After adjusting his state, he tossed the ball into the air at the very last second of the service time limit.
Coach Sansou nodded. "A perfect toss."
It was high and steady, the positioning was incredibly precise—the exact same comfortable position Hinata had used for his approach and jump during his previous attack.
With such a perfect set and a perfect approach, the subsequent spike wouldn't have many problems and would inevitably be performed at the expected level.
With a moderate thud, Hinata spiked the ball, sending it landing right by Inunari's left foot.
Hinata frowned, the moment the ball hit the ground, he couldn't help but let out a light click of his tongue.
Unabara Uta glanced sideways at the scene and was startled; for a split second, he thought he had seen Atsumu-senpai!
Hinata quickly retreated to his position to prepare for the receive, while on the other side, Miya Osamu stepped forward, ready at any moment to defend against a sharp cross. The back row defense was perfectly arranged, the front row, led by Ginjima, had formed a three-person spread, ready to execute a three-person block at any moment.
Watching Oda prepare to set the ball, Hinata took a deep breath.
He had actually just tried to increase the speed of his serve. It turned out he could do it, but it caused the ball's trajectory to go slightly out of control; for now, he still had no way to balance serve speed and accuracy at the same time.
The ball flew uncontrollably toward the Libero after leaving his hands, the increased speed itself was of little consequence, as it was met directly by the opposing Libero's receive.
Under Oliver's full-power spike, Hinata was nearly sent flying, collapsing to his knees along with Unabara Uta beside him.
A failed life..
Rishia couldn't help but complain, "That's enough, I'm clearly the biggest failure, okay?"
He was said to have been knocked back by the ball when he received it, but he didn't even touch the ball!
Looking at the energetic high schoolers, Coach Sansou couldn't help but laugh. "Quite ordinary. Number 10's serve is quite different from what I expected."
The service right naturally passed to Oliver, this super Ace once again demonstrated to the inexperienced high schoolers what ultimate serving looks like.
With his power serves, Oliver scored four consecutive points, it wasn't until the fifth point that Unabara Uta managed to get a back receive on it.
Hinata, who had been suppressed for a long time, also worked very hard, cooperating with Ginjima to score a point, but the Black Jackals held a complete upper hand.
Watching the situation on the court, Coach Kurosu stroked his chin by the sidelines.
To be honest, his initial feeling was that this match was merely a practice match for the Black Jackals, but now it felt more like they were "oppressing" them.
They were trying to squeeze out every bit of potential from their players, pushing the Inarizaki kids to their absolute limits and squeezing away their living space.
Coach Sansou's gaze was once again so blatantly scrutinizing.
But they were not afraid of such looks; after all, for his children, this was an obstacle they would face sooner or later.
The sooner they gain the appreciation and recognition of these people, the more beneficial it will be for their future lives.
Coach Kurosu chuckled as he pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose, his face filled with an unmistakable sense of satisfaction.
Of course, he was extremely satisfied with his players' performance.
He tilted his head slightly and looked toward Coach Sansou, who was sizing up Miya Atsumu.
Then what about you?
—A V1 League coach, representing everything a volleyball player strives for.
Noticing Coach Kurosu's gaze, Coach Sansou returned a smile.
Without a doubt, he also recognized the performance of these Inarizaki kids; for high schoolers, such ability was already enough to be called "the elite of the elite."
The whistle blew, Minka Shugo's Quick Attack secured the final point of the set for the Black Jackals.
The score jumped to MSBY 25:15 Inarizaki at this moment.
"Whoa, look at that score gap." Kanzaki raised a hand to cover his eyes, seemingly unable to look.
But in the next second, he burst into laughter. "So lame, we lost 25:20 this morning."
They scored five more points than Inarizaki! They won!
Hanae's expression was solemn: "It's already quite impressive."
With an age gap of nearly ten years between the two sides, it was already incredible that they could produce such a score difference.
And yet, Municipal Kobe was only playing Kyoto University, whereas Kyoto University was eliminated early in last year's Black Eagle Flag and couldn't be compared to the Black Jackals, who reached the Semifinals.
Not to mention that in the recent University Championship, Kyoto lost to Waseda and was eliminated in the quarterfinals, not even getting the chance to participate in this year's Black Eagle Flag.
Taking a deep breath, Hanae let his heart, which had been in suspense because of this match, finally settle.
After calming down again, Hanae silently summarized the current state of Inarizaki.
Unlike the lineup that achieved two-time champions at the National Sports Festival and Haruko, Inarizaki's current lineup actually has more flaws by comparison.
The gap in strength between the two sides in this match was so vast that he couldn't discern much from the first receive.
But when it came to blocking, he was definitely a lot worse than before.
Although Oori Ren is generally considered a man of few words, doesn't often pull off extreme plays or spectacular moments during a match, his role as the other half of Inarizaki's blocking core is beyond doubt.
His height, experience, coordination with his teammates, tactical execution were all top-notch, together with the equally solid Akagi, he perfected Inarizaki's entire defensive system.
In the match just now, Inarizaki's defense could be described as a total mess, with countless instances of defensive misalignment.
Without sufficiently good defense, it was naturally impossible to organize subsequent attacks.
