Actually, if you really want to talk about it, the level of Inarizaki's starting Libero last year could only be described as average. However, Akagi's performance in receiving movements was extremely brilliant, providing the team with many chances to rise from the dead.
Especially when facing a team like Itachiyama that loves to use tooling the block and all sorts of tricky techniques, that ability to chase and save balls provides a massive benefit, complementing Inarizaki's own roster perfectly.
Even though he was more than willing to see Itachiyama and Inarizaki destroy each other.. just as he had said before, he wanted to meet Hinata at the summit.
So..
“We have to win.”
Nishizawa's hands, clutching the tablet, were covered in sweat, he was so nervous that he bit his lower lip so hard it left a deep mark.
Lying on his back on the hospital bed with one leg suspended, Unabara Uta struggled to try and see him.
Because there were no tables by the hospital beds in the emergency room, Nishizawa Hokuto was holding the laptop in his hands to show him. However, because the other person was currently too nervous, the screen was tilted quite a bit, from his angle, he could only see Nishizawa's back.
He reached out and patted Nishizawa Hokuto's leg, trying his best to soothe his emotions.
After settling the two of them and finishing the payment, Coach Omimi had already rushed back to the court, leaving only Nishizawa Hokuto here to accompany him.
He would have to lie here until the afternoon; by then, Inarizaki's morning matches would certainly be over, the coach would come to pick them up.
Nishizawa flinched, mistakenly thinking Unabara Uta was accusing him of not turning the screen that way.
He quickly adjusted his posture so that Unabara Uta could see the live broadcast of the match.
In the footage, Suna rotated back to the front row, while Kumagai completed a switch with Suna to head off the court, Arima Shuji moved back into the Libero position.
In the rotation where they attempted to use Kumagai for a strong attack, Inarizaki only managed to secure one consecutive scoring opportunity, but they were quickly countered by Sakusa. The score difference remains at 1 point, unchanged from before.
Glancing at the interested Unabara-senpai, Nishizawa was momentarily dazed: "Unabara-senpai.. aren't you nervous?"
Lying there, Unabara Uta glanced at the crowd gathered near the Coach's bench discussing something during the time-out in the live broadcast, said softly, "It's not like I'm the one playing right now, so there's no use in me being nervous, besides.."
I believe in Shoyo and the others; Inarizaki will definitely win.
More importantly, my current task is to get some good rest and adjust my condition," Unabara Uta said, looking up at Nishizawa Hokuto. "As for you, you need to watch Arima Shuji's match closely, just like you usually watch my matches.
The person who will take this position in the future is you. I hope you can become the strongest support behind Masaru Haseda and Fukami and the others.
“Of course, when necessary, it will also be Shoyo and the others."
Nishizawa's eyes widened slightly.
To be honest, he had indeed fantasized more than once about the scene where he and Hinata stood on the same court together as a Libero.
But he also knew that he and Hinata were not in the same school year, with Unabara Uta there, he probably wouldn't have that chance.
But.. one must pursue their dreams after all.
But Unabara-senpai wasn't wrong; the Haruko schedule would be very long, it might involve rotations for the Libero.
Perhaps one day in the future, he will truly be able to receive for his idol.
Unabara Uta smiled and pointed at his own leg. "My luck is pretty mediocre. If I ever get injured again in the future, Shoyo and the others will have to count on you."
“So.. get stronger, quickly.”
Nishizawa Hokuto nodded with utmost seriousness: "I will."
He spoke to comfort Unabara Uta: "But Unabara-senpai, please don't wallow in self-pity; this is just a low-probability event."
Unabara Uta gave a bitter smile. "That's why I said I have bad luck.."
Author's Note:
Inarizaki High School Rishia Heisuke (August 2013)
Position: OH Number: 4
Height: 186.3cm Weight: 75.7kg
Recent troubles: Unable to keep up with the entire final extra training session..
Ability Stats [Inarizaki High School Second Year Summer]
Strength: 4 Serve: 8
Vertical Leap: 4 Receiving: 6
Explosiveness: 4 Dig: 4
Intelligence: 3 Setting: 3
Technique: 3 Spike: 7
Speed: 3 Block: 6
Chapter 345: The Three Hundred and Forty-Fifth Fox
Coach Utsunomiya instructed the team, "The rhythm is good right now. Keep up this momentum and try your best to counter-attack through the gaps in Inarizaki's defense."
He called this time-out. With Hinata rotating back to the front row to attack alongside Miya Osamu, Inarizaki's momentum was quite fierce; a brief interruption was just what was needed to break Inarizaki's rhythm.
Inamoto, who was responsible for the overall coordination, nodded: "Understood."
"Don't be stingy with your stamina. Jump as high as you can, if possible, it would be best to be able to hit over the opponent's hands on every single ball." Coach Utsunomiya looked toward Sakusa.
Suna is difficult to handle, but Sakusa, you aren't always matched up against Suna. You can target Ginjima and try to create as many opportunities for consecutive points as possible.
Sakusa nodded in agreement. "Understood."
After the time-out, Miya Atsumu's serve did not result in a point. On Itachiyama's side, the first receive formation consisted only of Komori and Ishikawa, who handled the set so cleanly that even if Miya Atsumu wanted to target someone, he was powerless to do so.
After Ishikawa delivered a decent first receive, Inamoto quickly moved to cover Sakusa in Position 4, while on the other side, Koldorf scored with a spike after a flat set.
