Across the net, Harukawa clapped his hands, soothing the team's emotions: "Stay steady, stay steady! Break this rally!"
Having to deal with Miya Atsumu's Service Turn has been quite difficult for them; if the First Receive isn't up to standard, it will directly impact the subsequent offense.
But you absolutely cannot panic at a time like this. Miya Atsumu's Serve is indeed formidable, but it only holds the advantage of forcing the opponent into a single First Receive during the service turn.
The opponent's spike is met with a block and defense, this is precisely the stronghold he controls.
Stay calm, analyze the opponent's condition carefully, make precise judgments, then.. cut off the opponent's offense.
The whistle blew again, the referee signaled for Miya Atsumu to continue his Serve.
Uehara Tsuyoshi, having more or less adjusted, stared intently at Miya Atsumu's movement, his center of gravity shifted upward, ready to receive the ball at any moment.
Hinata, who was at the net providing cover for the serve, glanced at him and frowned slightly.
Assuming the opponent would hit a Jump Float Serve.. he would definitely be caught.
Just as Hinata had suspected, the sound of Miya Atsumu's serve was much louder than before, the frequency of his approach was also noticeably faster.
In the distance measured out by four steps, Miya Atsumu compressed his approach into just two steps by changing the way he took his first step.
Although the height after takeoff was far lower than with a three-step approach, for a Power Serve, ensuring the ball's speed was enough at a time like this.
This was the final adjustment result he discussed with Miya Osamu when Hinata and Unabara Uta went to Tokyo.
Coach Kurosu went over to the Baseball Club to use professional equipment to test him, in this situation, the speed of the Serve was around 110 kilometers per hour, so it wasn't affected too much.
The biggest problem was merely that his initial jump height was insufficient, making it easy for him to hit the net.
But now, nearly a month later, this type of error caused by lack of proficiency.. has been completely crossed off his list of mistakes.
Even with Miya Atsumu's jump being incomplete, even a serve from someone with Hinata's height would have had some effect through cover.
Uehara, whose brain was already feeling somewhat numb and dazed, widened his eyes. Before he could even finish a single breath after hearing the whistle, the ball had already smashed toward him.
He instinctively raised his hand by pure instinct, blocking in front of himself to prevent the ball from hitting him directly in the face.
BANG!!
After the heavy impact, the ball flew out of the court at an angle, traveling at an extremely high speed.
Miyazaki, being the closest, sprinted out again to save the ball, barely managing to keep it alive with a diving save.
Uehara's expression twisted for a moment, but he still quickly retreated to carry out the subsequent counterattack.
This ball will fly near the net on their side; Haruka Arai can spike it.
It was his mistake; he shouldn't have judged Miya Atsumu's serve as a Jump Float Serve so hastily, causing him to position his center of gravity and receiving position too high.
For those Dual Wield, or even Triple Wield, servers from Inarizaki, that kind of mindset was his greatest mistake.
Aoba Haruka estimated the ball's position with his gaze, quickly moved forward from his original backward approach position, leaped with a heavy thud, raised his hand to spike the ball with all his strength.
Suna and Miya Osamu rushed over at the same time, blocking the path directly in front of him.
Hinata, who didn't follow up with the block, quickly retreated, preparing to defend the front-court ball.
The ball itself was poorly positioned, the ball saved by the diving move had no spin at all; even if one wanted to adjust it into a technical shot, they would likely only be able to intercept it using a backhand.
If it were him, even with the block positioned directly in front..
He would use a Short Diagonal to create an opportunity.
The moment he made his judgment, Hinata decisively took a step forward, slightly bending his knees as he moved toward the predicted point.
The moment he saw Aoba Haruka's spike movement in his field of vision, Hinata, having made the correct judgment, decisively reached out and held a standard receiving posture, getting under the ball.
"Nice play!" Miya Atsumu praised loudly.
After receiving the ball, Hinata turned decisively and stepped back to gain distance for his approach: "Give the ball to me!"
Miya Atsumu quickly gave him a look, at the same time, he jumped, preparing to touch the ball.
Harukawa keenly caught that look and stepped forward to follow Hinata's side.
But just as he took that step, Miya Atsumu suddenly leaned backward in his field of vision, using the ball to pop it out.
Miya Osamu jumped less than a meter away from him, their nearly identical physiques serving as the perfect cover at this very moment.
—Back Quick.
Harukawa forced himself to turn back, diving diagonally toward Miya Osamu's side.
Aoba Haruka, who had also rushed up from the other side, raised his hands, the two of them blocked the ball together.
But it was already too late; Miya Osamu, who had jumped first, had already spiked the ball.
With absolute power combined with the chance to spike over the net, the ball smashed into Rakusan's court like an unstoppable force.
The whistle blew again, Inarizaki took their third point of the set.
