With the match having progressed to this point, there was little suspense left regarding the final result.
Given the gap in their actual strength, they had no way to close the five-point deficit while the match was already more than halfway through.
Although they didn't want to admit it, but.. their trip to the Nationals ended here.
"Nice play! Koganezawa!" Niokuchi shouted from the court as the ball was set.
After quickly following up, Koganezawa raised his hands and sent the ball toward Position 4 at the net. This was his most familiar position; whenever he didn't know how to play, he would send the ball to Niokuchi or Aone, who would have moved there.
He no longer had the luxury of worrying about such trivialities; winning this point right now was what mattered most!
Please!!
A beautiful straight set; with the setter's height being over 1.9m, the trajectory of the set can be compressed to its shortest possible length.
Even Koganezawa, who was still very inexperienced at playing volleyball, could utilize this advantage to execute a coordination that was nearly a quick attack.
Hinata moved at a constant speed alongside Suna toward Position 4 of Date Tech, jumping a step ahead to ensure he could reach his maximum height at the same time as Suna.
Inarizaki is itself full of masters of the quick attack, he had already experienced the Twins' quick attack during their usual practice matches, so he knew exactly how to calibrate his timing for blocking and receiving..
And he was even more familiar with this kind of ball—one that wasn't technically a quick attack, but appeared to be one due to the setter's height advantage.
A year ago, he had already experienced a similar system, one that was even more mature than Date Tech's.
So.. it's no problem.
Watching the height at which Hinata jumped, Suna subtly delayed his own jump timing just a little bit.
The moment Hinata was about to reach his peak, Suna, having slightly lowered his center of gravity, suddenly leaped up and blocked directly in front of Niokuchi.
Niokuchi's pupils instantly contracted, his heart sank.
Damn it..
That bastard Middle Blocker with the center part and those two horns—has he never jumped to his maximum blocking height before this?!
But Koganezawa's set on this ball was poor to begin with, so he had no chance to make any further adjustments.
Niokuchi gritted his teeth, his gaze fixed intensely on Hinata on the opposite side.
Since I only have the option of a pure, violent spike, I'll just pick the one with the lowest skill level.
Hinata's expression remained unchanged, but he suddenly twisted toward the marker the moment Niokuchi spiked the ball.
At the same time, Suna moved in sync with him, his arms precisely blocking the path of Niokuchi's spike.
Bang!
A crisp, heavy sound rang out, in the next second, the ball was slammed back into Date Tech's court by Suna.
Beside him, Aone quickly reached out to try and dig it up, but he failed to touch the ball, which had plummeted almost vertically toward the ground under the suppression of the block.
The whistle blew, Inarizaki scores.
Cheers erupted wave after wave from the stands behind Inarizaki: "Great play! Rintaro!"
Hoshiumi, standing by the sidelines, kept an unchanged expression, but instead, he gave a small smile: "It really is as I thought."
Hirugami also nodded along, "Indeed, it really is like that."
Inarizaki's blocking height hasn't changed much compared to the previous Haruko, but that is also one of the inaccuracies.
Several people, including Suna, have grown in height; when it comes to blocking arm span alone, it's impossible to equate them to before.
The only explanation they could think of was.. because Aran and the others had graduated, the overall average height of Inarizaki had dropped again, Suna had proactively made adjustments to balance the blocking height of the others.
In fact, Suna could indeed jump higher when blocking solo.
Hoshiumi curled his lip. "As expected of the tallest person in Inarizaki's starting lineup, even if he's not even 1.9m."
As he spoke, his gaze shifted toward the Inarizaki substitution area: "That exceptionally tall guy in the Inarizaki substitutes, where did he come from?"
By eye, that guy was about the same height as Suna, even setting aside the effect of his hairstyle, he might be just a little bit taller than Suna?
Hirugami recalled, "I think he appeared in a few matches during the Regional Qualifiers. He's a Middle Blocker. But I don't have much of an impression of him; his level should be average."
Hoshiumi raised an eyebrow: "Is that so?"
He only watched the Hyogo Finals, so he hadn't really paid much attention to the previous matches.
But since Inarizaki used those rookies with almost no available data in their earlier matches, it would be worth taking a look.
Hirugami nodded. "If that height could be developed, Inarizaki's weakness in blocking could be further addressed."
Currently, Inarizaki's starter, Ginjima Yui, is only just over 1.8m tall, which is completely insufficient for a Middle Blocker.
Although he has plenty of experience, his observation and execution are both very good, his physical disadvantage in height is something that cannot be easily overcome.
Hoshiumi shrugged, his tone devoid of much emotion: "If he wasn't sent on, it's because his skill is limited; whether he gets to play is another matter entirely."
At least for this IH, they were not an opponent within their range of consideration.
He looked up at Hirugami, a confident smile on his face. "With Inarizaki's current blocking.. I'm eighty percent sure I can get past it."
Hirugami asked, "Then what about the remaining twenty percent?"
Hoshiumi withdrew the smile from his face and said with an incredibly sour expression, "The setter gave a terrible ball."