Inarizaki's fierce offense at the beginning of this rotation gradually lost its effectiveness under Itachiyama's adaptation on their side, while Itachiyama, having seized the initiative, launched even more intense counterattacks.
Under severe suppression, Hinata failed to land even a single Quick Attack throughout an entire rotation.
Even so, Hinata still managed to halt many of Itachiyama's scoring streaks by utilizing his excellent ability to tool the block.
But just as Hinata turned to move to the back row, Itachiyama managed to score against Ginjima using a Double Quick from Koldorf and Ishikawa.
Itachiyama tied the score and gained the service right.
Hoshiumi frowned. "Things are taking a turn for the worst.."
He knew that Inarizaki's all-or-nothing playstyle couldn't last forever, against a difficult opponent like Itachiyama, being caught up to was bound to happen.
It was just that.. it was a bit too fast. If it had been a little slower, maybe this score gap could have been dragged out until the end of this set.
Glancing at the scoreboard showing Inarizaki 23:22 Itachiyama, Suna walked toward the service position holding the ball.
Despite being at a disadvantage, as long as he could score on his service turn, Inarizaki could still take the first set point.
Suna considered himself someone who wasn't good at serving; he couldn't do anything like a Power Jump Serve or a Jump Float Serve, he had never put much effort into that aspect of his game.
Although his serves were widely recognized as disgusting, his reliability relied solely on his skillful mastery of ball control, timing, precision.
This kind of cleverness has little effect when facing a true expert in defense.
Therefore, Suna did not continue with that kind of serve this time, but instead hit the ball quite ordinarily toward the top of the net, intending to let it clip the tape.
But Inamoto had long expected this. Having been hit several times during this match, he had already developed a conditioned reflex, raising his hands almost instantly to perform a set.
His setting isn't strictly necessary, so there's no need to sacrifice the subsequent attacking conditions of the other spikers around him to cover for him. He can completely handle the receive himself, while Inamura or Komori handles the subsequent setting phase.
Of course, the same applied to Inarizaki.
That was exactly why they had never used net touches to target Miya Atsumu too often.
Watching the ball fly up, Inamura stepped forward, preparing to perform a set.
He was very aware of Inarizaki's eagerness to score and reach match point, but unfortunately, at this moment, the service right had passed to the Middle Blocker.
With the Libero off the court and Suna not being skilled at receiving, it would only lead to a further weakening of Inarizaki's already thin defense.
So.. they will definitely take this point.
There was no one on Itachiyama's side calling for the ball; they maintained an eerily quiet state, with only the sound of the spiker's shoes friction against the floor during the approach run.
Ginjima and Rishia Heisuke swapped positions to stand in the center of the net, with Rishia Heisuke and Hinata on either side.
To be honest.. with this current formation, they are at their most vulnerable when blocking.
In this rotation, he, who was frequently outmaneuvered by Sakusa's overhand hits, was simply unable to limit Sakusa, while on the other side, Hinata relied on his vertical jump to control his blocking height, meaning he basically had no ability to block a Quick Attack.
Only Rishia Heisuke could barely manage to follow and make a touch, but his experience with blocking was still weak.
The volleyball left his hands, the ball in Inamura's hands was back-set to Sakusa, who had already jumped at Position 2.
Rishia Heisuke and Ginjima rushed up in an attempt to block, but Sakusa still jumped to his own highest contact point this time, completely outside the reach of the two of them.
Just as Ogihara Ayato and the others didn't dare to adjust their positions early like they did when receiving Hinata's ball, the two of them also didn't dare to adjust their positions in advance; they could only move back to create distance and make contact after confirming Sakusa's spike.
But Sakusa's spike had side spin; it flew directly past Rishia Heisuke's side, tracing an arc before slamming toward Suna on the other side of the court.
Hinata and Suna, who were in the front row and not participating in the block, both lunged forward at the same time. Suna, who touched the ball first, failed to control it, the ball bounced out of the court, giving Itachiyama the score.
The score jumped to Inarizaki 23:23 Itachiyama, tied once again.
Hinata hurriedly apologized, "I'm sorry!"
Suna also admitted his mistake: "Mine."
Watching Sakusa receive the ball and prepare to serve, Hoshiumi grimaced in the stands: "Of all times, it has to be Sakusa's serve.."
Hirugami recalled the situation of this set: "Sakusa has scored more than half of the team's points by himself in this set, hasn't he?"
Even if Sakusa is the Ace, given Itachiyama's multi-core nature, he usually only accounts for about one-third of the team's scores. The remaining two-thirds consist mainly of Ishikawa and Koldorf, with the rest being points from Inamura, Ogihara Ayato, the Setter's Second Attack.
In this rotation, Itachiyama has almost completely neutralized Inarizaki's ability to handle Sakusa's spin serve at this stage, which is why the statistics are so terrifying.
But likewise, this style of play also places a massive strain on Sakusa.
From his perspective, Sakusa, whose physical condition was already mediocre, was clearly in worse shape than Hinata.
It was clear that Itachiyama was also out of options.
Karasuno's setter, Kongming, who had been mostly silent, suddenly spoke up: "Let's see if Itachiyama can seize this opportunity."
If they cannot take the match in one breath during Inarizaki's weakest rotation, the final result will definitely, definitely be a victory for Inarizaki.
Hoshiumi remained silent for a long time before nodding and replying, "Yeah."