Harukawa looked at Miya Atsumu, who had just landed, with eyes full of disbelief, feeling a sudden chill run down his spine.
Why.. every single step felt like it was slipping out of their control, instead, it was all part of Miya Atsumu's calculation?
—From the Serve to the subsequent offense.
It's simply..
A monster that manipulates hearts, typically.
Shimizu spoke softly, thoughtfully placing two iced drinks with straws inserted on the table.
Sitting in front of the computer, Shiratori applauded Miya Atsumu: "Flawless."
Beside him, Bokuto was in a complete slump. Just like Rakusan, Fukurodani had lost two points right at the opening, being heavily suppressed by Karasuno.
As much as Shiratori was happy for Miya Atsumu, Bokuto was just as worried for Akaashi and the others.
“Hang in there, Nagito! As the Ace, you have to step up bravely!”
Believe in Akaashi! There's definitely a way!
Bokuto held his head in his hands, watching the match with total immersion.
If it weren't for the fact that this year's IH venue is just too remote, he and Shiratori would definitely, definitely be there to watch it in person.
That way, he could cheer for his juniors in person, instead of being stuck helplessly watching through a screen like he was now.
Shimizu raised her hand and patted Bokuto's head: "Don't worry, the kids will find their way."
Mm, a bit prickly.
"A beautiful serve suppression." Komori clapped.
This applause was not just for Miya Atsumu, but also for Karasuno's Server.
Rakusan's offensive level is indeed strong, but through his serves, Miya Atsumu forcibly prevented the opponents from managing a single decent attack through the third rally of the opening.
The same applies to Fukurodani; they cannot mount any decent offense and will instead be heavily suppressed by Karasuno's already formidable Block.
This is the importance of having the first move for a team with a powerful Serve, it is also the area where Itachiyama currently falls short the most.
However, Rakusan is already so far behind at the opening; I estimate they won't let Inarizaki maintain their momentum, there's a ninety percent chance they'll call a time-out..
Thinking of this, Komori began to daydream: "I wonder if I can win the toss tomorrow, so we don't have to face the current Inarizaki first; it feels too difficult to play against them when they have the first serve."
The Captain in charge of the coin toss, Inamura, rubbed his chin. "It should be possible."
Last year, Iizuna-senpai drew the first serve from Inarizaki, but this time, it seems Miya Atsumu's luck isn't very good.
Sakusa also turned his head, looking at him along with Komori and Koldorf, they all gave him a collective thumbs-up.
——Good luck.
Inamura regretted saying those two words.
He smiled, a forced smile on his face, said, "I'll try my best."
At the same time, a buzzer sounded on the court.
Just as Komori suspected, Rakusan called a time-out.
Chapter 325: The Three Hundred and Twenty-Fifth Fox
Glancing at the group as they walked back, Natsume lowered his eyes and thought for a brief moment.
To be honest, he didn't have much to say, nor was there anything that needed to be said.
He called this time-out during the opening solely to disrupt Miya Atsumu's intense momentum and rhythm, while also providing his players a chance to catch their breath.
The schedule during the previous group stage was quite tight, so the Rakusan players' mental states remained under constant tension; even the two days of rest didn't serve much of a purpose in easing it.
Fortunately, the morning matches went quite smoothly. Everyone's mindset was still in good shape, Uehara Tsuyoshi was not broken by Miya Atsumu's presence.
Coach Natsume crossed his arms over his chest and said in a steady voice, "Everyone, stay calm. Don't let the opponent lead you into a mental trap."
Uehara Tsuyoshi, who had just made a serious mistake, spoke up proactively in response, "Understood."
He will be more cautious and won't make any more predictions that would allow the opponent to notice.
Coach Natsume then looked at the Ace: "Be more decisive when you attack, Haruka. Even if you need to think, don't let it drag on for too long. Suna and the others have very fast reactions; they can even follow up on a back quick."
Inarizaki's blocking height is quite insufficient; just use tooling the block.
Aoba Haruka nodded. "Okay."
Aoba Kureha lowered her eyes slightly toward Aoba Haruka, her tone incredibly sarcastic: "You'd better work hard, don't wait until I rotate to the front row to win back the score."
Aoba Haruka didn't give him a single glance, instead unable to help but let out a sneer: "You?"
“As long as you don't blow your block and get beaten so badly by that Little Giant that you're left picking your teeth off the floor.”
Aoba Haruka glanced at Hinata on the opposite side and said directly, "Him?"
He knew that Hinata could jump very high, had great stamina, even his technical plays were quite good, but..
Thinking of this, Aoba Haruka paused for a moment.
Wait, something seems wrong.
Thinking about it carefully, number 10 really does seem.. quite difficult to deal with.
Aoba Haruka, who was feeling somewhat nervous due to the unfavorable opening, suddenly felt a growing headache as she finally realized what that sense of dissonance from the very beginning had been.