He lowered his voice and said, "Stop, stop, stop! Shoyo, don't go thinking about such terrifying things!"
People like us will never become big gorillas like Ushijima-senpai or Oikawa-senpai!
Oikawa Tooru, sitting in the stands, let out a sneeze: "Who's cursing me?"
He was dressed quite warmly today, he hadn't gone out covered in sweat after his matches a few days ago, so it couldn't be a cold. Therefore, it could only be that someone was secretly talking about him behind his back.
Who is it? Iwaizumi?
Hinata nodded and said with a hint of regret, "It's true, it seems like Oikawa-senpai and Ushijima-senpai both have very large frames."
Muscle can be increased, but you can't increase your frame.
Facing Miya Osamu's look of disdain, Miya Atsumu raised a hand to stop the words he was about to say: "I know what you want to say, but don't say it."
“I reject the muscle-type aesthetic, including myself and you.”
Compared to Oikawa-senpai and the others, people like us aren't exactly muscle gorillas.
Oikawa Tooru, in the stands, sneezed again. Unable to bear it, he tightened the jacket he was wearing: "Damn it, I'm not actually catching a cold, am I.."
That absolutely won't do; they still have a match to play!
Author's Note:
Aman: The episode I miss most is the one with Kiryu-senpai [crying]
Chapter 274: The Two Hundred and Seventy-Fourth Fox
After Miya Osamu, the service right passed to Usui.
Usui Mitsuru's serve also maintained that same heart-stopping style as always; not only had he evolved his jump serves, but he also very cunningly targeted the path of the back row setter moving forward.
But for someone who had been tormented by all sorts of disgusting serves at his own home, Unabara Uta had developed a strong heart and was not knocked down by this ball at all.
Watching the ball land steadily near the Attack Line, Coach Kurosu couldn't help but nod. "It seems the special training is paying off. When we get back, I'll have Suna and Atsumu-senpai continue practicing first receives with him."
Having adjusted his approach position, Hinata shouted, "Give me the ball!"
Seeing that Hinata was about to coordinate with Miya Atsumu for an off-beat Quick Attack, Shirabu's middle blocker in the front row, Aito Oya, quickly moved in to block.
But right at that moment, the ball in Miya Atsumu's hands was sent to Rishia Heisuke, who was jumping at Position 4 on the other side to perform a Strong Attack.
Rishia Heisuke held his breath and used all of his strength to spike the ball into the opponent's court.
Honda, who had rushed over in the nick of time, worked hard to touch the ball: "One touch!"
"Nice touch!" Suzune Akai jumped, raising her hands to set this high ball.
Having secured the ball, Usui immediately passed it to Honda Subaru, choosing to place his full trust in his team's Ace.
Anyway, the conditions for this ball weren't very good; giving it to Chita would easily lead to more nagging from the other side.
Honda decisively chose to go for a full-power line shot.
Inarizaki's front row is currently Hinata and Suna and Rishia Heisuke; with insufficient blocking height, a strong attack could force a breakthrough.
After the heavy impact, the ball slammed into Inarizaki's court at an extremely high speed.
Although Rishia Heisuke attempted to touch the ball, only his fingertips made contact with the volleyball, failing completely to reduce its power.
Unabara Uta dove and performed a diving save to keep the ball up: "Atsumu-senpai!"
"Nice save!" Miya Atsumu praised, before rushing forward to jump and send a back set back into the court.
The ball flew toward Position 2 near the center, Hinata had already jumped to chase after it.
With his own attacking conditions being poor, the block from Shirabu on the opposing side followed almost immediately.
Three pairs of arms blocked in front of Hinata, occupying his field of vision.
Aito Oya stared at Hinata, his gaze burning, a strange smile curling at the corners of his mouth.
Come on, hit a line shot.
This was the only path in his field of vision, the only possibility for scoring.
Hinata's expression was calm, still maintaining his arm extension, as his gaze calmly swept across the opposing court.
The block shut down the gap in his short diagonal, while on the other side, Honda-senpai leaned her body slightly, clearly preparing to defend his short diagonal.
In the second half, the Libero, Nishinoya-senpai, had already moved forward imperceptibly to defend against a dump.
Relatively speaking, a line shot was the best choice; first, it wouldn't be blocked by the block, second, there were no receivers in his field of vision right now..
But right at that moment, Hinata saw Nishi Haruma stepping out to the side in a lunge through the gap in the block.
No, the more obvious the path, the more likely it is to be a decoy or a trap; he couldn't just fall for it like that.
There are never just options A, B, C on the volleyball court, just like the techniques used against Kageyama Tobio during the training camp at Shiratorizawa.
Because the optimal solution is often too monotonous and obvious, it can frequently be the worst choice.
That is precisely why he needs to find another way to solve the problem within such a situation.
And this was also the third point of his own insights.
—Playing volleyball requires using your brain.
