel to the floor, slammed into the guardrail.
Hinata, having landed on the ground, raised both hands high and cheered, "Yes!!"
Rishia also got excited: "Nice hit, Shoyo!"
That timing was executed beautifully.
Moreover, because Hinata actually doesn't use timing very often, bringing it out at this moment was no different from a sudden attack.
During his time as a First Year High School student, his training focus was primarily on physical conditioning and stamina; regarding technique, he focused most of his energy on serves and receiving, so he truly hasn't studied offensive skills as deeply as Hinata has.
It is said that the coach plans to have him in the starting lineup next year, so he must keep up with the necessary training in this area.
Hinata rushed up to Miya Atsumu with a beaming smile and gave him a high-five. "Atsumu-senpai, that was a great set!"
That set's form completely caught Washio-senpai off guard, by utilizing enough hang time, it provided him with the opportunity to exploit the time difference.
It was just so cool and amazing!
Miya Atsumu was beaming with pride, his chin held so high it almost touched the sky under the gazes of Suna and Miya Osamu by the sidelines.
And Rishia Heisuke wasn't the only one stirred by this play; there was also someone else on the other side of the net.
“So cool, the timing gap—"
Bokuto looked at Hinata and Miya Atsumu, his eyes filled with excitement and envy.
Before Bokuto could call for the setter, Mokoba threw a bucket of cold water on him: "Calm down, what was that serve just now?"
Bokuto blinked, his entire being instantly filled with disappointment.
He was wrong; his brain had just short-circuited for a split second, by the time he came to his senses, the ball had already slipped from his hands.
And his serve was called an Opportunity Ball—
Akaashi glanced back at Bokuto, but said nothing.
It would be good to give them a good blow; it's easy to get carried away in the Finals, so they should let their heads cool down now.
It looked like there was no chance in this set; with this point difference, Inarizaki wouldn't let them catch up, they didn't have any means to score points in rapid succession.
The current priority is still to focus on how to get everyone's condition back on track.
Bokuto-senpai's fighting spirit had already been pushed to its limit by Inarizaki's brilliant tactics; in a moment, he would try a back row spike..
After finishing his celebration with Miya Atsumu, Hinata walked to the serving position while holding the ball.
Bathed in the cheers of the entire crowd's support, Hinata tried his best to suppress the corners of his mouth from curling up.
Rishia Heisuke's back of the head was exceptionally clear in his field of vision.
Speaking of which.. he really hasn't put that much effort into his serves this past year.
After ensuring a basic success rate for his jump serves, he never practiced serves as a specialized skill again.
It was the same with receiving; because he had to ensure offensive pressure, his performance in counterattacks and floor defense was quite mediocre, his use of diving and rolling was far from being that good.
As for setting, he could only deliver standard high balls; most of the time when he needed to fill in as the setter, he basically only needed to set to Position 4.
In contrast, these points were actually Rishia Heisuke's strengths.
Thinking about it this way, the two of them can actually complement each other.
Of course, this also makes it easier for him to learn from and exchange ideas with Rishia during his second year of high school.
Having made up his mind, Hinata rotated the ball between his hands.
As the time limit for the serve approached its final moments, he raised his hand and tossed the ball.
With a three-step approach and jump, Hinata leaped from in front of the three-meter line, aiming for the space in front of Bokuto and spiking the ball.
He couldn't produce a serve with that kind of speed, spin, precision all at once, so he chose to pursue precision as much as possible.
Disrupting the Ace's movements would be the best strategy right now, even more so than disrupting the Setter.
After all, he had confidence in receiving any ball from Mokoba's Saru Yamato, but with Bokuto's power, a back row spike would become even more terrifying.
Bokuto didn't dodge or evade, instead using his hands to dig the ball up: "Akaashi!"
Akaashi praised, "Great first receive!"
After receiving the ball, Bokuto stepped back to create some distance.
He was already very familiar with this feeling of being suppressed from previous matches, he had gradually adapted to the back-row attack during the matches over the past few days.
So.. it's fine.
The Ace shouted for the set: "Give me the ball!!"
