That play was truly dirty, right in the heart.
Sakusa took the towel handed over by Coach Himegomiya and wiped his already soaked bangs. "Inarizaki's back-row attack is even stronger than expected; their coordination makes them very difficult to read."
With so many offensive options, it was difficult to predict who would perform the final spike.
As the number of ineffective blocks increased, the pressure on the back row receiving naturally increased as well. Furthermore, they had no way to force Inarizaki into a head-on confrontation, as flexibility was already Inarizaki's greatest advantage.
Inamura shook the water cup in his hand. "It's not a big problem; the opponents don't have the ability to pull further ahead in the score either. We can't defend their spikes, but it's about the same for us when we attack."
He looked seriously at his team's Ace: "Sakusa, do your best, we're counting on you."
With Ushijima, Kiryu, the others graduating one after another, it wouldn't be out of place for Sakusa to call himself the strongest high school Wing Spiker.
Sakusa hesitated, then closed his mouth under the intense gaze of his Captain.
Komori laughed and gave Sakusa a thumbs up as well.
Ishikawa pumped his fist near Sakusa and shouted loudly, "I'll work hard too!"
Sakusa responded to his junior in time: "Good luck."
In the stands, Amatori's voice came through Iizuna's headphones: "So, what do you think?"
Iizuna shook his head. "It's hard to say. The difference in strength isn't actually that large; it's just a matter of a little bit of luck."
Inarizaki's advantage lies in their ability to flexibly utilize multi-point attacks thanks to having a top-tier setter, whereas Itachiyama relies on the balance between Komori's defense and Sakusa's offense.
However, in the event that Inarizaki takes the initiative to avoid combat.. I'm afraid Komori will have to make some sacrificial adjustments himself.
Then let's do that.
Under everyone's gaze, Komori spread his hands: "Since there's no better way in the short term, we might as well stop it in time before the situation becomes irreversible."
In any case, if we can't win this match, there's no need to worry about anything that comes after, so let's play without any hesitation.
Sakusa nodded. "I agree."
Seeing that the players already had their own plans, Utsunomiya, as the coach, said nothing more; he simply gave a slight nod and looked at Komori Motoya, saying, "Thank you for your hard work."
Miya Atsumu felt something and looked back toward the other side of the net.
And Hinata's voice rang out at that moment: "What if the other side prepares to have Gen-senpai cover the whole court?"
Miya Atsumu looked at Hinata and said nonchalantly, "It's not like he's Superman. If he wants to cover the whole court by himself, then half of that relies on observation and anticipation."
Hinata's eyes lit up: "I understand."
Unabara couldn't keep up with the rhythm of these two for a moment. "Understand what?"
Rishia was also a bit dazed, looking at Hinata with an equally confused expression.
Being suddenly questioned by the two of them, the part of Hinata's brain responsible for summarizing language stalled a little: "It's.. um.. anticipation?"
Miya Osamu guessed what the two of them were talking about: "Yeah, they walked right into it."
Hearing Miya Osamu's words, everyone understood and cast somewhat sympathetic glances toward Komori Motoya.
The signal sounded again, indicating that the match would continue and the players should return to the court.
Upon seeing Itachiyama's double blocker positioning for the first receive, Hinata tilted his head, while simultaneously turning to look at Miya Atsumu, who was directly behind him.
Miya Atsumu nodded, raising his hand and spreading his fingers to show five, which was Komori Motoya's jersey number.
Hinata's face instantly filled with excitement as he whipped his head around, staring intently at Komori Motoya.
Komori was a bit dazed by Hinata's staring, but he returned the smile.
Ogihara took two steps toward Hinata, blocking the flirting between him and Komori Motoya, also bowed his head to give Hinata a smile.
Adhering to the principle of politeness, Hinata also flashed him a smile.
Having witnessed the whole thing, Sakusa glanced at Hinata and then moved half a step to his right with an expressionless face, maintaining an appropriate distance from Ogihara Ayato.
Miya Atsumu, behind them, gave a light click of his tongue and rolled his eyes at both Sakusa and Ogihara Ayato.
Sakusa remained silent.
Ignoring the chaotic situation of the people at the net, Miya Osamu, in his approach position, looked up to signal to the Head Referee that he was ready.
The Head Referee immediately raised his hand and blew the whistle, signaling that Miya Osamu could serve.
Everyone on the court stopped moving, Miya Osamu raised his hand to toss the ball into the air in the final second of the service time limit.
With almost no errors, Miya Osamu spiked the ball precisely toward Ishikawa.
At the exact moment he spiked, Komori had already taken a large cross-step to his left, Ishikawa also stepped back in response, leaving Komori enough room to maneuver.
With a loud thud, the ball hit Komori Motoya's forearm precisely, he bumped it toward the front row near the attack line.
The heavy weight in Inamoto's heart suddenly lifted: "What a great first receive!"
After getting into position, he decisively executed a back set feint, momentarily deceiving Rishia on the other side of the net, before turning the ball back to Sakusa.
With only Suna and Hinata chasing after it, Sakusa successfully avoided the block and spiked the ball with heavy spin into Inarizaki's court.
Unabara, who had chased after the ball, failed to accurately judge its landing point; his positioning was too far forward, the ball struck him in the chest. The impact knocked him down, as he was already off-balance from his movement.
Unabara, having fallen to the ground, experienced a moment of mental blankness, as he sat up, he frowned imperceptibly.
The score jumped to Inarizaki 16:15 Itachiyama.
