But this match was different.
Unabara Uta's own condition was average, the physical conditioning of Hinata, Miya Atsumu, the others was not good either. Breaking through Karasuno's block would naturally require even more physical exertion, the various problems caused by this would be indirectly amplified throughout the entire match.
With all these unfavorable conditions piling up, he was not certain that the kids could maintain this tiny lead throughout nearly half an hour of high-intensity play.
Substitutions in this match should not be used simply to swap out key servers; instead, they should be used to play a game against Karasuno, leveraging the fact that their own bench is deeper than Karasuno's and that Karasuno currently holds the advantage in terms of overall form.
First of all.. let's take a look at the match status during the disadvantageous intervals.
"Give me the ball!" Miya Osamu, who had already taken his approach behind Position 4 in the front row to prepare for an attack, called out for Miya Atsumu's set.
On the other side, Tokura jumped in the center for a decoy attack; having already witnessed the spike technique that he and Suna shared, Bessho Chigen naturally did not dare to let his guard down for even a single moment.
Although Tokura has not yet mastered the proper way to apply force during a spike, his own decent level of strength compensates for that.
However.. now that the element of surprise from their first meeting has vanished, Miya Atsumu most likely won't consider using him.
In his field of vision, the ball in Miya Atsumu's hands suddenly popped upward, flying over the entire net toward Position 2.
At this stage, Bessho was completely stunned by the block.
Back-row attack? Is Hinata going to spike? In a situation like this?
Just as his gaze moved to follow that flash of orange in his field of vision toward the center of Inarizaki's back row, he saw Hinata, whose center of gravity was low as he provided support alongside Unabara.
The moment he realized something was wrong, Bessho's gaze snapped back, he moved quickly toward the position of the marker at Inarizaki's Position 2, twisting his body and lowering his center of gravity as he prepared to jump.
And at this very moment, Ginjima had already leaped high behind the three-meter line, using arm extension to stretch his body as much as possible in preparation for a spike.
Bessho's reaction speed was fast enough; the moment Ginjima leaped, he and Norikura Isao had already completed their follow-up block.
Since back-row attacks are inherently slower than front-row attacks, the two of them managed to catch up successfully.
Looking at the two people who had already gathered on the other side of the net, as well as Hakuma lunging in from the side, Ginjima had already formed a general idea and plan for the current situation in his mind.
He certainly didn't possess the kind of explosive potential for growth that Hinata and Rishia had, but.. as a senior, he had at least taken his personal physical development and training a step further.
The only truly difficult part of Karasuno's block is the absolute Iron Wall formed by the combination of Hirugami and Hakuma; Bessho's ability to judge and adjust is not as good as Hirugami's.
Additionally, Hakuma did not close his hands in time, so Karasuno's current block height is far from sufficient.
That also meant.. he could attempt a forced breakthrough.
Miya Atsumu's ball had plenty of height, enough for him to make any degree of adjustment.
But there was nothing to adjust; the crack in the Iron Wall was right at the end of his line of sight, he only needed to smash through it with all his might.
Bang!!
Bang!
Two heavy thuds rang out in succession. Ginjima's spike slammed straight into Bessho's fingers before bouncing out of bounds.
Ginjima's expression changed slightly.
According to his original expectation, this ball should have been able to be spiked directly down, unless.. Bessho made an adjustment at the exact moment it was spiked.
Takahashi gave it his all to chase after the ball, but he was still just a little bit too late; the ball cleared the barrier just before him and fell to the ground.
The whistle blew immediately after, the referee signaled that Karasuno's block was out, giving the score to Inarizaki.
The score, which had been deadlocked on the sidelines, shifted at this moment, with Inarizaki taking a two-point lead.
The court erupted in an instant, cheers and applause broke out from the Inarizaki cheering section.
Even so, Ginjima's expression was far from relaxed.
Just a little bit more..
It was just a little bit off. If his spike had been just a little bit slower, Karasuno's middle blocker would have been able to adjust his touch and cause his attack to fail completely.
Hinata raised his hand and rushed over: "Great ball, Ginjima-senpai!"
Hearing Hinata's voice, Ginjima snapped out of his daze, turning his head and slightly raising his hand to high-five Hinata. "You did a good job covering, too."
Hinata tilted his head slightly, a flash of confusion appearing in his eyes.
Did he just.. not do anything?
Miya Atsumu walked up from behind and reached out to pat Hinata on the head.
After the long-lasting hype from past matches, Hinata had already become that person who made everyone think, "If he's on the court, you must be a hundred percent alert."
After all.. if one isn't paying attention, Hinata really can complete a spike in all sorts of seemingly impossible situations.
Meeting Miya Atsumu's gaze, Ginjima let out a long sigh of relief: "Next time, I'll definitely spike the ball down hard."
Atsumu replied softly, "That's very reliable."
Watching Inarizaki take the lead, Komori felt a slight sense of relief.
To be honest, because he wasn't familiar with Karasuno, he personally leaned more towards Inarizaki.
And.. it's the same logic; if Inarizaki were to win the championship, then those who lost to the champions would effectively be the runners-up!
Koldorf said, "To be honest, I really thought Hinata was going to spike just now."
Komori couldn't help but laugh. "True, after all, Hinata just showed off his 'Leap Kill' not long ago, even if the final result was just tooling the block."
“But speaking of which.. it feels like neither side's offense was actually strong enough?” Inamura said, rubbing his chin.
No, it should be said that Karasuno failed to make an impact, whereas Inarizaki just seemed less effective under Karasuno's strong defense? On the contrary, their weak points seem to have made their attacks even more ferocious.
