Unabara Uta, having finally received a compliment from Miya Atsumu, froze for a moment, nearly bursting into tears on the spot: "I'll work even harder! You can count on me for things like saving the ball!"
Coach Kurosu crossed his arms over his chest and nodded inwardly, "Finally looking a bit like a Captain."
After motivating everyone, Miya Atsumu picked up the ball and walked toward the service position once again.
The current score difference is still too small; if we want to stabilize the situation and start playing conservatively.. we'll need at least six points.
Date Tech's offensive strength is mediocre to begin with; before this match ends, even if they tried their hardest, they wouldn't be able to score six consecutive points.
A whistle blew, Date Tech signaled for a time-out.
Niokuchi put his hands on his hips and couldn't help but say, "I feel like we're being underestimated."
Author's Note:
Niokuchi: Please spare some brainpower for our wall.
Chapter 316: The 316th Fox
Miya Atsumu, who was just about to serve, gave a light click of his tongue and returned to the vicinity of the Coach's bench.
Date Tech's time-out was called at a very opportune moment, which served to somewhat disrupt his rhythm.
But it didn't matter; it wouldn't have much of an impact.
Atsumu turned his head to look at Unabara Uta, Rishia Heisuke, the others: "The opponents might adapt to our tactical rhythm very quickly. If the blocking intensity is too high, Koganezawa should swap defensive positions with Heisuke and the others."
Although he scolded Unabara Uta the most on a daily basis, when it came to defensive intensity, Unabara Uta was still the best in Inarizaki, so it was best to leave difficult tasks like counterattacks to him.
Unabara Uta nodded. "Understood."
Hinata patted his chest, offering reassurance to everyone: "I won't be blocked."
Ginjima laughed loudly. "That's incredibly reassuring."
That being said, given Hinata's height, it would certainly be difficult for him if he truly had to face the opponent's three-person block frequently.
Therefore, breaking through the opponent's block is itself one of their important tasks.
His touch feels quite good right now; I'll try a heavy spike later.
A Middle Blocker smashing through a block.. that would be pretty terrifying.
The Scorekeeper on the other side of the net clapped his hands to soothe the group, whose atmosphere was quite heavy: "Relax, it's already quite good to be able to receive that kind of serve. We aren't looking for stability; just give them high balls."
Sakunami's receives have been quite good, we haven't lost many points. Keep playing with that same feeling for the rest of the game.
Sakunami Kosuke pursed his lips and gave a low hum of agreement.
Being able to receive the previous one was luck, just now, he had taken advantage of the fact that Miya Atsumu would target the Libero.
This was already an indirect reduction in difficulty caused by Miya Atsumu's own confidence, letting things slide. If Miya Atsumu had intentionally played some extremely tricky points.. he definitely wouldn't have been able to handle them.
Moreover, although Miya Atsumu likes to target the Libero, he is not arrogant.
Once he realized that he had somewhat adapted, he would inevitably choose other serves to score points.
His pressure will likely only increase later..
The time-out ended, Miya Atsumu returned to his serving position.
Just as Sakunami had expected, Miya Atsumu did not choose to spike it at him this time, but instead sent a power serve with a bit of side spin toward Nokanawa.
Sakunami and Nokanawa were defending both ends of the court, a distance he could not cover.
However, Nokanawa's reaction was also very fast; she also gave up on stability in her reception and chose to handle it with a diving save.
After the heavy impact, the ball bounced high into the air, landing outside the court.
Koganezawa!!
The called-upon tall setter decisively moved forward, relying on his height and arm extension to forcefully intercept the ball after jumping, a ball that would have been difficult for most people to handle.
He raised his hand to set the ball to Aone in the front row; although the set was quite rough, Aone didn't mind.
In the face of absolute power, Hinata decisively gave up on a direct confrontation while attempting to block, choosing instead to take an active touch on the ball once again.
Touch!
Even so, the fingers that touched the ball still felt a stinging pain.
Great touch!
Unabara Uta shouted, stepping back while raising his hands to set the ball.
After receiving the ball, Miya Atsumu quickly passed it to Suna, who was being covered by Hinata and Miya Osamu.
Niokuchi urgently adjusted his blocking position, forming a double block with Aone to stand in front of Suna.
Suna's expression remained unchanged as he turned at the moment of his spike, forcefully driving a cross-court shot down.
However, although his signature technique was difficult to deal with, it was still easy to predict under the heavy restrictions of the block.
