Listen, Imai is cheering for you!
Unabara Uta's ears twitched as she looked up toward the direction where Imai was.
Actually, he hadn't known that Imai had come as well. After all, this match wasn't an official competition supported by the school, nor was it held in Amagasaki; he had only mentioned it to Imai in passing.
So when he suddenly heard the other person's voice just now, he was truly startled, his mind and eyes completely focused on how he could perform even better.
But in the end, all reality brought him was nothing but endless frustration.
Ah.. it's just too embarrassing.
Imai was still vigorously waving her cheering sticks in the stands: "Go, Unabara—"
She actually didn't understand volleyball very well; she didn't understand any of the offensive tactics at all.
But she knew one thing—Unabara Uta had received several extremely difficult balls, the entire crowd was cheering for him.
Seeing Unabara Uta begin to waver, Kumagai added fuel to the fire: "This is one of the top-tier Opposite Aces in the country! If he can receive even one heavy spike, people will be talking about it until next year!"
With such a great opportunity right in front of you, you aren't going to give up, are you! Hanae in the stands is waiting to see you fail!
Uta was easily swayed by Kumagai: "Ohhh—you have a point!"
Alright! The next goal is to properly receive one of Oliver's serves!
Kumagai, who had already walked to the sidelines, nodded in satisfaction. Seeing Unabara Uta regain his confidence, he returned to his position and sat down.
To deal with these somewhat single-minded teammates of his, provocation really was the most effective method.
Hanae stated that he wasn't mocking Unabara Uta.
His mind and eyes were entirely focused on Oliver right now; he had no time to laugh at Unabara Uta's expense, besides, he wasn't familiar with her at all.
Moreover, he is from Tottori, so he and Unabara Uta never met during the Interhigh Junior High, not even having spoken a single word to each other.
Hanae's face was contorted with frustration as he still thought about the autographs: "Dammit! Inunari-san is so cool! But there's not enough time for me to wait in three different lines!"
That damn Inarizaki; he knew that after this match ended, the people from Inarizaki would definitely go looking for the Black Jackals to ask for autographs.
After all, they had played a match, so the Black Jackals wouldn't refuse to give Coach Kurosu and the others any face; after all, Coach Sansou had been watching Miya Atsumu the whole time, clearly eyeing him.
The Black Jackals would certainly not refuse such an opportunity for close contact.
Miya Atsumu crossed his arms over his chest and gave Unabara Uta a cold glance. "Give me something I can actually set."
Unabara, who had been in the midst of an internal struggle, instantly cooled down, looking seriously at Minka Shugo, who was preparing to serve on the other side of the net.
Got it, Atsumu-senpai. No problem, Atsumu-senpai.
In the waiting area, Kumagai raised his hand and covered his face.
Well, he had to admit that Atsumu-senpai's gaze was indeed more terrifying at times like this, more effective.
Hinata blinked and clenched his fists, saying to Unabara Uta, "Unabara, get a good receive!"
You're our guardian deity!
Having experienced Miya Atsumu's death stare, Hinata's smiling face was like that of an angel at this moment, making even Unabara Uta feel a bit more relaxed.
He patted his chest with his hand: "Don't worry, leave it to me!"
Having watched the whole thing, Rishia Heisuke was at a loss for words.
After this series of exchanges, he felt like Unabara Uta was being pampered like a baby with a mix of sticks and carrots.
I wonder if one day he'll still be helping them count their money even after they've sold him out..
In the end, under Hinata's urging gaze, he became an accomplice: "Go for it, Unabara! You can do it!"
Unabara Uta began to lose his mind: "Don't worry! I can receive any ball! Even Earth!"
Minka Shugo felt like he was about to lose it; that feeling of wanting to laugh while needing to maintain his professional image was making him quite uncomfortable.
To make matters worse, he was surrounded by foreigners, no one could understand what he was feeling inside at that moment.
In the waiting area, Inunari was clutching his stomach and laughing loudly: "This Inarizaki Libero is really interesting!"
Yeah, Inarizaki's Little Giant and the setters are all very interesting too; they seem like a group of people who would be happy no matter the time.
Minka Shugo's second serve did not go out of bounds again, this time Unabara Uta still chose a more conservative diving back receive.
And even now, Miya Atsumu still didn't realize that his good teammate had just handed a point to the opposition.
What a great first receive!
The diligent setter continued his movement and setting process, performing another high-difficulty set.
Hinata pursed his lips uncomfortably.
He remembered that the main reason for this frequent movement by the setter during plays was unstable first receives, back then, he had already sworn to make Atsumu-senpai a comfortable setter.
However.. this situation became even more serious after Akagi-senpai graduated; there was no improvement at all.
This won't do.
Whether it is him or Unabara Heisuke, they need to put more effort into the first receive, so that Atsumu-senpai can play more easily.
If Atsumu-senpai could use the energy he currently spends on adjusting his positioning and setting posture on tactical adjustments or targeting the block, he would undoubtedly become even more terrifying.
