The toss was incredibly accurate and high; even though Asahina and Hirugami, two excellent blockers, were jumping to intercept, Miya Osamu's offense was in the best possible condition under the setter's orchestration.
He swung his arm, using the momentum of his entire body, held his breath, focusing intensely on Takahashi's position as he prepared to spike.
As Takahashi took a step back, Miya Osamu decisively changed the direction of his spike, relying on his superior hang time compared to Asahina to smash the ball down over his head.
Hoshiumi jerked his head around, trying to rush over to save the ball, but it was already too late.
By the time Takahashi realized Miya Osamu was preparing for a front row spike, he had already moved forward, but he was unable to reach out in time because he had underestimated the speed of Miya Osamu's full-power spike.
Miya Osamu, who had seen everything clearly, judged that this point should have already been won.
But in the very next instant, the ball slammed directly onto Takahashi's foot, bouncing at a very low angle toward the area near the net.
Hoshiumi was quick-eyed and quick-footed, extending his foot to dig the ball as well.
Unfortunately, the ball did not hit the top of his foot; instead, it struck the slanted shoelace and was deflected upward at a low angle once again.
Norikura Isao bared his teeth and performed a sliding kick to reach the ball.
Luckily, this time his foot kicked the ball directly over the net, it landed in the Inarizaki back row.
Miya Osamu was stunned, by the time he turned his head, the ball had already landed near Tokura.
But Tokura was momentarily unable to control his limbs, not knowing whether to reach out with his hands or his feet; in that moment of hesitation, the ball grazed his arm and dropped.
The whistle blew, Karasuno scored.
Tokura and Ginjima looked at each other, Hinata, who had just been about to lunge forward, instead collapsed onto the floor, clutching his head.
Takahashi instinctively let out a sound: "Hmm.."
Hoshiumi fell silent for two seconds: "Ah."
Norikura Isao scratched his head. "Yeah."
After a brief silence, the crowd in the stands burst into laughter and cheers: "Hahahaha—Nice play!"
Although they lost this point, the Inarizaki members were not too disappointed; instead, this comical play helped ease the tension that had made the atmosphere so heavy.
He's shooting!
What is the goalkeeper doing!
The goalkeeper isn't on the court!
The current Inarizaki Libero, Arima Shuji, stood up from the Coach's bench to switch positions with Tokura, feeling somewhat at a loss for words due to the continuous laughter coming from the stands.
Coach Hiya, standing by the sidelines, suddenly spoke after a long silence, "Hmm.. the fundamentals are a mix of good and bad, but the reaction speed is quite fast."
Coach Unabara raised his hand to cover his face, sighing amidst the laughter from the stands.
As expected, he knew it.
Kids at this age.. once their physical strength starts to fail, it's easy for them to start playing recklessly.
Miya Atsumu collapsed on the court, exhausted.
What on earth is going on—
Chapter 368: The Three Hundred and Sixty-Eighth Fox
“How is the condition?”
Coach Omimi watched the doctor in the gymnasium with some nervousness; there was no broadcast of the match in the infirmary, so his heart was forced into suspense as well.
Having just returned from treating Takahashi, the doctor, who hadn't even finished filling out the medical records, gave Unabara a thorough examination.
Looking up and seeing Unabara's nervous face several times, the doctor gave a sudden smile.
He reached out and patted Unabara's arm to help him relax. "It's nothing serious, it's been well-protected, though it is a bit swollen. If you still want to play, take a short rest. I'll apply an ice pack to it, then we'll wrap it again with a compression bandage."
Just lie down and behave yourself for a few days, don't go running around recklessly.
The doctor's expectations were very relaxed, combined with the Oita accent, they sounded even more easygoing and humorous, causing Kumoita's originally quite nervous heart to slowly settle down.
Unabara turned his head to look at Coach Omimi, who was raising his hand to wipe away sweat. "Coach, you should head back first. I'll return to the court by myself in a bit."
By this stage of the match, everyone's stamina was starting to fail. Although some players were helping Coach Kurosu, Coach Kurosu might find himself overwhelmed without a manager at Inarizaki.
After all, he had to manage battle preparations while simultaneously checking on and looking after the players' condition.
Coach Omimi was also very clear on this point and did not refuse: "Then I'll go call Ogata over; the Second String can be managed by someone else for a while."
Unabara watched the Coach leave, but before long, the Coach returned in a frantic rush, raising his hand to toss a bag over. "Tablet! Find the match footage yourself!"
Watching Coach Omimi's figure disappear again, Unabara blinked.
Ogata, who was called over by Coach Omimi on the phone, arrived very quickly.
Unabara Uta had been in the First String since enrollment, so he hadn't had much contact with him before. However, thanks to Hinata's powerful social magnetism, he had become acquainted with the current First String members as well.
