After all, about half of Fukurodani's overall tactics were planned by him, while the rest was supplemented by Akaashi based on the actual situation, which directly resulted in Fukurodani's overall tactics lacking flexibility.
Part of the reason why they were targeted by Shirabu's side before was due to this.
After all, Usui and Kiryu were the ones handling things on Shirabu's side, while Coach Kusubashi only played the role of pointing out mistakes.
Inarizaki's side was even more hands-off; the coach essentially left everything alone, only stepping in at appropriate times to substitute in key servers, leaving all the remaining tactical play to Miya Atsumu to handle as he saw fit.
They had indeed made thorough tactical preparations in advance for the Double Quick playstyle under Inarizaki's current formation, but..
Given the current state of the Fukurodani players, it remains to be seen whether they can carry out these arrangements.
Kyaku-tou, the manager, held the tactical board in her hands and said very calmly, "It's no problem, have faith in them."
The referee signaled for Saru Yamato from the Fukurodani side to serve.
Inarizaki maintained their starting formation with Miya Atsumu serving from Position 2, making no adjustments.
Akaashi let his arms hang naturally at his sides, quickly contemplating the strategy for the rest of the set.
Actually, whether they can win depends on their defensive lineup.
Although the team's stamina wasn't as abundant as it was at the beginning, Komi had firsthand experience dealing with Inarizaki's double quick during the latter part of the second set, which actually allowed him to adapt much better.
So.. it's not a big problem.
As long as we win this set, the outcome of the final deciding set is still up in the air.
Just as they said during the summer, Fukurodani will certainly take this victory home.
Akaashi raised his hand to the side of his head in a blocking cover and shouted, "Give me a good serve!"
Akagi responded without backing down, "Bring it on!!"
Akagi was extremely familiar with Saru Yamato's serve; after a perfect receive, Hinata from the front row coordinated with Osamu from the back row to execute a double quick, beautifully securing the first point of the match.
However, Miya Atsumu's serves had already been thoroughly adapted to by the opponents, Komi had also found the key to defending after frequently receiving Miya Atsumu's jump float serves.
Inarizaki failed to score consecutive points; instead, Fukurodani broke their momentum with a point from Mokoba's back-row attack.
However, Osa Noboru's serve was completely harmless; for Inarizaki, it was essentially part of an opportunity ball.
Hinata provided cover from the side, Suna scored with a spike.
The service right quickly passed to Hinata.
Taking the volleyball returned by the opposing side, Hinata walked step by step to his usual starting position for the serve approach.
He glanced at the scoreboard showing Fukurodani 1:2 Inarizaki, quickly adjusted his state.
Holding the volleyball to his face, Hinata gently inhaled the scent of the ball, slowly closing his eyes.
Whether it was physical stamina, determination, or willpower, there was nothing left to hold back now.
Serving, spiking, receiving.. this was everything he could do on this court.
He had to do better, to be the best.
Komi looked through the gap in the wall formed by Suna and Miya Osamu, but the opponent's coverage was far too tight, he was unable to see Hinata immediately.
The moment the whistle blew, he suddenly raised his center of gravity.
And in the moments before Hinata's spike, no one could move, allowing him to use that slight bit of height gained from the separation to observe Hinata's spike.
In that instant, he locked eyes with another.
Komi felt as if his entire body had been plunged into an ice cellar, as if a bucket of water had been poured over him from head to toe.
The state of excitement that had been slightly boiling due to the previous beautiful defense was extinguished almost instantly, giving him an incredible sensation.
How could that be?
He knew exactly how much weight Hinata's jump serve carried; he had received countless ones during this match.
Why..
At this very moment, why was he able to sense an extremely dangerous aura through his intuition?
Hinata withdrew his gaze from the net across from him and turned his focus back to the ball in his hands.
Don't rush; there isn't that much time left on the serve clock, he has plenty of time to adjust his touch.
Imagine what Heisuke and Atsumu-senpai are thinking about when they serve; try to empathize and get as close to their mindset as possible.
The surrounding noise gradually quieted down.
His brain automatically filtered out the noisy sounds, leaving behind only an environment that allowed for maximum concentration.
His positioning was close to the center, while the opposing Libero was on one side of the center, on the other side was Saru-senpai.