Sakunami Kosuke stepped forward, raising his shoulders and extending his arms to get under the ball for a platform pass.
Nice receive!
A cheer immediately erupted from the Date Tech side.
The receive was very stable, landing almost directly above the Attack Line.
And with such a good reception, the setter could play even better.
Niokuchi, who had been feeling somewhat stifled throughout the entire set, called out for the ball: "Give me the ball!"
Finally finding a good offensive opportunity, he was going to spike through that bunch of bastards on the opposing side!
Koganezawa stepped forward quickly and jumped under the ball, then raised his hand.. to spike the ball down violently.
Suna and Miya Osamu, who had actually guessed that Koganezawa would go for a direct spike, were still a bit too slow to jump; the speed of Koganezawa's spike was beyond the range of their judgment.
The ball flew over the Inarizaki block before it had even fully jumped, striking Unabara's arm.
But the penetration of a spike, combined with the immense power of the hitter, made it even more difficult to control, ultimately, Unabara Uta failed to receive the ball steadily, causing it to fly into the spectator stands.
"Nice!!" Koganezawa cheered, pumping his fist.
Niokuchi remained silent for two seconds before finally turning his head to praise his junior, "Nice play!"
Aone didn't say anything either, he just raised his hand toward Koganezawa.
The two of them high-fived with quite a loud bang, startling Hinata, who was still at the net.
Hinata silently took a step back.
His hand, which had just been used for a block, was still aching, if he high-fived someone like this.. his hand would swell up like a pig's trotter!
Miya Atsumu clicked his tongue lightly, clapped his hands, said, "Don't worry about it, don't worry about it. Next ball."
The opposing setter's logic of movement was truly difficult to fathom through conventional thinking; it was a bit.. overly eerie.
Unabara Uta received Aone's serve steadily, Miya Atsumu called for a Double Quick.
Under Hinata's cover, Miya Osamu smashed through Fukiage's single block to successfully score a point.
Miya Osamu serves.
"I've got it!" Sakunami Kosuke stepped in to receive the ball.
Miya Osamu's spike was heavy and had a lot of spin, aimed right at the corner of the court.
Sakunami Kosuke's reception was not smooth; the ball flew straight back toward Inarizaki.
"Opportunity Ball!" Unabara Uta shouted, while simultaneously glancing at Miya Atsumu's movement.
Miya Atsumu clapped his hands, signaling Unabara Uta to receive the ball.
Having received the instruction, Unabara Uta quickly retreated, jumped, raised his hand to make a touch.
During the period when he was practicing beach volleyball, his overhead reception improved by more than just a little, his stability increased significantly.
Watching Miya Atsumu's position, Unabara Uta gave a high ball just slightly in front of the three-meter line.
Miya Atsumu took a large step forward and jumped vigorously from behind the line.
Watching his movement, Niokuchi hurriedly shouted, "Over here!"
The jump from behind the three-meter line, the sufficient jumping height, combined with Miya Atsumu's vengeful personality..
There is an eighty percent chance this is a retaliatory Second Attack.
The moment Date Tech's block converged toward the center, Miya Atsumu suddenly raised both hands and turned in mid-air.
After the momentary touch, the ball was delivered precisely in front of Rishia Heisuke, who was jumping at Position 4.
Rishia held his breath and poured all his strength into the spike, slamming the ball down heavily.
Sakunami Kosuke dove forward, barely managing to save the ball.
The Scorekeeper on the sidelines shouted, "Cover!"
Koganezawa didn't have the ability to handle an overhead set in this situation, so he could only choose to use a bump to send the ball to the front of the net.
Niokuchi jumped in pursuit, as Inarizaki's three-person Block came rushing toward him.
He extended his arms in mid-air, preparing to spike.
But the moment before his arm made contact with the ball, he suddenly pulled back his strength and sent the ball flying softly instead.
—A feinted dump!
Rishia's pupils contracted sharply; despite still being in a falling state, he hurriedly turned around and reached out to grab the ball.
Fortunately, because his movement was decisive enough, he managed to touch the ball before it left his reach.
But it was only a touch; in fact, it could be said that he only managed to graze it slightly, achieving nothing more than barely lifting the ball's height.
Rishia's expression was slightly distorted due to the exertion of his movement, but his mind remained very calm.
It's fine.
This level is already enough.
Because.. he isn't the only one on the court.