[Next, we will introduce the starting lineups for both teams.]
“It's starting, it's starting, the Finals!”
As the children's voices rang out one after another, Tsukishima, who was surrounded by them, shifted uncomfortably.
The short-haired girl spoke to Tsukishima, who was in charge of the remote and the projection screen: "Tsukishima-senpai, can you turn the volume up a little?"
Tsukishima didn't answer, he just silently turned the volume up a bit.
Kageyama, sitting on the floor by the tea table, glanced at him and wanted to say something, but swallowed the words back under Tsukishima's dead-fish-eyed stare.
Ukai Keishin, who had just sat down on the tatami mats, turned to look at his grandson, who was currently slicing watermelon: "So, why did you insist on bringing the students here to watch?"
His house wasn't small, but it couldn't be called large either. With such a huge crowd squeezing in, it was certainly quite crowded.
Ukai Keishin brought over some watermelon and shared it among everyone, saying, "It was Hitoka Yachi's suggestion, besides, you'll definitely want to watch this match, Old man."
Hitoka Yachi, who was called out, scratched her head and gave a cheeky grin. "Enoshita-senpai said you would be interested, since I have some questions I want to ask, I suggested we come over."
Ukai Keishin became interested: "Which two teams are playing in this year's Finals?"
Enoshita Chikara repeated, "Karasuno and Inarizaki."
Hitoka Yachi clenched her fists, a look of excitement on her face. "It's a match between the Little Giants!"
Hearing this, Ukai Keishin understood: "That kid.."
The camera swept across the stands, finally landing on the players on the court.
Catching sight of a familiar figure in the first row of the Inarizaki side of the stands, Ukai Keishin froze for a moment. "Unai is here too."
A first-year student from Karasuno asked curiously, "Who is Unai?"
Ukai Keishin pointed at Ukai: "My grandfather's prized disciple, Karasuno's Little Giant."
Yaotome had an epiphany: "Ah! That Ace, the Little Giant who led Karasuno into the national top eight!"
Ukai Keishin nodded. "That's right, it's him."
He had indeed given Hinata Unai his previous university address, but Unai should have graduated by now; however, it seemed the two of them were indeed in contact.
Kageyama glanced at the two Ukai and said, to be honest, he wasn't quite sure which person they were referring to.
In the footage just now, he didn't seem to see anyone like the "Little Giant."
Ukai Keishin chuckled and looked at Kageyama. "You'll be heading to Tokyo in a little while, won't you?"
Ukai Keishin had already told him about Kageyama being selected for the national youth training camp; Kageyama is the first student from Karasuno in recent years to be selected, which is quite an incredible achievement.
Kageyama nodded: "Yeah, Coach told me to go with Bai Ze from Kadokawa."
"Good luck," Ukai Keishin said softly.
【Number 10, Hinata Shoyo.】
Watching Hinata high-five the two coaches on the TV screen before bouncing into the court, Ukai Keishin couldn't help but laugh.
The smallest child in the room pointed at Hinata and said, "Ah! It's the one who visited before! The Little One!"
A slightly older child pulled him back before he could pounce on the television. "It's Hinata-senpai. We watched his videos before, did you forget?"
[Karasuno, No. 1, Captain, Hirugami Yukio.]
【No. 4, Vice-Captain, Hoshiumi Hikari.】
Watching the two Little Giants on the court through the screen, Ukai Keishin was momentarily dazed.
To be honest, although Hinata and Unai share many commonalities, the Hinata on the court at this very moment.. the only things he and Unai have in common are their black uniforms and numbers.
Hinata is more confident, more flamboyant, his attitude toward volleyball is even more passionate.
Hoshiumi's posture was more upright, more solid, more composed than anyone else's.
They were indeed both called "Little Giants," but they were entirely different individuals. They would also leave their own unique colors upon this court.
That is precisely why volleyball is so addictive, making people willing to devote their entire lives to it.
Ukai Keishin felt the calluses on his fingers, the smile on his face deepening.
The players from both sides took their positions, waiting for the Head Referee to confirm whether their rotation matched the submitted form.
Hinata glanced sideways at Hirugami Yukio, who was standing across the net from him, Hirugami Yukio glanced back at him.
First.. we need to find a way to break the opponent's service turn and take the lead.
Karasuno's setter, Asahina Kongming, serves.
Looking at the Karasuno players, Inunari couldn't help but sigh, "They're so tall."
Everyone in Karasuno's starting lineup, except for Hoshiumi and the Libero, was over 1.8 meters tall, this Setter was also 1.81 meters.
Although Inarizaki's average height was also over 1.8 meters, they didn't have anyone exceptionally tall like Hirugami or Hakuma.
Asahina held the ball in his hands, his taped fingers lightly feeling the surface of the volleyball.
Inarizaki is currently in a standard double receive formation, with Miya Atsumu positioned forward, while Miya Osamu and the libero Unabara handle the serve from both sides.