“Honey Lemon.” Ogata waved the box in his hand at him.
Unabara reached out and took it. "Thank you—you're a lifesaver—"
Unlike basketball matches, which have long breaks between the first and second halves, volleyball matches have very short breaks between sets. Aside from the Middle Blockers and Liberos who are frequently rotated, it is difficult for the others to get enough rest.
Ogata smiled.
Rest well for now, then let's go win the championship together.
Hearing these words, Maho looked up at the person giving the instructions.
By the way, everyone check your makeup and clothes. Check each other to see if your ties are crooked, make sure no pages are missing from your sheet music.
Anyone who feels particularly nervous can take a few deep breaths to relax; we'll be getting ready to line up and enter the court in ten minutes.
Maho put down her small instrument and carefully placed it back into its case.
——This is the end.
She had wanted to take one last look at the situation over at the Inarizaki volleyball match, but in the end, she put her bag back.
There was nothing to worry about, nothing to be uneasy about.
Standing in the backstage area where there was very little light, Maho took a deep breath; Unabara had once told him what the Kita Team of last year's Men's Volleyball had said.
There are gods above the three feet.
As long as you have done everything in your power, that is enough.
Arima Shuji raised his head to look at the Karasuno members on the opposite side, letting out a long breath from his chest.
As expected.. it seems like he's being targeted.
Withdrawing his gaze from Arima Shuji, Hirugami took the volleyball from Hoshiumi behind him, preparing to serve.
In a certain sense, Itachiyama's strategy was still quite effective, but Itachiyama failed to make much of an impact during the morning session, after all, their overall condition had already been worn down by Inarizaki.
And right now, Arima Shuji's state is not at its absolute peak either; the flaws in his not-quite-solid fundamentals are becoming even more apparent at this moment.
No, or rather, was Arima Shuji intentionally giving up some level of control over difficult balls?
If one had to summarize the playstyle of Inarizaki's current Libero..
Most of the time, he gives rather ugly balls, but during Inarizaki's Service Turn, he occasionally delivers a few quite brilliant ones.
Is this.. an attempt to score consecutive points?
Watching from the stands, Komori speculated, "Both sides' offensive patterns are quite close to a Strong Attack; this style of play can certainly be used."
"It's not a long-term solution." Sakusa shook his head slightly.
Komori also sighed, "But there are no better options; Inarizaki truly lacks a standout player in the Libero position."
If we were to be strict about it, Unabara wouldn't actually fall within that category either.
Iizuna couldn't help but speak up: "Inarizaki's lineup is already heaven-defying. If they had a first-class Libero as well.. they would truly be aiming for Hinata's eighth consecutive championship."
You have to realize that the national team roster hasn't even been released yet, but Aran and Miya Atsumu, who were already active in the youth teams last year, will likely both be promoted to the main squad this year.
Moreover, there are rumors that the national team coach has also set his sights on Suna and Hinata..
If we add a Libero to the mix, then a quarter of the national team will be from Inarizaki!
Inamoto suddenly chimed in, "That's hard to say."
Iizuna didn't quite react in time: "Huh?"
Inamoto straightened his expression and held up a finger. "When we played Inarizaki during the IH last year, we didn't expect a Hinata to pop up later on either."
The members of Itachiyama fell silent.
That was the truth, but before that, they had brief contact with Hinata at Shiratorizawa, so they were somewhat mentally prepared.
If Inarizaki were to produce some kind of god-tier substitute rookie during this year's National Sports Festival.. that would truly be a massive shock.
Karasuno took advantage of Hirugami's Service Turn to score consecutive points, tying the score once again and seizing the lead.
After an Inarizaki counterattack, the Service Right passed to Suna, Arima Shuji and Tokura swapped positions, with Tokura returning to the front row.
Watching Tokura walk up, Hinata raised a hand and gave him a big thumbs up.
Tokura looked at Hinata and suddenly noticed that his expression was very excited, he even gestured something toward him with his back to the net.
After trying to understand for a moment, Tokura more or less understood what Hinata meant.
—Come on, let's go deal with that two-meter guy.
He gave an OK sign, indicating that he understood.
Hinata secretly clenched his fists in a silent cheer, then turned his head to look at Hakuma with burning eyes.
Soon he realized something was wrong and quickly locked his gaze onto Bessho Chigen.
Bessho Chigen's expression appeared unchanged, but internally, he couldn't help but start complaining.
—This attempt to cover it up is a bit too obvious, don't you think!
And right at that moment, Hakuma-senpai also looked at him with a very sympathetic gaze.
Bessho Chigen fell silent.
—Hakuma-senpai actually believed him!