As Coach Unabara shouted, the volleyball slammed into the ground.
The whistle blew immediately after, signaling that Inarizaki scores.
Takahashi flipped onto his back to contemplate life, tilting his head slightly to meet Hinata's eyes as he peeked out from behind Norikura Isao.
Noticing his gaze, Hinata blinked and gave him a small huff of a laugh.
Coach Kurosu once said that when playing against an opponent, the best answer in any situation is always the extra option you discover for yourself.
If the only options laid out are A and B, then he will choose C.
Predicting his movements.. is not that simple!
Hakuma Mebuki and Hoshiumi, who had just performed a block against the short diagonal, locked eyes, while Hinata turned his head and raised his hand, rushing toward Miya Atsumu: "Atsumu-ge, that was a great set!"
Hoshiumi couldn't help but let out a soft click of his tongue.
Technical shots are their weapon in aerial battles, so he has studied them extensively, but he does indeed lean more towards a conventional playstyle. Of course, he can perform a drop shot, but not as sharply as Hinata.
I have to say.
Hinata's ability to take any technique, make it his own, hone it into a perfected skill is truly terrifying..
Staring at Miya Atsumu and Hinata, who were looking down and whispering to each other on the court, Aoba Haruka nodded inwardly: "The more I look at them, the more they look alike. Aren't they basically family?"
Inamoto, who had just sat down behind the Rakusan group, was stunned by the words. "Who? The Twins?"
He leaned forward toward Aoba Haruka and said, "They have the same face and the same surname; they must be family."
Aoba Haruka, who attended junior high in Tokyo, looked at his old teammate and old friend, silently swallowing the urge to call him an idiot.
Aoba Haruka said seriously, "What I meant was that Hinata and Miya Atsumu-senpai are more like family."
Hmm.. I feel like Miya Atsumu-senpai should be the kind of person who shares a surname with Hinata.
Hearing this, Inamoto's brain stalled for a brief second.
"He's probably not even old enough to get married!" she blurted out without thinking.
Atsumu-senpai is already about to change his surname to Hinata!
Aoba Haruka's brain also stopped functioning: "Huh? Marriage? Th-th-this.. this can't be right!"
Komori tried his best to process the meaning behind the two of them, saying weakly, "No, the law doesn't support that yet.."
Mistakenly thinking Komori was agreeing with him, Aoba Haruka nodded repeatedly: "Exactly! It wouldn't work on an ethical and moral level either!"
Sakusa looked at Inamoto, then at Aoba Haruka, after two seconds of silence, he chose to sit down, refusing to get involved in the chaotic scene.
Komori also gave up on arguing with Aoba; he sat down beside Sakusa, his gaze shifting toward the scoreboard on the large screen above. "That was unexpectedly fast."
I thought that with Karasuno's style, there would be many long rallies.
Sakusa replied, "Because I know regular plays will be blocked, I subconsciously lean toward more tricky ball paths."
You absolutely cannot give the opponent a chance to counterattack; this is true for both sides.
Of course, pursuing this kind of effect also places a greater strain on the players' own energy.
After playing the morning's Semifinals against them, the Inarizaki players' condition was not particularly good either.
And considering the injury to Inarizaki's Libero.. Inarizaki probably doesn't want to play through all five sets.
Sakusa tilted his head slightly toward Komori: "Your Best Libero should be no problem."
Although individual awards tend to favor the champions, Karasuno's defense is shared with Hoshiumi, so the Libero's stats won't look that impressive. Since Inarizaki's Unabara is injured, he likely won't play too aggressively, some of the defensive duties will be handed over to Miya Osamu and the others.
Relatively speaking, Komori's individual stats will undoubtedly be the best.
Komori smiled and turned the subject. "More than that, I'm more curious about who the MVP will be this time."
Sakusa lowered his eyes and thought seriously for a moment before answering, "Hoshiumi or Miya Atsumu.. no, if it's Inarizaki, it should be Hinata."
In the morning matches, Hinata's performance in covering saves was quite impressive several times. Plus, scoring itself carries more weight than assists. If Inarizaki were to win, I think it would be Hinata.
As for Karasuno winning the championship.. there would be no controversy regarding the choice of player.
Whether it's defense or offense, Hoshiumi will definitely have the best overall stats.
Komori nodded. "I think so too."
Inamura in the back row fell silent for a moment.
Listening to the conversation between these two, why did he get the feeling that Miya Atsumu was the kind of person everyone finds annoying?
Yeah, you could say that too.
Having seen Hinata's "ordinary" serve, Coach Unabara couldn't help but let out a small laugh from the sidelines: "Comparing them in fundamental skills like this.. it shows that Hoshiumi's fundamentals are indeed impeccably solid."
Hinata's fundamentals are still being practiced, they cannot yet be compared to the sense of depth that Hoshiumi has accumulated through years of training.
However, none of that matters; compared to this time last year, Hinata's progress is visible to the naked eye.
In theory, the national team shouldn't recruit two short players from the same period, but.. Hinata has already carved out a unique path of his own.
For now, compared to Hoshiumi's increasingly stable playstyle and style of play, Hinata is much more cunning, his Quick Attack style is even more unconventional; that recent backspin spike perfectly exemplified this style.
