"Nice job!" Inamura shifted his body slightly, sending a Second Attack over the net.
Rishia Heisuke dove in immediately to dig the ball: "Atsumu-senpai!"
Miya Atsumu bent his knees and chased after it, lowering his center of gravity to pop the ball back up.
Under Hinata's cover, Suna, having regained possession of the ball, twisted his upper body to feint against the block before driving the ball down at an angle.
Ishikawa dove to keep up and successfully touched the ball. However, the ball itself lost control and bounced directly out of bounds.
Watching the ball's trajectory, Sakusa chased it down in two steps, turned, raised his hand to send the ball back into the court.
Inamoto dove under the ball and glanced at Ogihara Ayato, who was in relatively good condition at the front row, but as Hinata approached that area, he turned and sent a back set toward Position 4.
Sakusa, having rushed back onto the court, jumped immediately and spiked the ball at a very narrow angle.
The ball grazed past Suna, his attempt to block it was ultimately a step too late.
The ball hit Hinata's arm as he tried to save it, flying erratically out of bounds.
The whistle blew. Inarizaki 23:23 Itachiyama; Itachiyama, who had been trailing, tied the score at this moment.
Nice play!
Great play, Sakusa!
Keep the momentum!! Take the lead!!
Listening to the cheers in his ears, Miya Atsumu let out a light click of his tongue.
As long as they could score consecutively, Itachiyama could reach set point, a direct comeback would not be impossible.
He hurriedly clapped his hands to reassure everyone, "Don't panic, don't give the opponent any chances for a quick attack."
They had suppressed the opponent's offensive coordination for an entire set, but Itachiyama still pulled off a Double Quick in that situation through sheer unpredictability; he had slightly underestimated Inamoto.
That's true, Coach Utsunomiya and Coach Himegomiya's eyes have never been wrong. Inamoto was able to step in and save the day even as a first-year last year, so he naturally has his exceptional qualities.
It's just that many times, it might have been a slight lack of opportunity, but now.. it is indeed the perfect time to show one's fighting spirit.
Koldorf took a deep breath, preparing to continue his serve.
Hoshiumi frowned slightly in the stands; in this situation, tying the score would actually be a bit too late, it wasn't a good timing either.
Itachiyama's most important Libero, who is the core of their defense, is not on the court right now; after scoring consecutive points, it will be easy for them to fail to defend, allowing Inarizaki to take the lead once again.
"Give me the ball!" Hinata shouted, calling for the set as he jumped from Position 4.
Miya Atsumu did not hesitate for long; after confirming that Hinata's position was good, he sent the ball directly to him.
Hinata's jumping rhythm was very fast, Miya Atsumu's setting speed was even faster; the only person on Itachiyama's side who could keep up in time was Ogihara alone.
Ogihara reached out with all his might, barely managing to touch the ball.
Ishikawa retreated to receive the ball: "Good touch!"
“Give me the ball!” Sakusa called out for the ball, his calm voice helping the others, who had been somewhat restless, to calm down significantly.
The more critical the moment, the more composure is needed; for the sake of final victory, they cannot afford even the slightest mistake.
The moment Inamoto's fingers touched the ball, he neutralized the spin that Ishikawa hadn't fully managed, delivering it steadily right in front of Sakusa.
Carrying the expectations of the entire team, the Ace leaped up at the net with a thud, his face slightly contorted from the momentary breath-holding, but his hand slammed firmly onto the volleyball.
Two heavy thuds rang out in succession. Suna's expression became distorted as he faced the ball head-on, unable to even get the word "touch" out.
On the other side, Rishia, who was blocking with him, called out a timely warning: "Touch!"
"Save it!" Miya Atsumu shouted loudly.
Hinata and Unabara, who were not involved in the block, rushed out one after another to chase after the ball.
Unabara Uta, being closer, had already sprinted several steps and reached the position near the guardrail.
Unabara's expression was slightly distorted, the discomfort coming from his legs became even more pronounced at this moment.
But.. it's fine, he knows his own limits.
Moreover, he couldn't let this victory slip away; if they lost this point, Itachiyama would reach set point first, they would be in danger.
He had to save this ball no matter what.
For the team's victory, for his own convictions, he will burn until the very last moment.
Everyone had exerted all their strength to maintain the advantage throughout the entire set; they absolutely could not let it be lost at this moment!
Unabara Uta pushed off the ground with his legs, leaping forcefully in front of the railing, vaulting over it like a hurdler, striking the side of the ball with a clenched fist.
To ensure the ball would clear the net, he used every ounce of his strength, but because his back was to the net, he was somewhat uncertain about the ball's direction.
—He couldn't worry about anything else; his only job was to save the ball, that was that.
Watching the ball fly up, Hinata, who had moved in to provide cover, decisively turned his head to chase the ball.
In the corner of his eye, Unabara Uta's figure disappeared behind the railing, it was unclear whether he had fallen or was performing a roll to dissipate the impact.
But Hinata couldn't worry about much else either; his more important task at this moment was to turn the ball Unabara Uta had saved into an actual score.
The ball was already approaching the net, Ogihara and Sakusa had already closed in from the opposite side, leaping immediately as he jumped to block him firmly.
Hinata watched the ball, a flash of shock crossing his mind as he simultaneously gave up on spiking it at its highest point.
