Rishia raised his shoulder and reached out, his hands quickly coming together in front of him to precisely catch the ball.
Bang!
After the loud impact, the ball bounced out of bounds toward Position 4 of Inarizaki.
Fortunately, Rishia Heisuke controlled the angle of his receiving well enough, sending the ball high into the air, making it saveable.
Without any hesitation, Hinata turned and rushed toward the ball, running even faster to get in front of it, before turning back to jump and reach out to touch the ball.
The moment Miya Atsumu looked up, he locked eyes with Hinata, then immediately shot a quick glance toward Miya Osamu beside him.
Having received the signal, Miya Osamu immediately retreated, creating enough distance from the net for a running start.
Harukawa, the current Middle Blocker for Rakusan, cast his gaze upon Miya Osamu.
At the same time, Hinata, who had rushed out, had already sent a set toward himself, directed toward the far side of the net.
The destination of this ball was obvious; Harukawa couldn't possibly fail to tell.
He chased after the ball without hesitation, along with Aoba Haruka and Iori Miwa, preparing to execute a Block.
Hinata's set for this ball had a very high contact point and a relatively flat trajectory, but it would undoubtedly deliver the ball to a comfortable attacking spot near Position 4.
The moment Miya Osamu stepped forward and lowered his center of gravity to prepare for his jump, the three players from Rakusan timed it perfectly and jumped along with him.
When blocking a spiker like Hinata Shoyo, they need to follow up after the opponent jumps.
But Miya Osamu was about the same height as them, so to reach the high point at the same time, he had to jump simultaneously with the opponents, or even a little bit faster.
The Iron Wall formed by six arms blocked the high point firmly, before them.. there was no one at all.
Actually, when he jumped, Harukawa had already noticed that Miya Osamu hadn't jumped.
But even with a single-person time difference, given the conditions of Hinata's set, Miya Osamu had no chance to create a significant gap in timing, so he could still maintain a normal blocking rhythm and keep the opponent's movements within the defensive range.
But..
Why, even though the ball was almost flying past, did Miya Osamu still not jump?
Just as their block began to descend, a flash of yellow appeared in their field of vision.
Miya Atsumu, who had timed his jump perfectly behind the Three-meter Line, leaped over from a position closer to the sideline.
Compared to a normal approach jump, Miya Atsumu clearly put a portion of his momentum into moving "forward," allowing him to jump from three meters away from the net to intercept the ball's trajectory.
Although it wasn't high enough, it was more than sufficient, given that Miya Osamu had already bypassed the block.
Miya Atsumu spiked Hinata's set with full force, slamming it over the block and directly into the area of the Rakusan court near the sideline.
His spike had so much power that even though the Libero Uehara Tsuyoshi was nearby, he couldn't keep up with it.
After the loud impact, the ball bounced high and landed out of bounds.
The whistle blew, the referee signaled it was in-bounds, Inarizaki scored.
After landing, Miya Atsumu turned his head and raised his hand toward Hinata, who was also running toward him.
The two of them high-fived heavily, producing a crisp sound.
Hinata looked at Miya Atsumu with eyes full of admiration: "Atsumu-ge, you're so cool!"
Miya Atsumu also spoke without any hesitation: "The two of us together are invincible!"
Miya Osamu, who played an important role in that, frowned slightly, feeling as though his sincere words had been fed to the dogs.
In the stands, Inamura rubbed his chin and looked at Hinata, who was high-fiving Miya Atsumu and cheering on the court, saying, "That was amazing, that turning movement was incredibly sharp."
Coach Himegomiya looked quite proud. "Of course, look who taught her."
"Ahem." Coach Himegomiya cleared her throat twice, signaling her to stop there.
Based on the current situation, they and Inarizaki are complete enemies.
By being so blatant about supporting the enemy hand-in-hand, isn't she afraid her students will go back and secretly get rid of the potted plants in her office?
Anyway, he was afraid. He was afraid that Inamura and Koldorf, those two little rascals, would conspire to take all the snacks from his drawer and then report him to his wife.
Watching the two coaches lock eyes, Inamura in the back row couldn't help but smile.
He continued watching the match on the court, trying his best to analyze the flaws and weaknesses in Inarizaki that could be exploited by them at this stage.
The highlight of that last play was actually Hinata's recovery move to save the set, he had already seen the Miya Twins' switching many times; this time, it was simply an extreme maneuver performed around the three-meter line.
When chasing the ball, many volleyball beginners make the mistake of simply stepping backward as soon as they see the ball flying behind them, but in reality, this makes them move even slower because they lack sufficient vision while retreating, their running speed is also affected.
Turning to face the ball while chasing it, then turning again only after you've overtaken it, is the fastest way.
This applies not only to setters but also to all forms of receiving.
However, if that last ball had been handled by a highly skilled setter, they would most likely have chosen a back set.
Inamura said, "So.. Hinata still can't run and receive a back set."
Komori speculated, "But his playing style as an Opposite is still more towards being a Stronger Opposite; back sets themselves have a narrow range of application."
Moreover, with Miya Atsumu and Miya Osamu on the court, Hinata doesn't necessarily have to fill in as a setter, unless it's an emergency like that just now.
Inamura also agreed with Komori's words: "True.. but even so, who knows when that information might become useful?"
The large point gap that had existed since the opening showed no sign of narrowing; instead, it was further widened by Inarizaki's frequent consecutive scoring.
The score for the First Set ended at Inarizaki 25:18 Rakusan, with Inarizaki taking the first set.