Just thinking about what kind of chemical reaction a player like that would cause within the team made him feel incredibly excited.
Coach Unabara stroked his stubble, smiling quite happily: "It's truly something to look forward to this summer."
But just at that moment, Coach Hiya suddenly remembered something and spoke up, "By the way, not too long ago, Coach Sanjo from Central Physical Education University came to look for the Volleyball Association indoors.."
Before Coach Hiya could even finish, Coach Unabara replied expressionlessly, "No, not a single one. They can't take anyone, they can go back exactly where they came from."
Beach Volleyball is, of course, also under the jurisdiction of the Volleyball Association, but the competitive modes and training models of the two sides are worlds apart. When it comes to player selection, it actually depends heavily on the individual preferences of the coaches; in some cases, players even gain fame first and then bring their coaches into the national team.
In short, recruiting is something the beach volleyball coaches handle themselves.
Want to ask him for players? You're daydreaming!
On the court, Unabara lunged forward with a diving save. Although the movement was a bit awkward due to the change in leg position from the exertion, there were no major issues, he steadily managed to save the ball that Hakuma had spiked with a super spike.
At the same time, Coach Unabara asked, "By the way, who does the beach volleyball side want?"
Unabara's follow-up movement was a bit slow, causing Hinata's approach path from the back row to be obstructed.
Hinata did not hesitate, leaping over him the moment Unabara turned his body to evade, stepping just behind the Three-meter Line to forcefully increase his own height.
He extended his arms in the air, using the lower contact point to spike the ball downward toward Hakuma Mebuki's hands.
At the moment Hinata spiked, Hirugami, who was nearby, realized that something was going wrong; a block that jumps too early can easily give the opponent a chance to tool the block.
Hinata proactively lowered his height, since Hakuma failed to make the proper adjustment, he practically created an opportunity for the opponent to use the block.
It was too late for Hakuma to press forward and avoid being tooled; the ball struck heavily against his hands and flew high and far out of bounds.
Coach Hiya's response also rang out at the same time: "Hinata."
The whistle blew, Inarizaki scores.
Coach Unabara stopped laughing.
Before Miya Atsumu could even speak, Hoshiumi, who had just moved up to the net to support the defense against the front-court ball, let out a hearty laugh: "Nice one, Shoyo!"
Hinata looked at Hoshiumi in surprise, patted his chest, gave Hoshiumi a big thumbs-up.
He had already mastered the technique of tooling the block against the second-floor stands under normal circumstances, but his power was still a bit lacking; most of the time he relied on adjusting his angle, just now, Hakuma's Block gave him this opportunity.
After praising Hinata, Hoshiumi turned his head to look at Hakuma. "Can your Block be any more exaggerated? Shoyo just hit it just past the Three-meter Line, you actually let him use you for Tooling the block."
Hakuma, who thought Hoshiumi was in a good mood today and would act as the Vice-Captain to comfort everyone, was heavily wounded.
He cycled through all the things he should have said, but in the end, he said nothing at all.
Hoshiumi is being completely biased!
Seeing what Hakuma wanted to say, Hoshiumi raised an eyebrow. "I'm just stating facts. You're Shoyo's senior, so don't play like a rookie."
Meanwhile, Coach Unabara on the sidelines was just as distraught as Hakuma: "Why are you obsessing over Hinata again? How many is this now?"
Can't you give some priority to the order of arrival! Is it really fun to constantly obsess over someone else's kid every single day!
Coach Hiya smiled.
—It seems Coach Kosano was the first to arrive.
Chapter 355: The Three Hundred and Fifty-Fifth Fox
Hakuma pursed her lips, after a second of brief thought, she locked her gaze onto Hinata.
He is a senior, so.. first, he should find a way to completely suppress his junior.
Noticing Hakuma's gaze, Hinata, feeling that intense fighting spirit, blinked.
Noticing his movement, Miya Atsumu, who had just been explaining the back-row attack strategy beside him, lowered his head and asked softly, "What's wrong?"
Hinata didn't look at him, but instead quietly watched the net hanging silently between the two poles in front of him: "Atsumu-ge, give me a few high balls; I want to defeat him head-on."
Miya Atsumu's hand, which had just been raised and was about to rest on Hinata's shoulder, paused slightly in mid-air. After a low chuckle, he fully placed his hand there. "Understood."
Defeat them head-on?
No, Hinata just did that.
Jumping directly against the opponent's block without any cover, luring and utilizing the two-meter giants to bring real points to the team—this is an undisputed frontal breakthrough.
So.. he understands.
What Hinata wants isn't just a literal "defeat," but a complete and total crushing.
Of course, this was also what he wanted.
“Give us a good serve!”
The Inarizaki supporters cheered loudly for Ginjima Yui, who had already stepped into the service zone.
The current score remains deadlocked, but Inarizaki has maintained the advantage of the opening point. Coach Kurosu has no intention of substituting his key servers during the first few rounds of the opening.
In a single set, aside from the Libero, each player can only undergo one substitution.
In previous matches, Coach Kurosu would tend to choose to swap out the server once he had gained an early advantage, aiming to pull ahead in the score all at once to make it easier to solidify the lead in the later stages.
Watching Ginjima's serve being steadily received after Hoshiumi called it out, Coach Kurosu's fingers tapped his own arm.