Just as the ball approached the sideline, its own spin caused it to suddenly plummet toward the ground.
Looking at the expression frozen on Kumagai's face, Mokoba couldn't help but laugh. "Perfect."
Bang.
The referee on the sidelines straightened up and raised the flag to signal the ball was in, in the next second, the score jumped to Fukurodani 6:7 Inarizaki.
"Nice!" Mokoba clenched his fist tightly.
Didn't that just restore his reputation!
Mistakes are only temporary; this kind of brilliant performance is the level of skill he is truly capable of!
Kumagai apologized loudly, "Sorry, sorry!"
It was his fault for not receiving the ball, but a ball with that kind of spin that drops suddenly near the sideline.. it's truly impossible to defend against.
Rishia patted Kumagai on the back. "Even if I had to judge this ball, it would have been out. Don't let it get to you; win it back in the next set."
"Yeah." Kumagai nodded, then exchanged numbers with Oori before leaving the court.
Indeed, he had truly done his best to make the call.
Mokoba's spike was indeed incredibly exquisite; it was normal not to have reacted in time, he shouldn't dwell on it too much; instead, he should focus his attention on how to perform better on the next play.
Saru Yamato, from behind the block, took the ball from the referee and walked step by step to the service position.
Bokuto returned to the front row at this most critical moment, so.. this was the best opportunity for them to tie the score or even take the lead.
"Give us a good serve!!" The entire Fukurodani cheering section grew tense.
Hinata watched quietly as Saru Yamato, who was preparing to serve, stood in a forward position while staying as close to the sideline as possible.
There was no direct positional relationship between him and Rishia Heisuke, so he could allow Rishia Heisuke to step back to his front-left to receive the ball for him.
Saru glanced at Hinata, after the referee blew the whistle, he slammed the ball against the ground, then tossed it upward the moment he regained control of it.
Hinata clearly felt a gaze locking onto him.
Before he could even adjust his positioning, the ball had already come smashing toward him, bypassing Rishia Heisuke to once again accurately lock onto him.
In the stands, Saru Nagi narrowed his eyes. "As expected of Yamato-san."
This targeted serve, with a quality nearly identical to his spikes, was truly a sight to behold.
Fortunately, Saru Yamato's serve speed wasn't so fast that it was impossible to handle. Hinata decisively raised his hands, preparing to step up and receive the ball.
Atsumu-senpai!
Watching the volleyball fly up steadily, Miya Atsumu also let out a quiet sigh of relief.
He was actually quite afraid that Hinata might get injured while receiving such a jump serve, but fortunately, Hinata was very aware of his own abilities, the control on this ball was quite good.
However, Hinata's position at this moment was also a bit awkward.
A back-row attack must take place behind the three-meter line, so his approach distance wasn't quite enough.
Hinata decisively gave up on the Kou Chokusen approach and circled around from outside the court.
Anyway, his First Receive was high enough that it gave Atsumu-senpai plenty of time to adjust and set a ball he could spike.
Miya Atsumu shot a glance at Suna, as the Fukurodani block adjusted toward Position 4, he raised his hand and sent the ball directly over the net.
Hinata, who was fully focused and preparing to spike, thinking Suna was going to provide him with front-row cover, froze for a moment. "Eh?!"
Bokuto, still at the net, used his foot to lift the ball up; although it flew a bit off-target, fortunately, the height was more than sufficient.
Beautiful! Bokuto-senpai!
Akaashi raised his hands, arching his back the moment he touched the ball, sent a back set toward Osa Noboru behind him.
Osa spiked the ball toward the area near Inarizaki's midcourt, Akagi, who was responsible for receiving in this area, quickly moved in to receive it.
Miya Atsumu offered a compliment: "Beautiful!"
Under Suna's cover at the front row, he raised his hands and sent the ball to Aran, who was positioned in the back-row three-tier.
Aran's back-row attack was more mature than Bokuto's, his overall offensiveness and penetration were also stronger.
Akaashi was knocked backward by the force of the impact, the ball flew out of bounds.
Saru Yamato rushed after it, successfully back-setting the ball into the court before he crashed into the guardrail.
He crashed into the guardrail, nearly tumbling over it.
Fukurodani's cheers boiled over in this instant, with everyone cheering for this incredible save.
Great save, Yamato!
Follow up, follow up! Counter-attack—
Mokoba, being closer, raised a hand to signal Akaashi, then took over the duties of the setter.
“Give me the ball!!” In an extremely confident state, Bokuto immediately shouted to demand the ball from Mokoba.
But just as Bokuto thought the opponent was preparing to set, Mokoba, who had already jumped, raised his hand from behind the three-meter line and spiked the ball directly down.
After the spike, he even gave a smile to Bokuto, who was asking him for the ball.
