He didn't consume much energy today, he had the confidence to spike through the opponent's block.
Hinata, who was already in position, did not rush to pass, but instead glanced back lightly at Fukurodani's block.
Seeing Osa Noboru and Akaashi both closing in on Aran, Hinata decisively raised his hand.
He used his position at the net to directly dump the ball over the net with one hand.
It was a Second Attack.
But Fukurodani wasn't so lucky; they had already rushed toward the Position 4 marker to defend against Aran, leaving their Position 2 defense wide open.
Even the back row players from Mokoba didn't have time to react to Hinata's sudden shot.
The ball hit the ground lightly, making a dull thud.
The spectators in the stands applauded vigorously: "Brilliant, a truly decisive move."
Moreover, the timing of that Second Attack was truly exceptional.
However, to a large extent, it was actually because Fukurodani didn't think Hinata would use a Second Attack, but being able to realize exactly when to do it was quite remarkable.
Aran fell silently for two seconds.
Facing Shoyo's face, which was looking to him for praise, he swallowed the remark and said, "Nice one, Shoyo."
In the stands, Kindaichi turned his head to look at Kunimi, who was shrinking into his collar.
Kunimi instantly became alert, straightening his body in an instant: "I know what you want to say, but don't say it, it's a bit disgusting."
Kindaichi withdrew his gaze with a hint of regret, looking back at the match on the court.
Oori Ren prepared to serve.
Miya Atsumu wiped the sweat from his face, trying to make himself look as composed as possible.
—This is the end of the set.
Oori's serve held no real strategic significance, but Akaashi took advantage of the opportunity to execute a beautiful set to initiate an attack.
Saru Yamato scored by tooling the block, Fukurodani 21:22 Inarizaki.
"What a great play!!" Saru Nagi in the stands had already shouted himself hoarse.
Inarizaki was only two points away from match point. The current score difference was only one point; if Fukurodani could score consecutively, they could tie it up.
And as long as they tie the score, they can drag it into extra time. Right now, Miya Atsumu's condition isn't at its best either, so it remains to be seen who will emerge victorious.
But as it turned out, even when Miya Atsumu was not in top form, he was still able to orchestrate enough spectacular Quick Attacks.
Miya Osamu scored a point for Inarizaki from the back row by coordinating a Quick Attack, breaking Fukurodani's service turn without giving Bokuto any opportunity to spike.
21:23, the service right passed to Miya Atsumu.
"Miya Atsumu's service turn at a time like this.." Amatori clutched his hair, feeling distressed for Fukurodani.
Iizuna shook his head instead: "Don't worry, Miya Atsumu is not in good condition."
Miya Atsumu had already begun using the space of his six-step approach to maximize it as a feint, which meant he no longer had the confidence to deliver his best serve.
In this current situation, given the defensive capabilities of Fukurodani's libero and their two wing spikers, there is absolutely no problem.
Iizuna's speculation was correct.
Although Miya Atsumu's jump float serve still achieved a beautiful, sudden drop behind the three-meter line, it wasn't fast enough and was caught cleanly by Saru Yamato.
Even when Bokuto pushes himself to the absolute limit, he can still pull off a beautiful attack, even with both wing spikers participating in the defense.
Not to mention that Mokoba is providing cover for him right now.
Bokuto's spike carried a slight lateral arc, perfectly bypassing the distance between Inarizaki's block and the sideline.
Aran touched the ball, but unfortunately, he couldn't receive it completely.
The ball went out of bounds, Fukurodani scored, the score jumped to 22:23.
"Time out!!" Coach Anromi's heart slowly settled back into his chest.
There's still a chance!
During Osa Noboru's service turn, Coach Anromi brought on their decisive server at the very last moment.
This was the final chance for a comeback; everything depended on this single serve.
Carrying endless expectations, the first-year Takao stood at the service position.
But his mental state was far from as excellent as the others, under excessive tension, he failed to control the power of his serve, causing the ball to fly directly toward the Libero.
Takao's expression instantly soured, but at this moment, there was no longer any chance for a recovery.
Miya Osamu and Hinata jumped simultaneously on both sides of the net, in less than half a second, Miya Atsumu's pass reached Miya Osamu's hands.
The block, which had been drawn toward Hinata, failed to adjust its direction in time, allowing Miya Osamu to score with a powerful spike from the three-meter line.
Fukurodani 22:24 Inarizaki.
The sound of a substitution announcement rang out from the sidelines once again, Takao left the court as if he had lost his soul, the boos from the Inarizaki side ringing in his ears.