Although Atsumu-senpai said he should cheer for every good play, he also needs to engage in sufficient self-reflection.
He decided, would start intensifying his training on the First Receive as soon as he returned.
He will definitely become a solid support for the Setter; even if it doesn't happen this year, he must provide Kumagai with sufficiently comfortable attacking conditions next year.
—This is something that must be accomplished.
Shoyo!
The call echoed in Hinata's ears for the countless time, but before that, he had already completed everything he needed to do, jumping up at the emptiest part of the block.
Thomas had also been staring at Hinata's movements; standing at a full two meters tall, he closed the distance to Hinata in just two or three steps and jumped along with him.
He had been observing from off the court, Hinata's behavioral logic was actually quite easy to judge.
—Hinata will jump toward the spot where he judges it easiest to score.
But there was only one correct answer on the court, because of that, for the more experienced ones, it was no different from an open-book exam.
Miya Atsumu curled his lips into a satisfied smirk and raised his hand, setting the ball toward his front.
This time, he did not choose to give the ball to Hinata again.
The decoy had become the person bathed in the spotlight on the court; now, it was time for him to use this intense public attention to achieve his true objective.
A soft thud.
While Thomas was jumping with Hinata to attempt a block against the fast-paced Quick Attack, the ball in Miya Atsumu's hands had already been sent to Rishia Heisuke on the other side.
In this situation, where the horizontal distance across the net was stretched to its absolute maximum, even a two-meter professional player would have no chance to defend, so this point.. he won.
Rishia Heisuke, having secured the ball, used all his strength to spike it straight down, slamming it directly toward Minka Shugo in his line of sight.
He knew that although a professional Middle Blocker's receiving skills wouldn't be as terrible as a high schooler's, he was still one of the weaker players on the team.
He still had a bit of confidence in his own strength, Hinata had already opened up enough paths for him.
So..
Face them head-on! Smash right through the opponent's defense!
Win a point back for the team with the most powerful stance! Just like Aran-senpai once did!
BANG!!
A heavy sound rang in everyone's ears as the volleyball came crashing down like a cannonball, hitting Minka Shugo's arm directly without any deceleration from a block touch.
The ball bounced immediately after, falling out of control toward the sidelines.
Leonard rushed over to try and save the ball, but in the end, he couldn't reach it.
The volleyball rolled onto the ground, hitting the fence with a dull thud. At the same time, the whistle blew, signaling that Inarizaki scores.
Hinata rushed over immediately, grabbing Rishia Heisuke, the two of them spinning around together: "Heisuke!! That was so cool!!"
That ball looked incredibly difficult to receive!
And to score a point in a head-to-head matchup against V1 All-Stars.. it's so exciting!
Rishia Heisuke's face was also written with excitement: "Shoyo, your interference is incredible! The opposing block didn't react at all!"
The feeling of spiking over the net was truly refreshing, but unfortunately, Aran-senpai went to the Tachibana Red Falcons for a trial over the last few days.
I really want Aran-senpai to see his progress too!
With Miya Osamu having not performed any heavy spikes and Ginjima Yui having not attempted any strong attacks after rotating to the front row, this was the strongest attack Inarizaki had executed from the opening until now; both the ball speed and the timing were excellent.
Coach Kurosu was quite satisfied with this: "He's starting to show Aran's style."
However, he had only caught a glimpse of that style; in many respects, Rishia Heisuke was still far from it and needed to work hard on training his physical conditioning.
Especially when it comes to physical fitness, he is far behind Aran.
Playing a position that requires both offensive and defensive capabilities places a terrifying strain on one's physical stamina; you absolutely cannot let your guard down in this regard.
Fortunately, Rishia Heisuke has a great foundation, this year's training has already yielded excellent results.
By the time he graduates from high school, he will surely be a talent capable of steadily entering the V1 League.
Coach Sansou nodded repeatedly once again.
From what he has seen so far, the players on the Inarizaki court possess extremely high quality; aside from the Libero, who is clearly still a bit green, the potential of the others is immeasurable.
Whether it was the Miya Twins or Hinata, Rishia Heisuke, Suna, they were all even better than the players in their own youth training camps.
Coach Sansou showed a satisfied smile, like a mature farmer seeing fertile land: "I feel like we will continue to see them active in the future."
The assistant coach nodded. "Indeed, they are all very talented kids."
Hinata walked to the back, chest out and head held high, clutching the volleyball as he prepared to take his approach run, waiting for the referee's whistle to signal the serve.
Coach Sansou cast a curious gaze, while Oliver's eyes were also full of anticipation.
A player who runs fast, jumps high, has a respectable spike speed must also have a very impressive serve.
But Minka Shugo, who had already stepped off the court, simply smiled, Inunari's posture on the court was also very relaxed.
The whistle sounded in everyone's ears, Hinata twirled the ball in his hands.