While both coaches were filling out the rotation charts for the Second Set and the players were taking a brief rest, Aoba Haruka from the Rakusan side frequently glanced over toward Inarizaki.
Under Rishia's cover, only Hinata's head was visible in his field of vision.
He saw Miya Atsumu reach out his hand, using his index finger's knuckle to wipe away the first bead of sweat from Hinata's chin.
Lifting her eyes to think for a moment, Aoba Kureha turned her head to look at her brother: "Haruka, did the Miya family parents get divorced? Or was it a blended family?"
This question came so suddenly that Aoba Haruka, who was still focused on thinking about the First Set, was a bit dazed.
He looked up, scanning his younger brother—whose intelligence seemed to have been severely impacted by their father's genetics—with a look of utter disbelief. "Huh? What are you talking about?"
Aoba Kureha struck a thoughtful pose, yet offered the most absurd speculation: "Exactly. That number 10 keeps calling Miya Atsumu 'big brother,' and the two of them seem very close, while he actually seems less close to his own twin."
Could it be that their parents divorced and one of them remarried, making Miya Atsumu and Hinata Shoyo a family now?
Aoba Haruka paused, after a calm analysis, suddenly felt that Aoba Kureha made sense: "Now that you mention it.. it's true.."
There was indeed an indescribable sense of chemistry and intimacy between Miya Atsumu and Hinata Shoyo.
They certainly do look.. like family.
Miya Osamu put down his towel and suddenly let out a sneeze.
Miya Atsumu, who was still immersed in explaining setter techniques to Hinata Shoyo, was startled. He turned his head, just as he was about to say something, he also let out a sneeze.
Watching the two of them, Hinata had been worriedly wanting to ask something, but then he felt his own nose itch and let out a sneeze as well.
The three of them looked at each other in silence, Rishia Heisuke quietly shuffled toward Ginjima, moving away from the three people who seemed to have caught a collective cold.
Coach Omimi's voice followed immediately: "Sorry, sorry, I sprayed the pain relief spray in the wrong direction."
Unabara Uta, who had been sprayed with painkiller again, moved his hand to check his condition: "It's completely fine now."
Coach Omimi also felt relieved, turning to walk over to Hinata's side to check his hand.
Unabara Uta had to receive quite a few heavy spikes during this match, especially against Miyazaki Sho's side spin serves; the friction caused by them brushing against his arms was terrifying.
His arm was very red; although it had become much tougher through years of training, to the point where capillaries wouldn't burst and cause blood spots, it was still somewhat swollen.
Hinata's block was what was particularly scary, as it could easily cause finger or wrist injuries.
However, Hinata was wearing a full arm sleeve, the compression design for his wrist could also help stabilize the condition of his bones and ligaments.
In short, after a full round of inspections, everyone was found to be in good condition.
And just then, a whistle sounded from far away, signaling the end of Karasuno's First Set.
The large screen above the side stands of the Inarizaki No. 2 Gymnasium froze on the score of Karasuno 25:20 Fukurodani, marking Karasuno's victory in the First Set.
Miya Atsumu said mercilessly, "That's pretty slow."
Even though Fukurodani has undergone a massive roster change, they still possess the heavy-hitting Saru and the highly intelligent and experienced setter Akaashi, so their overall strength isn't too poor; compared horizontally, they aren't much different from Rakusan.
Fukurodani may have started their season a bit later, but it was only by a little bit.
And the speed at which Inarizaki won the match was even faster, proving that Inarizaki is stronger.
Miya Osamu, who had completely read Miya Atsumu's thoughts, spoiled his mood: "The only reason they play slowly is because Karasuno's playstyle isn't as aggressive as ours, but I'll admit we are stronger."
Hinata was still going crazy: "Damn it, I really want to see Hikari-kun's match up close—"
Rishia Heisuke, completely unable to keep up with the rhythm of several people, asked blankly, "What?"
Looking at Karasuno and Fukurodani as they switched sides, Komori's expression turned serious: "That Karasuno.. is a true Iron Wall, with no openings at all."
Inamura also nodded in agreement: "That setter, what was his name.. Kongming, he's quite clever."
Although his setting technique is average, his ability to control the tempo of the game is no less than that of the first or second year Miya Atsumu.
Coach Himegomiya also added, "The Finals might be a difficult fight.."
Chapter 330: The 330th Fox
After a brief break, both sides returned to the court.
Rakusan served first in the Second Set, but Rakusan's lineup remained unchanged, starting with Aoba Haruka at Position 4.
Rakusan's overall skill distribution is quite even; there isn't a particularly noticeable gap in strength between the two wing spikers and the two middle blockers.
Starting with the Ace at Position 4 and having the Setter utilize the three front-row attacking points in the first three rotations of the opening is much more comfortable.
On Inarizaki's side, Ginjima Yui was in Position 1 as usual, before Unabara Uta came on to substitute for him.
After all, they needed to ensure that Miya Atsumu was the first to serve, in order to counter-attack and turn the tables in a situation where the opponent had a serving advantage.
Coach Himegomiya said in the stands, "If it were me, I would choose to let Miyazaki serve."
Looking at Rakusan as a whole, Miyazaki's serve is the most troublesome for Inarizaki; in the previous set, Miyazaki's serves accounted for four points, making it the highest scoring rate.
In this situation, even if they abandoned the opening formation of starting with the Ace in Position 4, they had to ensure the serve could produce an effect immediately.