Even if they could play thanks to Miya Atsumu's terrifyingly forgiving First Receive, they still lost many opportunities.
Thinking of this, Hanae glanced sideways at Kanzaki, who was still grinning foolishly beside him.
Although this guy isn't the smartest, he is a top-tier powerhouse in terms of strength. If it's a block at Inarizaki's current level, Kanzaki can try to face it head-on.
As long as they can break through Inarizaki's defense head-on, they can launch a counterattack.
After all.. when it comes to defense, he believed he would definitely do better than Unabara Uta.
Kanzaki, who had been openly cheering for the Black Jackals while simultaneously taking a jab at Inarizaki, sensed a powerful gaze directed at him. When he turned his head to look, his face was filled with confusion.
What's wrong? Did I get rice stuck on my face during lunch?
As he spoke, Kanzaki wiped his face, seemingly checking to see if there was actually a grain of rice on it.
Hanae fell silent for two seconds, looking at their Ace with extreme seriousness: "During the IH Preliminaries, please invite Wakamura-senpai and the others back; I want to invite them to witness our victory."
Although he knew that it would be difficult to contend with Inarizaki in their current state of major roster changes, he.. he would find a way to win a set.
He will be the one to overcome the regrets of his seniors, for that, he will give it everything he has.
Hearing this, Kanzaki also turned serious: "Alright."
After agreeing with Hanae's idea, he changed his tone: "However.."
Just as Hanae was preparing to listen to whatever serious statement this guy was about to make, Kanzaki suddenly spoke up with a serious expression.
Akari, is there really a grain of rice on my face?
Unable to bear it any longer, Hanae kicked his stool: "All you think about is eating!"
And just like that, Coach Kuchibira was actually planning to let this guy become next year's Captain! Is there any hope left for our Volleyball Club!
Damn it, why can't a Libero be the Captain!
Listening to the nonsensical conversation between the two behind him, Hirugami couldn't help but turn around several times.
Hoshiumi and Hakuma also turned around one after another, Hoshiumi couldn't help but frown.
Noticing the change in Hoshiumi's expression, Hirugami asked in a low voice, "Who? Do you know them?"
Hoshiumi whispered to Hirugami Fuku, "The best Libero in the prefecture who has attended the Junior National Team training camp; he's a first-year at Municipal Kobe, just like Inarizaki, he's from Hyogo."
Hirugami let out a gasp of admiration. "That's incredible."
He said that Hanae didn't look very old; being named the Best Libero in the prefecture during his first year was truly impressive.
Hoshiumi gave Hirugami a thumbs-up: "But Shoyo is still amazing; Shoyo won a national award, after all."
That's right, how could a mere prefectural award compare to a national-level player!
Hakuma was tirelessly arguing with Hoshiumi: "Isn't it actually harder to become the Best Libero?"
After all, Municipal Kobe was the loser in that match, so the award carries even more weight.
"If you don't speak, people will think you're a mute," Hoshiumi frowned and glared at him.
And I believe that one day Shoyo will win his own MVP and Best Spiker; that day is not far off.
After saying that, the usually good-tempered Hoshiumi added something uncharacteristic: "Unlike you, with me and Yukihito here, you won't win a single award."
Hakuma Mebuki fell silent.
He racked his brain, trying to find words to refute Hoshiumi, but in the end, he couldn't come up with a single thing to say.
Indeed, whether it was the Spiker or the Middle Blocker, his own team had even more formidable players, so it certainly wouldn't be his turn.
Hoshiumi finally said, "You should focus on perfecting your own skills before judging Shoyo. We both only started playing volleyball in high school, but Shoyo is much more mature than you are right now."
Even Hakuma was a year older than Hinata, yet he was completely overwhelmed by him in every aspect; one could say that, aside from his height, he was good for nothing.
Facing Hoshiumi, whose offensive power was so overwhelming, Hakuma felt a sense of existential doubt.
Did someone make Hoshiumi unhappy?
According to past records, shouldn't Hoshiumi have admitted that he was indeed amazing after he finished speaking?
Looking at Hakuma Mebuki's face, which had turned pitiful after the shock, Hirugami Fuku couldn't help but laugh.
He reached out and patted the shoulders of the two juniors. "Hikari-kun, you really do like Hinata, don't you?"
Hoshiumi puffed out his chest and held his head high: "Of course, he's my disciple!"
Hirugami Fuku rested his chin on his hand, looking at the court during the halftime break, said, "Hikari-kun's disciple's performance is quite dazzling, but compared to Hikari-kun, he still lacks a bit of maturity."
"Of course." Hoshiumi raised his chin even higher.
He was now very close with Hirugami's family, so naturally, he had the right to be willful; he didn't need to maintain a sense of humility in front of his older brother and sister.
After saying that, he added another sentence: "But I believe Shoyo will catch up, I am looking forward to it more than anything and am willing to wait for it."
You understand what I mean, right, Fuku-san?
Hirugami Fuku let out a smile: "Of course."
He naturally understood that feeling of waiting for a seedling to bloom and bear fruit; it was indeed something that made one feel happy.
Hoshiumi's movements suddenly paused for a moment, then he raised his hand to stroke his chin.