The moment the fingers in his field of vision made contact with the volleyball, the heavy impact sound Honda had anticipated did not occur; instead, there was an almost inaudible sound of contact.
The red and green ball rose in his field of vision, then was lightly brushed over the net.
A feint!
The ball, carrying backspin, suddenly flew over his head, dropping toward the empty space behind him.
The near-vertical descent angle and the velocity carried by the backspin spike made it much faster than a conventional dump, by the time Shirabu dove from the back row, it was already too late.
With a light thud, the ball had already slammed into the floor.
Nagumo, in the stands, couldn't help but clap his hands. "A beautiful tactic."
Wakamura clicked his tongue. "He really learned how to do it, that spin."
This was the specialty of their Ace, Kanzaki, he had consulted the Women's Volleyball team many times to learn it.
But then again, considering the caliber of the coaching staff at Inarizaki, there was nothing they couldn't find someone to teach them if they wanted to learn it.
Moreover, this kind of technique is frequently used in international matches; by watching recordings, studying them thoroughly, practicing more, one could definitely master it.
For a player like Hinata, who lacks inherent advantages in height and strength.. these technical plays are the best way to break through.
Nice play, Shoyo.
Atsumu-senpai, your decoy was great too!
Miya Atsumu walked up to Hinata, the two of them high-fived in celebration.
Hinata, having returned to the front of the net, hopped in place twice, unable to help but let out a couple of smug little huffs.
He trusted his jumping ability, but jumping to a height that could compete with opponents who were 1.8m or 1.9m required excellent approach and takeoff conditions, so he wasn't able to reach that incredible height every single time.
Moreover, jumping to one's limit too frequently puts immense pressure on the knees. During last year's National Sports Festival when playing against Itachiyama, his knees were overused, he felt significant discomfort on both sides toward the end of the match.
So since then, he has been very careful about his jumping frequency in every match, trying to keep it within a range that his body can handle.
To avoid this excessive strain on his body, the best option would be to undergo further training on his technical skills, just like Hoshiumi-senpai.
And to execute those exquisite feints, tooling the block, timing differences, one must learn to think independently.
In the time since Haruko ended, he actually hadn't learned anything new; instead, he had been thinking about what kind of plays to make in certain situations by constantly studying tactics and watching match footage.
Fukami stared with wide eyes by the sidelines: "That's incredible."
If it were him, he likely would have thought he had found an opening to go for a Line shot just now, he definitely, definitely would have been blocked by the opponent.
Moreover, the opposing team's back row had been constantly guarding against the dump, so even if he had reacted in time to change to a dump, it would have inevitably been received.
What was that miraculous tip just now?
—I'll have to ask Shoyo-senpai for some advice later.
Coach Kurosu couldn't help but nod, a look of extreme satisfaction on his face. "Shoyo isn't actually stupid; he just hasn't learned that much yet."
In their current lineup, they don't have a spiker like Aran who can violently smash through a block, so they must shift their overall style toward something more refined.
It seems this idea is actually quite good; once they gain proficiency, they won't lose too much offensive power compared to before.
Coach Omimi laughed along, "The extra lessons Atsumu-senpai has been giving Shoyo lately have been very effective; these last few plays were quite beautiful."
Coach Kurosu's expression stiffened imperceptibly for a moment, then he waved a hand at Omimi and said, "Yeah, Atsumu's technical skills are certainly worth acknowledging."
It's just..
Coach Kurosu raised his hand to cover his face, preventing himself from watching the two people embracing on the court.
I can't bear to watch.
Inarizaki's opening advantage remained steady, they also took the first set just as brilliantly.
However, Honda's condition gradually improved, combined with Tomomichi's strong attack, it left Unabara Uta struggling to keep up.
The frequent receiving errors were giving Miya Atsumu a massive headache.
Wakamura condemned Miya Atsumu's repeated glaring at the Libero: "Tyranny, this is tyranny! How can you bully your own Libero like that?"
Oikawa Tooru expressed his deep agreement: "Exactly, exactly! Not only does he bully his own Libero, but he loves bullying the opponents too."
Nagumo rested his chin on one hand, turning his head toward the two setters who were badmouthing Miya Atsumu in solidarity, said, "The qualifiers for the Interhigh are only a month away; you two aren't going to leak our secrets, are you?"
Although they didn't have any secrets to leak, their overall lineup and playstyle remained basically the same as before; they had just become more refined and skilled.
Asking that was simply to liven up the atmosphere and change the subject.
—Miya Atsumu was, after all, his junior, a biological one at that.
Wakamura waved his hand, his face full of disdain. "Don't worry, don't worry, I'll still follow the basic rules. At most, I'll just mention to them who your regulars are."
Even if he doesn't say anything, people can just see it on the player roster later, so it doesn't matter at all.
Volleyball strictly prohibits the use of footage from non-official matches as preparation material, of course, footage from private practice matches must not be leaked.
Even if they obtained permission from both sides of the match to enter, it would still be forbidden.