The silence from their own cheering section was almost the final straw that broke the camel's back.
Takao raised his hand to cover his face, not even communicating with the coach, returned to the waiting area looking completely disheveled.
Akaashi gave him a worried glance, but at this moment, he didn't have the energy to worry about his junior.
Because this was the most critical moment of their survival.
Seeing the score jump to within an infinite distance of the end after the whistle, Hoshiumi sat up straight.
The cheers in their ears grew even more fervent; the cheering squad, who had been shouting all afternoon, should have been in a state of exhaustion by now.
But that last play was like it ignited the entire gymnasium.
Hoshiumi heard many hoarse voices; even though they had shouted until their voices cracked, they were still giving it their all to provide their strength.
Watching Hinata walk toward the service area while holding the ball, Hoshiumi said softly, "Inarizaki has match point."
Although his heart was already racing, nearly reaching his absolute limit, Hinata's steps as he walked toward the starting position for his approach were still firm and powerful.
Stopping at the designated position, Hinata took a deep breath and turned in place.
His hands brushed against the uneven surface of the volleyball, his palms having long ago memorized its curvature through countless touches.
After a brief moment to adjust his state, Hinata raised his head and looked across the net.
—The final point.
The cheering in his ears was so boisterous that it made it a bit difficult for Hinata to concentrate in this state.
As his gaze swept across the back of Miya Atsumu's head on the left side of his field of vision, a thought flashed through his mind.
Under the peripheral vision of the conductor above, Hinata slowly raised his left hand.
The conductor understood perfectly.
The moment Hinata clenched his fists, he suddenly pulled both hands back to his chest.
The music that was about to swell to a crescendo came to an abrupt halt at this moment, plunging the entire stadium into instant silence.
The Shiratori player in the back row burst into laughter: "Hahaha, how cool!"
Although it was an imitation of Miya Atsumu's movement, Hinata did not pull back; instead, he declared it with his head held high and chest out.
Miya Atsumu, hearing the commotion, froze for a moment. Before he could even process exactly what had happened, the sound of the ball being tossed had already entered his perception.
Hinata stared straight ahead at the ball he had already tossed.
In the silent gymnasium, every step he took was exceptionally clear.
In this state of mental exhaustion and with his alertness pushed to the absolute limit.. what must he do to score this point?
In fact, Hinata had never studied serve selections for various situations; all he could do was put himself in others' shoes to make some assumptions, imagining what kind of balls would be difficult for his opponents to handle.
Of course, the balls that he couldn't handle smoothly would be just as difficult for his opponents.
One hypothesis after another flashed through his mind, finally, Hinata raised his hand to spike the ball.
Unable to clearly observe the opponent's hitting motion, Komi focused his attention on the sound of Hinata's spike.
In the next instant, a sound that wasn't particularly heavy reached his ears.
—An error?
This thought only appeared in Komi's mind for a split second, because the ball was already in his field of vision, hitting the top edge of the net right above Suna's head with perfect precision.
The ball cleared the net, dropping down almost flush against it.
Washio rushed forward to dig the ball just as it dropped.
Although he fell to the ground while lunging in the heat of the moment, fortunately, he managed to save the ball.
"Akaashi!!" Komi called out to the setter in a panic.
Akaashi also quickly moved up, preparing to set the ball.
Washio no longer had any offensive options; the only one left in the front row was Bokuto-senpai.
There was no other way; he could only trust that the Ace would bring the score back.
The ball flew toward the net at Position 4, Suna Osamu and Aran, who had been waiting for it, jumped almost in sync, the three of them formed a block in front of Bokuto.
For Bokuto at this moment, this was an insurmountable wall.
Left with no other choice, he could only opt for a dump.
As the one who had personally orchestrated the entire problem, Suna had long anticipated this sole direct solution.
The moment after Bokuto's light tap, Miya Osamu and Suna each extended a hand to strike the ball from above.
The ball was touched by the two of them, after another sound of impact, it fell to the ground.
Akaashi and Washio, who had just scrambled up, lunged from both sides, while Mokoba and Komi followed from behind.
With everyone's support, the ball, which had been inches from the ground, flew up again and fell back toward Inarizaki's side.
Akagi shouted, "Opportunity Ball!"
Miya Atsumu stepped forward and, without a moment's hesitation, sent a pass to Hinata, who was preparing for a Second Attack.
The opposing team's block was in terrible shape, with only Bokuto able to keep up, the back row defense was completely non-existent; the only thing Bokuto could do was limit the ball's path.