A soft sound rang in the ears as the ball bounced backward after making contact with those fingers, its speed being further reduced, as it already lacked any significant advantage in power.
Komori quickly moved up from the back row, leaping from behind the three-meter line to raise his hand for the touch.
While Inamoto raised his hand to reach forward, the ball was instead passed directly to Sakusa by Komori.
The ball had an incredibly fast tempo; Hinata hadn't even had time to recover for a block before Sakusa's spike had already swept past the inside of the antenna, spiking it over Ginjima's head at the absolute limit without touching the pole.
The ball slammed down near the backline of Inarizaki's back row; Miya Osamu, positioned to the side, didn't have time to save it. Itachiyama scores.
The cheering section on Itachiyama's side erupted instantly, for a moment, it even felt as though they were overpowering the Inarizaki supporters.
Even after Inarizaki used critical service turns for two consecutive rounds to suppress their first receive, Itachiyama still responded appropriately, delivering a performance that could only be described as a perfect score.
Moreover, the final point was won quite beautifully, without any hesitation at all.
Bessho Chigen felt his scalp go numb: "Both sides are playing so fiercely.."
Regardless of which team ends up in the Finals.. it won't be easy for him as a Middle Blocker.
Hoshiumi rubbed his chin and said uncertainly, "It seems like Itachiyama intends to increase the tempo."
Hirugami nodded, agreeing with Hoshiumi's thought: "Yeah, I can tell."
Generally, Inarizaki is the one to take the initiative to speed up the pace, but while Inarizaki was still playing steadily, Itachiyama's side grew bold.
Compared to before.. to some extent, the roles of both sides have been reversed.
After Hirugami confirmed his thoughts, Hoshiumi continued to speculate based on that, "Without Kita-senpai controlling the pace, Inarizaki will likely be led into a state of total disconnection."
Squinting his eyes for a moment, Hoshiumi continued, "But it seems like Inarizaki has no intention of slowing down the tempo either."
Hirugami shook his head. "There's no need; a fast pace is in Inarizaki's comfort zone, the Twins shouldn't be so easily caught up in the heat of the moment right now."
Hoshiumi glanced sideways at Hirugami, his eyes filled with deep disbelief.
—For real?
After a moment of silence, Hirugami added a few more words: "Probably."
Unabara Uta suddenly moved a step toward his right and reached up to block Sakusa's serve: "I'll take it!"
Sakusa's raw power isn't particularly strong, leaving him at a complete disadvantage compared to people like Miya Atsumu, the difficult part to control is the spin on his serve.
If you want to deliver a better set.. using your hands is the best choice.
Unabara Uta, who had already become proficient at using her wrists during beach volleyball, accurately caught the ball at its point of support. Her palm wrapped around the volleyball, using her fingers to control and adjust the direction of its spin.
Without the interference of sand friction, controlling the ball was much smoother.
With a loud bang, the ball flew high into the air, landing right on the front row's attack line.
Glancing slightly to check the ball's position, Hinata confirmed it was an excellent first receive, then stepped back from the front row while quickly making a hand signal with his back to Itachiyama.
Miya Atsumu glanced at him, as he jumped, he used his wrist at the highest point to flick the ball out in a set.
Hinata, charging forward at high speed, had already swapped positions with Rishia and Ginjima near the edge of the net, Ogihara quickly closed in from the other side of the net.
Hinata, who had been staring at his movements the entire time, took a step toward the net and then suddenly pushed off the ground, using the momentum from that step to launch his entire body in the opposite direction.
Inamoto, who was already on this side, was filled with shock, stunned by Hinata's ability to force such a sudden change in direction.
Ogihara grit his teeth, slammed on the brakes, twisted his body to jump along with Hinata.
Hinata was currently at Position 4, near Position 3, when his right hand precisely intercepted the volleyball the moment it flew past, he immediately spiked it down, following the ball that Miya Atsumu had given him with significant speed and spin.
The ball grazed Ogihara's pinky finger and slammed down, striking Sakusa's arm.
But the excessive ball speed meant that Sakusa, who had rushed over in a hurry, couldn't control it; the ball grazed Sakusa's arm and flew out of the court, traveling almost parallel to the ground.
The whistle blew, Inarizaki scores.
Hinata landed by bending his knees to absorb the impact, the moment he looked up, his gaze swept past Ogihara's hand.
Just now.. it was almost touched again.
Fortunately, his coordination with Miya Atsumu was seamless enough; the combined speed of the ball from front to back made it so fast that it was almost impossible to catch, otherwise..
After locking eyes with those unwilling eyes, Hinata's gaze fell upon Ogihara's uniform. Only at this moment did Hinata realize why he had felt a sense of familiarity toward the other person.
This sense of familiarity wasn't toward Ogihara himself, but toward his number, his uniform, and.. his position on the court.
Last year, when Iizuna Amatori and Agatsuma were still around, Itachiyama's Position 3 was a Middle Blocker.
When Agatsuma was dragged down by him to the point of exhaustion and injury, the substitute for Position 3 entered the game and played out the rest of the match.
To be honest, Hinata didn't have a very clear impression of that person, his facial features had already become blurred under the constant wash of memories from the passing crowds.
However.. he had a particularly deep memory of that uniform and those bandage-wrapped fingers.
He was an ordinary person in many respects, but his sense of timing for the touch was incredibly precise.
But for some reason, he often gave off a feeling that made people afraid to touch him, which was completely different from the person in front of him who was desperately trying to touch the ball with every single play.
