The whistle blew, the Head Referee signaled for Suna to serve.
Bessho looked at Hakuma, looking as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.
But the whistle had already blown; he could not make any movement before Suna's serve.
During this service turn from Suna, Hakuma was in the front row, so Suna didn't have the opportunity to target him; after all, it would be impossible to choose a net ball that would naturally favor the tall Hakuma Mebuki just to target him.
Therefore, Suna cautiously chose to target Asahina Kongming on the side.
Even though Karasuno chose to use a formation with two Liberos to handle his serve, Asahina was in the back row for this rotation, so it was impossible for him to stay completely glued to the net.
He didn't use a jump serve anyway; he could control both light taps and heavy spikes even when standing for a serve.
Lifting his hand to toss the ball up, Suna flicked his wrist to give it a side spin as he tapped it to the side.
The volleyball, carrying a slight spin, flew over the net and dropped toward Asahina on the side at a relatively fast speed.
Seeing that he couldn't avoid it, Asahina decisively shouted, "I'll take it!"
His setting wasn't strictly necessary either, as Hoshiumi-senpai could handle the orchestration. After all, Hoshiumi-senpai was versatile enough and was in the back row, meaning the front row's three-point attack could be fully utilized.
Hoshiumi also quickly moved to cover, jumping behind the three-meter line to prepare for a set.
Hinata quickly made his guess.
Is it.. a Second Attack?
No, this might also be a feint; he had to wait for the setter's set.
Thinking this, Hinata adjusted his position backward, ensuring he could be ready to defend any Second Ball in the front row at any time, while also creating enough distance for a running approach to chase down a spike from a front row Spiker.
Seeing Hinata's movement, Hoshiumi decisively gave up on the Second Ball.
Since he was already defending, there was no point.
After a brief moment of thought, he raised his hands and sent the ball toward Hakuma Mebuki, who was jumping in the center.
This set was quite high; by ensuring the spiker could hit above the block, a high ball in the center provides the most diverse options for subsequent spike routes.
Tokura, who had already jumped, reached out to attempt a touch, but..
Just a little bit short.
Tokura's expression became quite distorted from exerting every ounce of his strength, but unfortunately, he was still a little bit short of this ball.
Hakuma Mebuki's spike crashed down over the net once again, the powerful ball smashing toward Inarizaki's back row at extreme speed.
Miya Osamu reacted extremely quickly, adjusting his footing in a single step to reach out and dig the ball.
“Nice play!” Miya Atsumu praised, his words filled with genuine admiration.
The moment Hakuma landed, Hinata, who had been staring at him, felt his breath hitch slightly.
But he didn't have time to provide any other warnings or cues; his current task was to retreat to prepare for the subsequent offense and cover.
"Give me the ball!" he shouted, asking Miya Atsumu for the ball.
This time, Miya Atsumu met his needs.
Miya Atsumu delivered the ball steadily to a high point right in front of him, the blockers currently facing him were Bessho Chigen and Norikura Isao, a block that he could overcome.
Holding his breath as he jumped with all his might above the block, Hinata raised his hand and smashed the ball down toward the sideline of the Karasuno court.
Hoshiumi Hikari kept his eyes fixed on Hinata's movements, the moment he spiked, he had already pushed off the ground and lunged, his fingertips barely getting under the ball.
"Beautiful!!" Asahina shouted loudly.
Although the height of this ball wasn't enough and the position wasn't great, it was still sufficient.
If the ball is passed to Hakuma Mebuki, he just needs to ensure it is high enough; Hakuma Mebuki will use his height to make it effective.
Tokura stepped back one step.
Hinata's blocking height had always been somewhat insufficient, so he used a more ample approach to make up for it.
It wasn't hard to guess where Hakuma's spike would land; limited by his massive physique, Hakuma's movement speed was quite limited, making it easy enough to keep up for a block.
He was just a tiny bit short last time, but this time..
He definitely won't miss!
After a single-step approach, Tokura lowered his center of gravity slightly, looked up at Hakuma's position, suddenly leaped upward, extending one hand and stretching his body in an attempt to touch the ball.
The sound of a heavy thud rang in his ears, his taped fingers were inches away from the volleyball.
In the next instant, the sensation of the ball striking his fingers head-on was exceptionally clear. Tokura laid his hand flat against the impact, forming a platform to bounce the ball upward.
Thud!!
Tokura's breath caught for a moment, then he shouted loudly, "Touch!!"
"Nice hit!" Suna quickly retreated and raised his hands, sending the ball toward the area near the Attack Line.
