Honda, feeling extremely frustrated, called out for the ball: "Aman! Give me the ball!!"
He just failed to seize the opportunity on that last play; there will be no problem with the next one!
After using a Second Attack feint to shake Hinata, Usui immediately sent the ball to Masato Kishimoto at Position 2.
Honda, who possessed immense fighting spirit, was a perfect decoy in himself; at this moment, choosing a tactic to open up the middle for the Middle Blocker would have been the best option.
Hinata's block failed to keep up entirely, he and Suna, who scrambled to follow, could only temporarily limit the opponent's cross-court spike.
Fortunately, Rishia Heisuke from the back row followed up in a timely manner, stepping forward smoothly to receive the ball.
“Atsumu-senpai!”
Calling out Miya Atsumu's name, Rishia Heisuke had a very relaxed and happy smile on his face.
Within the team, he has gradually adapted to the rhythm of Hinata and Miya Atsumu's Quick Attack; now, a standard parallel set at this pace is no longer a difficult task at all.
See, he is already able to officially become a part of Inarizaki's defensive system.
And in the even more distant future, he will do even better!
“Nice receive!” Miya Atsumu praised.
Miya Osamu and Suna performed a rapid cross in front of Miya Atsumu; Suna pulled wide from the center to the sideline, while Miya Osamu launched an attack from the center, simultaneously covering Rishia Heisuke, who moved up from the back row to add an extra layer of offense.
With his vision blocked by Miya Osamu and Suna, with a spiker from the back row moving up as if preparing to attack, Masato Kishimoto's expression became quite unsightly, unable to see Miya Atsumu's movements clearly.
Who is it? Who will be the one to spike this ball?
In the next instant, the ball, which Miya Atsumu had intentionally sped up, arrived right in front of Hinata.
Because he needed to ensure the overall deceptive nature of Hinata's attack this time, this was not a Quick Attack, but rather a standard attack with a rhythm almost identical to the others.
Watching the volleyball fly, Usui Mitsuru, who was positioned directly opposite Inarizaki's Position 4, leaped up immediately, while Masato Kishimoto also hurried over to prepare for the block.
Wakamura rested his chin on his hand, mirroring Oikawa Tooru's movement almost exactly: "The blocking still needs work."
This reaction speed, let alone compared to the previous generation's Shirabu and Ushijima duo, was still quite a bit slower than the Matou and Tosaka they had before.
Kiryu explained, "Our current Middle Blocker is only a Second Year, so there's still room for growth; in the future, he won't be much worse than the previous generation's duo."
After the change in leadership, their starting lineup was left with only the Setter, Libero, Ace; all four remaining positions responsible for support and coordination were completely replaced.
Moreover, they are all Second Years and First Years, so it's normal that their proficiency and coordination haven't reached previous levels yet, but next year is a different story.
Masato Kishimoto and Usui successfully blocked in front of Hinata, but Usui himself wasn't quite tall enough to be closer to Hinata, so Hinata, leaping with full force, easily cleared his hands.
Suzune Akai and Tomomichi Chita, who were both approaching from the back row, watched Hinata's figure, their faces filled with shock.
They truly hadn't had the chance to see that Quick Attack clearly before, but now it seems..
That number 10's takeoff form was a little too easy, wasn't it!
It is obvious that a spike capable of surpassing Usui's hands is not the limit of number 10's jumping ability.
This also meant that every time they attempted a Block in the future, they would have to jump with all their might, otherwise they would have to be prepared to adjust for the Touch.
Hinata's spike had a clear purpose, hitting the ball almost as a line shot.
If Suzune Akai were to save this ball, it would mean she would inevitably obstruct Tomomichi Chita's subsequent approach, thereby disrupting the entire flow of Shirabu's offense.
During the previous Haruko, Fukurodani used variations of this method to target him.
However, he wasn't particularly picky about his spiking position; even with a ball close to the net, he had the confidence to spike it.
If it were Kiryu-senpai, he wouldn't think this kind of ball could trap the opponent, but at this moment, the Spiker in the back row is the first-year newcomer, Tomomichi Chita.
A few days ago, Atsumu-senpai went to his house to watch some old footage with him. While the Interhigh Junior High coverage wasn't that high, Tomomichi Chita was from the National Junior Team, so international match footage could still be found.
This person's fundamentals are decent, but he is indeed not as adaptable to the ball as another spiker from the same year, Saru Nagi, he relies heavily on his teammates when being targeted.
So.. this style of play will be quite effective against him.
Tomomichi Chita naturally noticed Hinata's predatory gaze, but he looked back without even a hint of hesitation.
He certainly knew what Hinata was trying to do, because he had experienced this kind of thing many times throughout his volleyball career.
Indeed, he admitted that his adaptability to various types of balls wasn't strong enough.
However.. In this match, Inarizaki had been wrong about one thing from the very beginning—Suzune Akai wasn't there specifically to help him with his receives.
After all, it's not like he doesn't have hands; most of the time, he can handle receiving the ball himself. The purpose of choosing to let Suzune Akai take the court was simply to perfect the entire defensive system.
Incidentally, he would assist with setting when Usui-senpai was unable to set, because.. Shirabu's Ace was never someone who needed protection, not even for a First Year like him.
Whether it was recruiting him or having Suzune Akai transition from Libero to Wing Spiker, everything was done for the sake of achieving a better offense.
After all..
Offense is the best defense.