There aren't many people worth targeting, but.. there is no need to target him either.
Serves are meant for scoring, aren't they?
Asahina kept a side glance on the Head Referee, holding the ball steady in his hands.
The moment the Head Referee blew the whistle, he tossed the ball up forcefully, stepping forward with his left leg first, completing the process of the toss, approach, jump, spike at maximum speed.
His serve was the most standard projectile motion, meaning the toss and the approach were performed simultaneously, striving for the fastest possible speed and even more precise ball trajectory.
With a heavy thud, the ball was spiked directly, crashing into the center of the back row of the court behind Miya Atsumu.
Under normal circumstances, a spike landed here could cause chaos in the back row receiving, especially since Unabara has an injury on his leg, which might cause a shift in receiving priority; any momentary lack of adaptation could lead to an error.
But the Inarizaki side reacted extremely quickly, Unabara shouted without any hesitation, "I'll take it!"
His muscles were just slightly strained, not like his legs were broken; he had no reason to let a Spiker handle a ball that only required a single step and a movement to receive.
After all.. he is the guardian deity of Inarizaki!
The moment he received the ball, Coach Unabara was a little surprised, because the power of the serve was much less than he had expected, the spin wasn't particularly heavy, making it very easy to handle.
Coach Unabara, standing by the sidelines, nodded: "For a first-year server to be able to hit at this level is already quite impressive."
After Miya Atsumu's feint, the ball was sent to Ginjima, but Karasuno's block successfully followed through despite being partially affected by the fake.
With a loud thud, the ball Ginjima spiked was blocked back by Hoshiumi and Hirugami together.
After landing from the feint, Hinata Shoyo turned around and scooped the ball up with one hand, not letting Unabara step forward: "One more!"
Watching Hinata's movements, Hirugami Yukio, positioned in the center, made no move; no matter where Hinata intended to jump, he could follow with a back-row attack..
But at that very instant, Suna, who was positioned behind the three-meter line, suddenly leaped up and spiked the ball Hinata had just sent up directly in front of Miya Atsumu.
Bang!
Takahashi and Norikura Isao from Karasuno's back row both dove for the ball at the same time; because it was so sudden, neither of them had time to call out.
Moreover, because the trajectory of this ball was too high, it was impossible to determine immediately whether it would go out of bounds, so the two of them hesitated and pulled back at the same time before making contact.
The ball smashed between the two of them, hitting the very edge of the baseline.
The whistle blew, the assistant referee ruled it in-bounds, Inarizaki scores.
Inunari froze mid-sip, Unai's smile stiffened as well.
Komori, who had just sat down on the second floor, burst out laughing, while Coach Unabara, standing by the court, fell into an eerie silence.
“..”
Inamura Gen couldn't help but complain, "What on earth is that?"
Chapter 353: The Three Hundred and Fifty-Third Fox
Miya Atsumu raised his hand and gave Rintaro a thumbs-up: "Beautiful, Rintaro."
Across the net, Norikura Isao and Takahashi bowed and apologized simultaneously.
My bad!
My bad!
It's fine, it's fine. There was nothing we could do against that playstyle; it's so unpredictable..
After comforting the two who were frantically apologizing after their serious mistake, Hoshiumi turned his head to look at the Inarizaki members on the other side of the net: "They're playing chaotically, as usual.."
Asahina smiled. "But there is order within the chaos."
One is truly bold with his sets, the other is truly bold with his spikes, that angle on Suna's spike.. it was timed perfectly.
Takahashi Tsutomu said, "Kongming! You, zero points!"
Asahina said mercilessly, "It's your fault."
Takahashi fell silent, retreating into himself.
Hoshiumi's mouth twitched, but he had no intention of getting involved in the "friendly exchange" between his juniors; instead, he adjusted his position, preparing for the next round of offense and defense.
Suna was the first to serve for Inarizaki; Coach Kurosu might choose to directly swap players during a crucial point in order to completely stabilize the situation.
And just as Hoshiumi expected, as the signal sounded from the sidelines, Inarizaki 16 stood by the sideline holding up the number 6 placard.
Takahashi blinked. "Oh, it's Fukami."
Among the new students at Inarizaki, Fukami is the most well-known; he had contact with him during their time in Junior High, just as Asahina did.
However.. the fact that the opponent went to Inarizaki to play Middle Blocker was still beyond their understanding.
Looking at his own Middle Blocker, then looking at the tiny Fukami, Takahashi fell into silence.
But none of that was the main point; even if Fukami's height was quite abstract for a Middle Blocker, it didn't affect his exquisite serve technique.
Even so, Karasuno had no intention of adjusting their double quick attack and receive serve strategy.
If you make the front row spikers retreat when their defensive skills are already sufficient, it will only result in a more crowded formation, leaving the setter unable to move forward for self-protection and instead allowing a ball-control specialist opponent to exploit the opening.
What a great serve!