Rishia and Hinata hurriedly reached out to support Unabara, while Miya Atsumu gave a sour look at Komori and the others on the opposite side who were cheering in celebration. "Tch, there was nothing we could do about that first receive.."
Hoshiumi, sitting in the stands, leaned back slightly: "That's ridiculous."
To cover the entire court alone—that was simply absurd. Komori's observation and judgment skills were unreasonably powerful.
Hirugami's laugh was also strained: "You make it look so easy, Komori."
However, compared to Miya Atsumu, Miya Osamu's serve was indeed a bit thin; the fact that it could be received just showed that he wasn't strong enough yet.
Hinata looked back at Miya Osamu, looking thoughtful.
Inaramura, who was next in the serving rotation, was relatively less powerful; his serve was something Unabara could handle with ease.
After successfully sending the ball above Miya Atsumu's head, Unabara let out a soft breath and moved forward, preparing for a counterattack.
After a brief touch from the setter, the ball landed steadily in Hinata's hands. Seeing Ogihara Ayato already closing in from the opposing side, Hinata suddenly pulled back.
Ogihara's brain buzzed, as he quickly recalled the position where Miya Atsumu had jumped just now; it seemed as though.. it wasn't behind the three-meter line.
In his field of vision, Hinata suddenly curled the corners of his mouth; in that split second of hesitation, Hinata's knuckles were already pressing against the bottom half of the ball, tipping it over the block.
The block directly shut down Hinata's movement. Komori, who was responsible for receiving, didn't see his movement at all; by the time he caught sight of the volleyball's shadow, the ball was already falling toward the floor, grazing the block.
Ogihara Ayato, finally reacting, whipped his head around and reached out in an attempt to chase it down. But unfortunately, he was just a little too late.
17:15, Inarizaki interrupted Itachiyama's serve once again, taking the lead.
Inamura clapped his hands, calming everyone's emotions: "Again, let's go again."
Suna stood at the serving position, spun the ball in his hands, then tossed it directly into the air the second the whistle blew.
He then tapped the volleyball lightly, using his palm to strike and drive the ball forward.
Jump Float Serve.
Komori Motoya quickly realized the situation, while simultaneously weighing in his mind whether he should be the one to receive this ball.
The trajectory of the jump float serve was difficult to judge, he couldn't afford to act rashly; he could only make a preliminary assessment that the ball's path was very high and would most likely drop sharply at some position near the front row.
But specifically, where..
The next second, as the ball flew above the net, it suddenly dropped, falling into Itachiyama's court by almost grazing the top edge of the net.
Inamoto's expression was a bit panicked, but he still lowered his center of gravity and reached out to receive the ball.
In that brief moment, he had already made a rather bold decision, passing the ball to the net near Position 2 without any communication.
Sakusa's reaction speed was incredibly fast; he stepped forward quickly and jumped directly, raising his hand to press the ball down right over Rishia's head before he could even catch up.
Miya Osamu rushed over from the back row, but he couldn't reach it in time.
“Great play, Inamoto!” From the stands, the Iizuna representative stood up abruptly, waving his cheering flag frantically.
Such decisive setting and stable composure—he truly is worthy of being his junior!
Miya Atsumu looked at Inamoto with a hint of admiration in his eyes: "Quite capable."
However, it wouldn't affect much overall; as long as Itachiyama didn't have the chance to score consecutive points, this set would still be a victory for Inarizaki.
Coach Unabara nodded by the sidelines: "Although his technical performance is mediocre, Inamoto himself has decent decisiveness. With others coordinating with him, the deficiencies can be compensated for."
If one had to say, this ability to express one's thoughts and fully mobilize others makes them a good candidate for Captain to some extent.
Among the players in this year's Itachiyama roster, he felt Komori was the most suitable to be Captain, but due to policy requirements, that option was invalid, making Inamura the second choice.
Fortunately, Inamura himself holds decent prestige within the team, Itachiyama's current roster has coordinated quite well.
In terms of the players' individual performances, there was no significant gap between the two sides, the score remained neck and neck.
A heavy sound echoed through the court as Sakusa scored by tooling the block, sending the ball straight into the second-floor stands and completely eliminating any possibility of a save by Inarizaki.
The score jumped to Inarizaki 23:22 Itachiyama, Koldorf serving.
Komori and Ogihara swapped positions, leaving the court to take a short rest at the Coach's bench.
Koldorf made a simple adjustment, not waiting until the final second, but instead raised his hand to toss the ball immediately after confirming his own form.
Watching the volleyball smash toward them, Unabara frowned slightly, but still took a large step to the side, positioning himself in front of Miya Atsumu.
The moment the ball hit his arms, his whole body was jerked backward by the ball's intense power, but he ultimately managed to barely maintain his posture.
Hinata, who had already moved to the front row, immediately raised his hand: "Give me the ball!"
Ogihara's gaze immediately swept over Hinata, but the moment he looked away, Miya Atsumu redirected the pass to Suna.
Seeing the opposing block closing in, Suna frowned slightly and instead directed the ball toward the lower half of the volleyball, intending to send a dump over.
Sakusa blocked with one hand, making contact with the ball after Suna sent a dump over.
After landing from the cover, Hinata took a step forward and scooped up the ball with one hand: "Atsumu-ge! One more!"
"Beautiful!" Miya Atsumu followed quickly, leaning back slightly as he raised his hands to set a Quick Attack.
Hinata spun and executed a spike toward a short diagonal, aiming directly for the edge of the court on Ishikawa's side, his movement incredibly decisive.
Seeing that Ishikawa couldn't reach it, the setter Inamoto turned and lunged, sending the ball back up: "Inamura-senpai!"