However, the relative strengths and weaknesses of both sides aren't that obvious, after all..
Both Karasuno and Inarizaki's back-row attack are played very well.
Enoshita Chikara turned his head to look at Kageyama, who was munching on watermelon: "Previously, our back-row attacks were always led by Azumane-senpai, but Arong's performance was just average. Do we need to keep working hard on this aspect?"
“Or should we switch to a complete front-row strong attack? When Arong is in the back row, should he play as a front-row middle blocker?”
Kageyama said without hesitation, "Yes."
Nishinoya continued, "Asahi is also on vacation lately. He said he'll be back in a few days, so let's have him help with some tutoring."
That would be best." Kageyama nodded. "Our offensive power is still relatively lacking, but we already have a very mature system in place for defense with Nishinoya-senpai and Tsukishima.
At this point, Kageyama lowered his eyes and thought for a moment. "In the short term, we really can't produce an all-around Ace Opposite like Hinata, but we could try splitting this responsibility.."
Yaotome asked in confusion, "Split it?"
Kageyama started to stammer: "Um.. it's just.."
Seeing Kageyama stammering, Yamaguchi gave a helpless smile and continued, "Inarizaki organizes its tactics around the Setter and the Opposite. Although they do use Middle Blocker and Wing Spiker tactics, because of the support from the Opposite, they can actually be categorized as an Opposite-based tactic."
What Kageyama means is that in the absence of a Stronger Opposite, one can choose to continue strengthening the existing Wing Spiker and Middle Blocker tactics, such as the Wing Spiker's back-row attacks in Position 4 and Position 2, or the Middle Blocker's Back Quick, for example.
Kageyama nodded, affirming Yamaguchi's words: "Yeah, that's it."
After saying that, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief, only then continued eating watermelon.
Yamaguchi averted his gaze and turned his back to Kageyama, using his hand to hide the expression of laughter he could no longer suppress.
Every time Kageyama wanted to say something long, he would rehearse it in his head beforehand, only speaking once he was certain there were no issues.
So, once he is faced with a sudden question, there is a high possibility he won't know how to answer, entering a state of "freezing."
Yamaguchi's shoulders were shaking far too noticeably, causing Kageyama to turn his head alertly. "What are you laughing at?"
It's nothing, it's nothing," Yamaguchi quickly pretended as if nothing had happened, tried to change the subject, "By the way, you seem to have a very high opinion of Hinata?
Kageyama's hand, which had been reaching for a piece of melon, paused before he set it back down on the table.
The sound of volleyballs hitting the floor and the commentator's voice continued to ring out from the television, but the kids didn't pay any attention to their conversation, still cheering for the match.
Yamaguchi did not rush Kageyama, but instead waited quietly for him to organize his thoughts, trying to get an answer that would either confirm or deny Hinata.
But in the next second, he received an answer that, literally speaking, had nothing to do with Hinata himself.
Kageyama watched Miya Atsumu-senpai score with a serve on the television, his gaze steady and his tone firm: "My goal is to be the strongest, so I will definitely, definitely defeat Miya Atsumu-senpai."
Sitting to the side with his arms crossed, Ukai let a smirk tug at the corners of his mouth, a low, amused chuckle vibrating in his throat.
Hmph.
Chapter 356: The Three Hundred and Fifty-Sixth Fox
Hoshiumi had just returned to the front row and hadn't even had a chance to launch a strong attack before being interrupted by Miya Osamu's Second Attack.
Inarizaki's numerous offensive options made Hoshiumi feel a bit overwhelmed.
He had just thought Miya Osamu was going to coordinate with Miya Atsumu for a Quick Attack, but instead, he went straight into a spike without even being fully prepared.
That's way too reckless!
"That chaotic playstyle was very effective against Karasuno, which was a pleasant surprise." Sitting in front of the computer, Shiratori felt a sense of emotion.
Of course he watched the match between Fukuda General and Karasuno this morning, the result didn't surprise him too much, it was just.. they lost a bit too quickly.
It can't be helped," Shimizu said slowly, "The same Academic Style.. the side with stronger raw strength will easily gain the advantage.
After all.. the answer is already a preset joseki.
Ogata turned his head to look at Nishizawa, who had asked the question: "In reality, we are an opportunistic and spontaneous style of play; many times, we are able to break free from a fixed framework."
"Yeah, I felt it." Nishizawa Hokuto nodded.
Shoyo-senpai's way of suddenly breaking through a sea of enemies was exceptionally striking.. it was simply incredibly cool.
"Actually, looking at it from this perspective, Unabara is also very impressive," Ogata suddenly said.
Seeing Nishizawa look over with some confusion, Ogata explained, "The way Miya-senpai, Suna-senpai, Shoyo play—performing counterattacks like that isn't something an ordinary person can do."
Nishizawa deeply agreed.
He understood, especially since Miya Atsumu sometimes decided to go for a Quick Attack on impulse without enough prior coordination.
Spikers can rely on chemistry to complete a spike, but a sudden attack combined with the uncertainty of the opponent's block creates a hellish situation for a Libero.
And Unabara-senpai, who was able to hold up against Karasuno's high-intensity block under such pressure.. is truly amazing.
"Nice, Unabara!" Watching the ball being received by Unabara and sent flying into the air, Miya Atsumu breathed a sigh of relief.
Hinata, who had been stared down and blocked during a Quick Attack by Hirugami, let out a small click of annoyance before quickly raising his hand to call for a set: "Atsumu-ge! One more time!"