In a situation where a teammate's hit could potentially disrupt the subsequent attack, it would be better for him to resolve the potential trouble himself.
It was just a self-receive and a self-attack; since it wasn't a Quick Attack, he could handle it himself.
The ball flew into his field of vision, the solid sensation of the contact on his arms remained; the center of gravity, which had just been pushed backward by the ball, was forcibly corrected by him in the very next second.
The ball fell toward the front row near the net, which might not be a comfortable position for a Setter.
But..
"Give me the ball!" Tomomichi Chita rushed forward from his original position, calling for the ball while lowering his center of gravity, preparing to jump and launch an attack.
That was the best receive he could provide, he believed it was the optimal solution within their capabilities given the situation.
Because of this, his teammates might just give him the same kind of response.
Send the ball over, let him spike it!
Usui Mitsuru frowned, gritting his teeth as he jumped and reached for the ball.
The conditions of this ball could only be described as quite terrible for him, but he could manage to pass it with some effort.
The moment of contact required using the strength of the fingers to forcibly change the ball's direction, making it move away from the net while avoiding a net touch as much as possible..
Oikawa Tooru frowned in the stands; this set was a bit too close to the net, making it easy for a back row Spiker to miss it when rushing in.
If he were the one setting this ball, he would have handled it with much more finesse.
Kiryu Ya, who was beside him, suddenly spoke up: "Aman has improved a lot.."
And almost at the same time, a loud thud echoed from the court—the sound of a ball being hit, one they were all very familiar with.
Oikawa Tooru, who was just about to glance over toward Kiryu, suddenly froze.
Wait, it landed?
The ball grazed past Hinata, who had rushed over to block, flew past him almost parallel to the sideline, eventually slamming down right on the line.
Rishia Heisuke, who had lunged forward, missed the ball and was left feeling completely dazed.
The ball seemed to have gone out of bounds, but it also seemed to have touched the line just a little bit.
The referee by the sidelines looked down to check, after thinking seriously for a moment, raised his flag to signal that the ball was in.
He was certain he hadn't misseen it; the ball had clipped the line. According to the rules, even if it only touched the line slightly, it should have been ruled in.
Tomomichi Chita landed on the ground, glanced at the spike that had almost gone out of bounds, couldn't help but let out a small click of his tongue.
He turned to look at Usui Mitsuru behind him and spoke expressionlessly.
Vice-Captain, could you please set some good spikes for me?
Usui Mitsuru, feeling somewhat guilty, instantly stood at attention and stammered to this junior who was two years younger than him, "I'll do my best."
Damn it! That pass he just made was clearly quite good!
Tomomichi Chita frowned and clicked his tongue again.
Across the net, Miya Atsumu had already started laughing: "Hahahaha—Usui, you're having a hard time too!"
Being criticized by his own Spiker for having terrible ball distribution—Usui, who had been completely spoiled by Kiryu, probably hadn't experienced anything like that before.
Anyway, he hadn't really heard much of that himself; at most, Miya Osamu and Hinata would occasionally make requests of him, which was simply an affirmation of his professional abilities.
Usui Mitsuru turned his head away from where the juniors couldn't see, exchanging a friendly glance with Miya Atsumu with a smile on his face.
Coach Kusubashi sighed by the sidelines.
Although the team's Ace, Honda, hasn't made any special demands regarding Usui's setting, this freshman has a personality completely different from Kiryu and the others.
Not only does he hold himself to high standards, but he also holds his teammates to very high standards; there have even been some minor conflicts within the team during training because of this.
But in reality, overall, he was pushing the team in a better direction.
After all, Kiryu had indeed spoiled his teammates a bit before; for someone like Usui Mitsuru, it was actually possible to get him to step up if pushed a little.
Especially after watching the match between Akaashi and Bokuto during Haruko, Usui himself had actually felt a spark of fighting spirit. Under Tomomichi Chita's constant urging, he had also begun to gradually explore what a "normal Setter" should be doing.
Usui Mitsuru glanced down at his shoes, then stole a quick look at the second-floor stands, but ultimately pulled his gaze away.
Kiryu-senpai is no longer at Shirabu, so no one will continue to indulge his mistakes and whims; he must step out from the protective cocoon that Kiryu-senpai once created for him.
He is now a Third Year at Inarizaki, a senpai!
Kiryu said softly, "It's fine, I believe in them."
They have all come through that period, the Shirabu of the past will also become the future of these juniors.
So.. it's fine.
Miya Atsumu asked Hinata beside him, "How did it feel?"
Hinata pulled his gaze away from Tomomichi Chita. "It's amazing. Much more amazing than I expected, he's improved a lot compared to the footage I've seen."
It wasn't just his previous serve; his receive and spike had also become much more powerful.
The transition from receive to attack was completed quite beautifully; even the shift in center of gravity caused by his spike at the beginning was recovered, he perfectly completed the subsequent spike.
Given time.. he will definitely become an all-around Wing Spiker.
But in other words, if the power or spin of his previous spike had been just a little stronger, he could have caused the opponent to lose their balance and fall during the initial receive, or forced a change in their positioning.
And the subsequent, already imperfect set from the setter would lead to an attack error, making it impossible to pull off a shot like that just now.
My muscle training is still insufficient.." Hinata muttered, "If only I could be like Ushijima-senpai..
Miya Atsumu, who was just about to leave, stumbled, hurriedly reached out to snap Hinata out of his wandering thoughts.