No.. it would be more accurate to say they are two extremes?
Leaning over the back row of the stands, Aoba Haruka couldn't help but say, "His Achilles tendons are so long, I'm so jealous."
Harukawa also nodded in agreement. "To be able to change direction and move like that even while wearing an ankle brace, it's just too ridiculous."
After saying that, he asked again, "By the way, didn't Kureha say he was coming? Why haven't I seen him?"
Aoba Haruka said expressionlessly, "He has a bit of a fever. He was clutching my leg and crying uncontrollably early this morning, so I couldn't stand it and just left him with Coach Natsume."
Harukawa sighed helplessly, "You've had a hard time."
—Both of the brothers are.
Chapter 340: The Three Hundred and Fortieth Fox
Ogihara exhaled softly, pressed his fingers, then turned to leave.
Still.. just a little bit off.
But it didn't matter; he had gradually found his rhythm. His task wasn't to fixate on Hinata like Agatsuma did; being able to restrict him for the time being was enough.
He knew very well where his limits were, he knew exactly how to cross that line; although Sakusa and the others did not agree with this, he was still going to do it.
Things further away than that were not in his life plans; the only thing he sought was the victory of the present moment.
But.. as expected, this still isn't right.
Otherwise, since he was an opponent met across the net, why would he make that kind of expression when seeing his hands?
Watching Hinata head toward the back row service position, Ogihara slowly withdrew his gaze.
This first phase of the battle can be considered over for now; use the upcoming time to think carefully about how to play from here on.
Koldorf looked at Ogihara on the court, then turned to give Coach Himegomiya, whose face was full of worry, a reassuring look.
Although he might be swept away by his emotions, Ogihara was essentially more rational than most people; he knew what he should do, he was also clear about what kind of consequences each choice would bring.
Since he did it, it means he had weighed the pros and cons and accepted all the possible consequences.
Yeah, I understand," Coach Himegomiya nodded. "But deviating from the original tactical plan without reporting to the coach—you really do deserve a punishment.
When we get back, let him go to Inamura to do five hundred circles of diving as punishment; he has ten days to complete them.
Coach Utsunomiya added, "Just finish them in one day; it'll save you the time you'd spend cleaning up after training."
Koldorf froze for a moment, only after thinking seriously did he realize the coach meant that a diving move could scrape the floor.
Koldorf looked up again at Ogihara Ayato, who was still following Ginjima's movement, a hint of sympathy appeared in his eyes.
He will prepare some padded clothes for Ogihara.
Ogihara, unaware of the judgment that awaited him, leaped at the net. On the other side, Ishikawa and Sakusa, performing a back-row attack, provided him with perfect cover, allowing him to spike while facing only Miya Atsumu.
He spiked the ball from above the block, driving it precisely into the defensive gap in Inarizaki's back row.
It was another point that interrupted Inarizaki's service turn, the morale on Itachiyama's side soared.
Nice play!
“Nice cover.”
Miya Atsumu's expression was a bit sour after the failed block, but then an orange-headed boy rubbed against him from behind, pressing his face against his shoulder as he said, "See, Atsumu-ge? I told you he could jump really high."
Hinata gave a smug little chuckle, his face full of pride at having more foresight than Miya Atsumu.
Miya Atsumu used his hand to push his face away. "I see, he really can jump high."
When Hinata jumped at his absolute limit before, Ogihara was able to touch the ball with only a single-step approach. Under offensive conditions with a more thorough approach, he could naturally jump even higher.
Moreover, Ogihara himself isn't short, so he wasn't surprised that he could reach above his hands.
It was just.. simply more troublesome than expected.
Unlike the ease of playing against Rakusan, Itachiyama, with no blind spots, didn't show any weaknesses from start to finish. Even though they frequently switched the service turn to try and gain the advantage, the score gap never widened.
If things continue like this, there won't be much change in the short term; it might even drag on into an endless deuce.
Miya Atsumu reached out and pulled Hinata, who was about to walk away, back, pressing a hand against his shoulder and leaning in to whisper in his ear.
When Koldorf reaches the front row in a bit, I'll move you to perform a back-row attack. Aim straight for the setter and that first-year number 10, smash right through their block for me.
Hinata's eyes widened instantly, looking at Miya Atsumu with eyes full of pleasant surprise: "Mission accomplished!"
Watching Hinata leave in high spirits, Miya Atsumu gave a small smile before turning his gaze back toward the Itachiyama side of the court.
All right, let's let Itachiyama experience the full power of our Ace's firepower.
The notification sounded at this moment, as Itachiyama's number 15, Mihara Ryota, was replaced by number 3, Ogihara Ayato, who stepped onto the court to serve.
Unabara Uta turned his head and exchanged a glance with Hinata, who also nodded to him, the two of them both looked toward Miya Osamu on the side.
Miya Osamu understood the situation and quickly moved forward, leaving the area where receiving was required.
Number 15 had appeared frequently in previous matches, serving as the key server for ceiling serves during crucial points.
Inarizaki had never undergone collective, intensive training specifically targeting the Ceiling Serve. Even though Miya Osamu's fundamentals were very solid, attempting to receive such a serve recklessly would easily lead to losing points.
However, the high-altitude Ceiling Serve itself has a very high error rate; it could either hit the net or go out of bounds, many times, even the Server isn't sure exactly where it will land. There are also cases where it drops in front of the Front row, but not many.
Their luck shouldn't be bad enough to let the opponent score.. right?