Miya Atsumu's lips curled into a smirk as he tilted his body, flicking the ball toward Hinata's position.
Before Bessho and Norikura Isao could close in, Hinata had already spiked the ball.
A heavy thud sounded again, this time, the even faster ball gave Hoshiumi no chance to save it.
The ball slammed precisely on the sideline, letting out a heavy thud.
The whistle blew immediately after, announcing that Inarizaki scores.
Inarizaki scores consecutively, retaking the lead and gaining the advantage once again.
Great play!!
The cheers from the stands were incessant.
Hinata also raised both hands and rushed toward Tokura at the first possible moment: "Yukihito! That was a great touch!"
The intense high-pressure match finally had a moment to catch its breath. Even though it was a disadvantageous defensive position, the play was executed with extraordinary ease..
Tokura snapped back to his senses and turned his head to look at Hinata, who was waving at him.
To be honest, this was the first time he had experienced such a genuine sense of involvement on a volleyball court, also the first time he had felt the true joy brought by his own assists.
—He was very happy.
He slapped it heavily: "Shoyo's spikes are great too!"
Hinata laughed, "Of course!"
Chapter 369: The 369th Fox
Holding the ball, Suna walked toward the service position, glancing sideways at the scoreboard on the sidelines, which showed Inarizaki 20:19 Karasuno.
If he can just get one more point.. this set will be secured.
Suna lightly spun the volleyball in his hands and exhaled a soft breath.
His physical strength wasn't great to begin with, placing him at the bottom within Inarizaki. After playing through this match until now.. even though he hadn't played the entire game, he was already feeling somewhat exhausted.
The reason he was able to play through the previous five sets was because that day only had this one match.
But their match against Itachiyama this morning was far too intense, leaving them with almost no room for adjustment by the afternoon.
I'm feeling a bit exhausted.
But the same must apply to the players of Karasuno; regardless, he didn't believe the state of Karasuno's setter would remain the same as before, so if he continued to target him..
At that very moment, the sound of a substitution announcement suddenly rang out from the sidelines; Karasuno had requested a substitution.
Suna looked up in surprise and saw Tokura Ria, number 10, holding up the number 9 sign on the Karasuno sideline.
Slightly dulled by exhaustion, Suna's mind processed the information. This person had appeared in the match between Karasuno and Ichibayashi during the Haruko tournament earlier this year; he remembered him being the substitute setter for Suwa.
—Karassuno has changed their setter.
The moment he reached this conclusion, Suna stopped thinking.
Ah.. this is bad.
Miya Atsumu also couldn't help but frown.
Although Tokura Ria herself has no playing record and thus lacks much match experience, she performed quite calmly when she previously came on as a substitute.
Moreover, Tokura Ria was a year older than Asahina, her fundamentals and level of integration with the team were superior.
Tokura patted Asahina's shoulder, then walked onto the court with a face full of excitement.
Finally—another chance to take the court!
Suna lowered his eyes to the volleyball in his hands, re-evaluating his strategy in his mind.
The plan to counter the setter's serve could basically be declared broken, his own strength was insufficient to achieve his goal of disrupting Hoshiumi's balance by attacking him.
At this time, the best option would actually be to substitute in a key server to take over his job, since it's highly unlikely he will have another service turn later on.
But the substitution process requires prior application, so Karasuno's substitution of their setter must have been confirmed before this.
There's no other way, it's a net touch.
Having made up his mind, Suna tossed the ball up the moment the whistle blew. Unfortunately, because the force of his toss was insufficient, his spike didn't hit the extreme edge of the net this time.
Suna stared at the top edge of the net and used his fingers to wrap around the ball, spiking it out.
“I've got it!" Norikura Isao shouted, stepping toward Hakuma's position to receive the ball for him.
Hakuma had also adjusted his position, quickly moving from behind Norikura Isao to charge toward Position 4 with large strides.
“Give me the ball!!”
Tokura Ria rushed forward, jumping slightly in preparation to set the ball.
Tokura stared intently at Tokura Ria's movements, attempting to judge her target for the set.
Currently, Norikura Isao is not yet in position, but Hoshiumi in the back row is already prepared to move forward for an attack, while Bessho and Hakuma on both sides have completed their positioning shifts in front of the setter.
The moment Tokura Ria made contact, her arms pressed down slightly, her entire body arched backward a little.
Tokura and Ginjima quickly converged on the center, both jumping simultaneously to block at Hoshiumi's position in the center.
With a slight curl of her lips, Tokura Ria used her right hand with force, sending the ball directly toward Position 4 in front of her.