Hearing this answer, Hirugami couldn't help but burst out laughing: "Hahaha, then there's really nothing that can be done about that."
Meanwhile, Koganezawa was currently struggling with bad balls on the court.
But Niokuchi, who was responsible for spiking, said nothing; he simply jumped again and again, doing his absolute best to spike the ball.
As the Captain and the theoretical Ace Wing Spiker, no matter what kind of set the Setter provided, he should accept it all and respond with his maximum effort.
Rishia Heisuke shouted, "Touch!"
Unabara Uta quickly followed up from the back row, setting the ball to Miya Atsumu.
Having received a good ball, Miya Atsumu once again showed Date Tech what an unstoppable, strong attack looked like.
He coordinated both wings simultaneously, ultimately setting up Ginjima to execute a strong attack with a high ball into the center.
Sakunami Kosuke dove to save the ball, barely managing to make contact.
The Scorekeeper, sitting by the sidelines, let out a soft, "Hmm.."
Compared to Inarizaki's sufficiently stable blocking touches and Libero receiving, the receiving configuration of Date Tech's back row could be described as a complete mess.
The first receive was flying all over the place, the set given to the setter was also a complete mess, leaving the spikers with absolutely no proper conditions for an attack.
Generally speaking, it should be them, Date Tech, who rely on blocking to exhaust the opponent's offense, causing them to lose their rhythm.
Instead, they are now the ones unable to break through Inarizaki's defense..
The Scorekeeper rubbed his chin: "A gap in experience and fundamentals.."
Glancing at the court, the Scorekeeper looked back at the two coaches over at Inarizaki who were discussing something, a sudden thought occurred to him.
He knew he was still inexperienced in terms of coaching, so.. perhaps he could seek some advice from more seasoned coaches?
Although Date Tech was once a powerhouse on a national level, it had declined significantly over the past few years. Contact with many previously familiar teams had diminished, some had even fallen into decline just like Date Tech.
Making it to the Nationals this time, they unexpectedly became close with several teams from the group stage.
Among all the teams they have faced so far, Inarizaki is undoubtedly the strongest.
Moreover, their strength is powerful without any weaknesses; from serves and receiving to blocking and offense, there is no area where Inarizaki is at a clear disadvantage.
Plus, Coach Kurosu himself is quite young for a high school coach, so he should be.. much easier to talk to than the Old man Washijo.
He had become acquainted with Karasuno's Coach Ukai through playing matches and communicating after games, so.. could he find a way to build a rapport with Inarizaki as well?
After all, Aobajohsai, Karasuno, Shiratorizawa, the others all seem to be very close to Inarizaki, which just goes to show how approachable Coach Kurosu is!
The Scorekeeper drifted further and further down the wrong path, secretly confirming his own thoughts.
Setting aside the tactical battle between coaches for a moment, he must charge forward bravely!
Sakunami Kosuke quietly picked himself up and returned to his defensive position.
It's fine; as long as the match hasn't ended, there's always a chance to win, even if hope is slim..
A silver-gray shadow suddenly leaped on the other side of the net, coordinating with Miya Atsumu's quick attack to secure a point for Inarizaki.
The score jumped to 18:24, match point for Inarizaki.
"Great job, Osamu-senpai!" Hinata cheered.
Miya Osamu turned his head to high-five Hinata, then turned his head to look at Miya Atsumu.
Miya Atsumu turned his head in thought for two seconds, but ultimately raised his hand to high-five him. "Nice play."
Setting aside all personal matters, Miya Osamu's spike on that ball was indeed quite good.
Aone, on the other side of the net, stared intently at the group from Inarizaki, his clothes already soaked with sweat, he didn't even raise a hand to wipe the perspiration from his chin.
Hinata's movements are very difficult to predict, unlike any opponent he has played against before.
And that setter was the same; he also couldn't tell what kind of offense the opponent was planning to orchestrate.
Combined, they made him feel, for the first time, what it was like to have "nowhere to start."
Noticing Aone's gaze, Hinata raised his head slightly to look at him.
Miya Atsumu raised his hand to pat Hinata's shoulder, then turned his head to look back without yielding: "One last point."
How unfortunate, the struggle of the weak has finally reached its final act.
Hinata looked at Aone, blinking silently.
Compared to the ferocity he showed when they first met, Aone's face also carried that familiar trace of "unwillingness."
He had played so many matches, this was the most intense emotion he had ever seen.
Thinking this, Hinata silently took a step toward the net.
He looked up at Aone and spoke very seriously, "Aone-senpai, your block is incredible. I didn't get to play to my heart's content this time, so we'll see each other again at Haruko."
Aone-senpai also looked down at him, giving no response at all.
Niokuchi walked over quickly, grabbed Aone-senpai's shoulder, glared fiercely at Hinata: "What are you talking about? The match isn't over yet, so don't act like a winner."
"Not having played to his heart's content.." This Little One was finding all sorts of ways to call them trash!
He knew it—even the ones in Inarizaki who looked innocent weren't anything good!