Mokoba-senpai did not participate in the first receive, so his positioning was forward and toward the side.
Faced with his serve, Fukurodani did not take it seriously enough to choose the conventional three-person receive formation.
Instead, they released the versatile Opposite and switched to a formation with two hitters and a Libero receiving the serve.
Although it was being underestimated because it wasn't strong enough, for him, this was a great breakthrough point.
Avoiding the Libero and being able to maximize interference with the opponent's subsequent attacks..
No, that's not enough.
He wants to use his serve to take the first point for himself.
In a situation where there is a clear gap in the opponent's first receive, the best attacking position..
As Miya Atsumu counted to the sixth second, a sound suddenly came from behind him.
It was a tossing sound that he was extremely familiar with.
The sound of the ball leaving his control and soaring into the air.
The sound of soles stepping on the floor followed in the next second, coming from far to near, constantly approaching him.
Atsumu imperceptibly lowered his center of gravity, focusing all his attention on Hinata's movements; he intended to step forward to prepare for the follow-up attack the moment the server spiked.
Leaping with all his might from just before the baseline, Hinata, positioned at the High Point, had the entire court in full view.
Just like every spike, arm extension, swing—
A loud bang rang out.
Like the sound of a starting pistol, the entire court instantly sprang into motion.
In an instant, the ball flew over the net, heading straight toward the center of Fukurodani's court.
Just as Komi shouted "I've got it" and prepared to reach out for the ball, the ball missed him.
Eh? Did he misjudge it?
On the other side, Saru Yamato stretched his leg to reach for the ball, but unfortunately, he couldn't keep up with it.
The ball rolled to a stop near the Fukurodani substitution area.
The Inarizaki cheer concluded, as they prepared to perform the next song.
In this brief moment of near-total silence from the entire crowd, the whistle blew.
The scoreboard at the side of the court jumped up once more, announcing Inarizaki's consecutive points.
As if the court had been reactivated, cheers and applause erupted suddenly in the next second.
Nice play!!
Nice kill, Shoyo!!
Hinata, having landed on the ground, let out a soft breath and suddenly clenched his fists to vent the excitement in his heart.
He did it.
He scored the first point through a serve on this court, which symbolized the Finals.
He didn't actually do much.
It was just that Atsumu-senpai had once taught him that a serve is actually a type of back-row attack that completes the setting process by oneself.
Therefore, at the moment of the spike, he could completely apply the state he was in during a back-row attack.
Moreover, because there is no obstruction from a block, the ball's trajectory is longer, ultimately allowing for a spike with even more terrifying speed.
He considered himself not particularly skilled at back-row attacks, but he could do everything else that was required.
And in this current situation, what was needed.. was a ball with just a little bit of extra spin on top of its precise placement.
A tiny, almost imperceptible amount of spin would be enough to serve as the decisive stroke that changes the entire situation.
Bathed in the cheers from the entire stadium, Hinata raised his hands high above his head.
YES!!
Hahahahaha—
Miya Atsumu laughed extremely joyfully, as if he were the one who had scored that point.
So cool, Shoyo.
I feel like I'm being completely captivated.
Everyone from Inarizaki looked at him at the same time, even Hinata, who had been prepared to high-five the coach in celebration, froze for a moment.
Miya Osamu's gaze toward Miya Atsumu even carried a hint of tension and worry.
Although he had lost his composure somewhat, Miya Atsumu didn't care at all about the gaze of others at this moment.
He waved at Hinata, gesturing for him to come over.
Hinata quickly finished high-fiving Coach Kurosu, Coach Omimi, Kita Shinsuke, before rushing to Miya Atsumu with both hands raised high.
He shared his excitement with Miya Atsumu, his joy evident: "Atsumu-senpai! I scored with a serve!"
After high-fiving Hinata, Miya Atsumu lowered his gaze toward him. "I saw it. I saw it clearly."
Hinata felt a bit uneasy with Miya Atsumu's somewhat cold attitude.
Was there something wrong with his serve just now? Was Atsumu-senpai, his serving mentor, angry?
Thinking of this, Hinata took a small half-step backward, creating some distance between himself and Miya Atsumu.
Seeing Hinata's defensive movement, Miya Atsumu froze for a moment.