The ball maintained its high trajectory, sailing over the net and the block, before dropping onto the court of Itachiyama.
Komori's expression changed drastically on the Coach's bench, as he suddenly stood up, the ball had already slammed down near the sideline.
The ball clearly slammed down on the line; it was an indisputable in-bounds ball.
The whistle blew, the Head Referee signaled that the Inarizaki Libero's score was valid.
The score on the sidelines jumped to Inarizaki 24:23 Itachiyama, giving Inarizaki set point.
The entire Inarizaki No. 2 Gymnasium fell silent for half a second, followed immediately by a thunderous roar of cheers erupting from the Inarizaki stands.
Take it all in one go!!
Great play, Unabara! One more point!!
Ogihara raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, stretching his somewhat tense calf muscles. "As expected, it's not that easy."
Sakusa spoke: "Mine."
That last ball had dropped right over him, since he was also the first to land, he should have been able to make the save; his reaction speed was simply too slow.
Listening to the cheers in the gym, Unabara Uta, who had just struggled to sit up, knew clearly that they had won this point.
But.. the situation was a bit bad.
When he jumped over just now, he had lost his balance upon landing because he was trying to avoid the television equipment cables on the ground. In the end, he inevitably tripped over that extremely thick plastic casing and fell quite hard.
Although he confirmed after testing that his joints could move and that he hadn't sprained anything, the muscles in his right calf, which had been feeling uncomfortable since his previous receiving movement, were now aching severely; it was possible that he had a muscle strain or a tear.
But if it can move, it means there shouldn't be any major problems..
Pressing his hands into his knees, Unabara Uta took a deep breath and pushed himself up from the ground.
Just as he turned to head back to the court, a flash of orange suddenly appeared in his field of vision.
Unabara Uta, caught completely off guard, was startled by Hinata, who had walked up behind him at some unknown point. Already feeling somewhat guilty, she found it even harder to hold her head up when meeting Hinata's worried gaze.
Unabara reached out and patted Hinata's arm: "Let's head back."
But Hinata suddenly grabbed his hand in a counter-grip, lifting his head to lean close to Unabara Uta, forcing him to take a step back: "Unabara, you.."
Unabara Uta did not move, but instead watched Hinata quietly.
After staring at each other for a long time, Unabara Uta tried to break free from Hinata's grip, but Hinata seemed to have used all of his strength to hold him down, for a moment, he actually couldn't shake him off.
Hinata gripped Unabara Uta tightly, the two of them locked in a stalemate.
Under Hinata's intense gaze, Unabara Uta finally gave in, relaxing his body and allowing Hinata to drag him toward the Coach's bench.
At the same time, Hinata also raised his hand to signal Miya Atsumu.
Miya Atsumu, who had still been wondering what had happened, was startled and hurriedly raised his hand to signal a time-out to the Head Referee.
Coach Omimi quickly came over to assist the two players, helping Unabara Uta sit down on the Coach's bench.
"My legs.. they feel a bit uncomfortable," Unabara Uta said simply.
Coach Omimi felt the muscle with his hand; it was very tight and hot, likely a strain.
This kind of situation can't be fixed just by spraying on some analgesics to get back on the court; continuing to engage in intense exercise with an unknown injury could very likely lead to a secondary injury.
Coach Kurosu made a decisive call: "Arima, move around a bit; go straight onto the court once the time-out is over."
Omimi, take Unabara to the nearest hospital for an MRI. It would be best if it can be treated on the spot. If it's not serious, we'll see about the afternoon match; if it is serious, he should go straight back to the hotel to rest. I'm going to report this to the Head Referee now.
"Understood." Coach Omimi nodded, squatting down in front of Unabara Uta to prepare to carry him.
Unabara Uta felt a bit uncomfortable. "Actually, I don't have any major problems, I can walk.."
Meeting the disapproving gazes of his friends, Unabara Uta finally shut his mouth.
Watching Unabara Uta leave the court with Coach Omimi, Hanae rested his chin on his hand in the stands and spoke softly, "Unabara.."
Actually, she's much more resilient than most people imagine.
Hmm.. I don't mean the ability to just barely survive under Atsumu-senpai's command, of course.
Kanzaki's expression was serious. "No, that's actually even more impressive."
The substitution of the Libero happened silently. Arima, who had replaced Unabara Uta and was now standing in the middle of the back row, smiled at the juniors. "It's fine, trust me. I am a senior, after all; I won't mess this up."
Hinata nodded heavily. "I believe in Arima-senpai."
Miya Atsumu let out a long breath, his voice steady and unquestionable: "Alright, let's take this last point."
Hearing this, Hinata leaned forward slightly toward Miya Atsumu and said to him very seriously, "Atsumu-senpai, set the ball to me, I'll take the point."
Atsumu lowered his eyes slightly, a playful smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Of course, my dear Ace."
Listening to the conversation between the two, Miya Osamu decided he absolutely had to land an ACE serve.
But while the idea was wonderful, reality was cruel.
Komori, having accurately predicted the direction of the serve once again, stepped forward and steadily received the ball with a stable pass.
Moreover, because Komori's own physical strength was so exceptional, he didn't even need to cushion the ball to absorb the impact; he could directly pop the ball up, neutralizing the spin to provide the setter with the best possible setting conditions.