Bokuto went wild: "Ah! You jerk!"
Inarizaki didn't have time to worry about what was happening over at Fukurodani; Mokoba's spike was so sudden that their block had no time to follow up.
Aran and Hinata both lunged forward at the same time to try and receive the ball, but they failed to control it and sent it straight back over the net.
"Opportunity Ball!" Komi shouted as she dove back for it.
Bokuto, having been tricked by Mokoba, decided to reclaim his dignity from Akaashi: "Akaashi! Give me the ball!"
Akaashi raised his hand to touch the ball, seemingly preparing to set.
But just as Bokuto was preparing to jump for a spike from behind Position 4, Akaashi flicked his wrist, the volleyball simply dropped.
Suna and Rishia, both completely caught off guard, were stunned at the same time.
Second Attack.
Bokuto, deceived once again, was stunned: "Huh?!"
Aran, being the closest directly behind, instantly exploded with his fastest reaction speed, lunging forward and practically crawling on the ground to get underneath the ball.
The ball flew erratically, landing near the sideline.
Miya Atsumu rushed over, although he managed to provide a bump set, the placement of the set was extremely poor.
Hinata aimed for the position of the ball and jumped, forcing his way from behind the three-meter line all the way to the net.
However, the three blockers on Fukurodani's side also closed in just as quickly, giving Hinata absolutely no room to breathe.
This ball wasn't high enough, the opposing block was pressing down like an umbrella. Given the players' experience and standard form, they wouldn't give him any chance to use tooling the block like Lev or Hakuma-senpai.
Under the pressure of Fukurodani's block, Hinata had no room to adjust and could only take advantage of the gap left by the opponent, spiking the ball diagonally toward Komi's side.
Even though it was a forced spike, Hinata still controlled the ball as much as possible so that it wouldn't fall directly into the opponent's receiving range.
But just at this level, it posed no threat at all to Komi.
Komi delivered a perfect set.
Akaashi did not let the ball go to waste, giving Bokuto the best possible opportunity to attack.
Bokuto, having secured the ball, took a deep breath; although his arms and body orientation suggested he was preparing for a Kou Chokusen, he adjusted with his wrist and upper body at the last moment to produce a Short Diagonal.
The volleyball flew across the entire net in an instant, crashing down near the sideline close to Inarizaki's Position 4.
Hinata, who had been covering the block, immediately dropped back, kicked off the ground, dove for the ball.
He stretched his body to its absolute limit, trying to get even the slightest bit of himself under the ball.
But in truth, Hinata already knew very clearly—he wouldn't be able to save it.
The ball rolled onto the floor, ultimately missing Hinata's hands by less than five centimeters.
The score jumped to 7:7 at this moment, with Fukurodani tying the game.
Watching Bokuto high-five Akaashi while cheering on the other side, Hinata was momentarily dazed.
Was the height of the previous spike a bit insufficient..
But it was already impressive that Atsumu-senpai could set that ball; failing to score was indeed his own fault.
He should have been calmer; at a time like that, he shouldn't have tried to spike the ball to death; a dump would have been the best choice.
No, if he had gone for a dump, he would have only given the opponent an opportunity, which would inevitably lead to an even more terrifying counterattack.
He couldn't even handle that last ball, so he certainly wouldn't be able to handle one with even greater speed..
Too many things rushed into his mind at once, for a moment, Hinata couldn't manage to organize his thoughts.
“Shoyo.” Someone called his name.
A hand also appeared in Hinata's field of vision at the same time—slender fingers and meticulously manicured nails; it was the hand of a setter.
Hinata grabbed on without any hesitation.
The other person gave him a tug, so he stood up with the momentum, struggling to steady his breathing.
After settling the thoughts churning in his mind, Hinata wanted to reach out and tidy his hair, but he failed.
He looked up in confusion, looking toward Miya Atsumu beside him.
Miya Atsumu withdrew his gaze from Bokuto on the other side of the net, lowering his eyes so that Hinata's face filled his entire field of vision.
He remained in the same posture he had used to pull Hinata up, holding Hinata's wrist in his own hands.
Meeting Miya Atsumu's gaze, Hinata tilted his head in confusion. "Atsumu-senpai?"
Atsumu lowered his head slightly, closing the distance between himself and Hinata.
He looked intently at Hinata, his eyes, tinted with a warm orange hue, faintly turning into a honey-like color.
His inherently sensitive fingers could clearly feel Hinata's pulse thumping continuously, surging and full of life.
Miya Atsumu took Hinata's right hand and pulled him closer.
Hinata followed Miya Atsumu's movement, placing his hand on his chest.
Through the clothes already soaked in sweat, he could clearly feel the other person's heartbeat.