Akaashi glanced back at him, then, the moment Oori Ren and Miya Atsumu moved toward that side, he sent the ball toward Washio, who was in the setter's position.
When it comes to strong attacks, they don't just have Bokuto.
Washio's high contact point and power meant that, in this kind of frontal attack, he was by no means inferior to Bokuto.
A heavy sound echoed as Washio hammered this ball down with a powerful spike.
On the other side, Aran started his approach a little late, but he worked hard to control his touch for a block-like touch above the net.
Unfortunately, he had slightly underestimated the power of the ball, resulting in a touch that sent the ball out of bounds, giving Fukurodani a point.
Miya Atsumu patted Aran's shoulder to comfort him, who was looking a bit frustrated. "Don't let it get to you!"
The three of them would take the blame together.
Before the match, the Coach had repeatedly emphasized not to overlook Washio, but once they were on the court, their attention still couldn't help but follow Bokuto.
Sakusa pulled at the mask on his face: "His presence is too strong."
Just like Hinata, because of their pervasive offensive capabilities, the blockers' eyes are completely drawn away whenever they make a move.
Miya Atsumu clapped his hands again, drawing everyone's gaze toward himself. "Ignore me, ignore me. Keep your eyes on Akaashi."
Coach Omimi laughed from the Coach's bench. "So reliable, Atsumu."
Whether it was just his imagination or not, Atsumu-senpai was exceptionally mature and reliable today, almost already taking over Aran's role on the court.
Coach Kurosu also nodded, "As expected, Shinsuke's judgment is never wrong."
The decision to have Atsumu take over as Captain after Haruko was made by Kita Shinsuke, despite the opposition of others; at that time, both Aran and Coach Omimi were against it.
He personally felt that any of them would be fine, after all, everyone has their own way of handling the position of Captain.
Especially since this year's group of first-year high school students doesn't have as many problematic players as the Twins' year, the new students he has already scouted for next year also have quite decent personalities.
Even without Kita's overwhelming pressure, there wouldn't be any major problems.
But.. it's truly wonderful that Atsumu can grow.
Atsumu-senpai looked back slightly, giving a small smile to Hinata, who was watching him.
Hinata also returned a slightly silly smile, trying to evade his recent, somewhat ugly serve.
But it was obvious that Miya Atsumu had no intention of letting him off easy: "Shoyo, go back and keep practicing your serve."
As Hinata's serve master, Miya Atsumu's decision became the last straw that broke the camel's back.
Hinata hung his head: "Yes.."
It's okay, it's all so that we can become stronger!
He will take it seriously!
Across the net, Fukurodani's Washio prepared to serve.
With Komi off the court and the front row middle blocker being a newcomer, Fukurodani's defense is incredibly weak.
Not to mention the other two in the back row were Bokuto and Akaashi, neither of whom were the type to abandon their primary roles to focus entirely on receiving.
Aran's spike was quite beautiful, scoring a point and making him feel much better about his recent error in judgment during the block.
“Nice!!”
Inarizaki's reverse pressure also meant that Fukurodani was unable to organize any powerful attacks for a short period of time.
Bokuto, being pinned to the back row, had no way to move forward, in such a moment, Akaashi made the more rational choice to use the front row players.
Of course, it wasn't that they weren't giving the ball to Bokuto; it was that he also needed time to adjust himself as the Ace.
Until the serve passed to Oori Ren, Bokuto didn't make a sound to ask for the ball even once.
Seeing Komi block his approach path by diving for the ball, Bokuto's mind raced.
He had to find a way to score, right now the front row was being watched very closely by Inarizaki. In truth, he was the best offensive option, but.. there was no way to take a running approach.
A recording from Inarizaki suddenly flashed through Bokuto's mind.
That's right, there's no way to take a running start.. then I just won't take a running start.
A sudden light burst in his eyes as Bokuto raised his hand: "Akaashi! The ball!!"
The moment he made eye contact with Bokuto, Akaashi somehow knew exactly what this guy was planning to do.
After all, they had watched the videos together, they had even complained about that ball together.