He slightly turned his head toward the Head Referee who was preparing to blow the whistle, while Hinata, at the net, noticed Hoshiumi's slight movement and made a hand gesture behind his back.
Watching the Head Referee's movements means there's an eighty percent chance they're going to play a buzzer-beater.
The greatest advantage of a buzzer-beater ball is its speed, which can catch the opponent's first receive player off guard.
But as long as he knows the opponent will hit, then it will be easy to deal with.
Unabara withdrew his gaze, having formed a guess about Hoshiumi's intentions.
First of all, observing the Head Referee's movements doesn't require much physical movement. Secondly, if he can still make Hinata notice a small movement even after Karasuno has already set up a serve cover.. then there's a ninety percent chance it's a feint.
Even so, Unabara increased his level of alertness, shifting his center of gravity upward, ready to adjust his receiving position at any moment.
As it turned out, Unabara's judgment was correct.
Hoshiumi's toss wasn't a buzzer-beater at all; it was less than a second after the referee blew the whistle.
This kind of timing difference could easily cause the receivers on Inarizaki's side to move too early, resulting in a foul.
—How dirty-minded.
Miya Atsumu felt a slight surge of emotion, then adjusted his position the moment he heard the sound of the hit, moving himself completely away from any position that might be targeted by the serve.
Miya Osamu quickly covered, using his hands to receive the ball and send it toward the Attack Line.
"What a great first receive!" After praising it, Atsumu jumped, preparing to set the ball.
Inarizaki's front row currently consists of Ginjima Yui and Suna, in terms of their current form, Ginjima is definitely in better shape.
Moreover, with Karasuno's blocking strength having dropped, Ginjima's spike can produce results even more easily.
But.. he just said he was going to give the ball to Hinata.
As Hakuma took a half-step toward Ginjima, who had already moved toward Position 3 Center following Miya Atsumu's gaze, Miya Atsumu skillfully sent the ball toward the high point at Position 4 at the end of his gaze, maintaining his original posture.
It wasn't any flashy Quick Attack, nor was it a feint; it was just the most ordinary Strong Attack at Position 4 that any volleyball player would perform.
But before that, as the setter, Miya Atsumu had already cleared some of the obstacles for the ace's spike.
Hinata's spike was decisive enough; the slightly late block was completely unable to restrict his movement, his spike smashed into Karasuno's front row via the shortest possible path.
After the block failed, Hakuma decisively dove toward the ground, somehow saving the ball just before it hit the floor.
"Nice play!!" The Karasuno stands erupted instantly.
Coach Unabara clapped his hands: "Beautiful."
It's the same as before; for players like Hakuma, every bit of growth is an unexpected joy for them.
As expected, a sufficiently powerful and inspiring opponent is the best catalyst for becoming stronger.
"Give me the ball!" Norikura Isao shouted, calling for the ball.
Hoshiumi had already rotated to the back row, Hakuma had not yet gotten up into position; the only ones in the front row capable of launching an attack were him and Hirugami, making it very easy for Inarizaki to follow up with a block.
But if he were to give it to him.. at the very least, he could guarantee he could break through Hinata, who was responsible for marking him.
Asahina also knew this, so he decisively passed the ball to Norikura Isao.
Hinata moved toward Karasuno's Position 2 following Norikura Isao's movement, then jumped a step ahead the moment Norikura Isao lowered his center of gravity, ensuring he could reach the peak height in sync with Norikura Isao.
As the sound of Norikura Isao's spike rang out, Hinata pulled back to create distance from the net and flattened his palm to perform a touch.
Touch!
"Nice touch!" Unabara shouted.
But at the same time, Miya Atsumu reached out a hand to signal to Unabara that he didn't need to receive it.
Subsequently, Miya Atsumu stepped forward quickly, jumping near the end line and raising his hand to touch the ball.
And right at that moment, Miya Osamu had already jumped behind the three-meter line, making a move to spike.
—Negative tempo Quick Attack.
The moment he realized the answer, Hirugami gathered with Hakuma and Norikura Isao in the Center to focus on Miya Osamu's spike.
But in the next instant, Miya Osamu, having secured the ball, twisted his body violently and sent a toss toward Inarizaki's Position 4.
A spike that was actually a toss.
After creating enough distance, Ginjima Yui jumped forward to spike. Even with the ball missing the net, he drove it straight into Karasuno's front court, pinning the ball firmly against the three-meter line with a heavy thud.
The ball bounced up, flying to a higher position, telling everyone the sheer power of Ginjima's spike.
Nice play!
Nice! Great play! One more!!
Hinata wiped the sweat from his chin and said in an admiring tone, "That was so cool."
Theoretically, he could also perform such a heavy spike without having to worry about anything, but he lacked the power to back it up to score, so it remained nothing more than a pipe dream.
In the stands, Sakusa frowned slightly. "Inarizaki cannot let this set drag on."
With Inarizaki's current way of playing, if they end up dragging it into a deciding set against Karasuno, it's over.
"But it feels like we can't shake the gap either," Komori sighed.
Inarizaki's momentum certainly looked quite good, but that didn't take their subsequent playstyle into account; if they couldn't quickly take the lead, they would inevitably face a situation where they'd have to play a deciding set against Karasuno.
During Suna's service turn, Coach Kurosu decisively substituted him with Kumagai.
There is no longer a need to conserve strength; all they have to do is use the service turn to pull ahead during these crucial points.
Standing at the service line, Kumagai bounced the ball against the ground before catching it in his hands when half of the service time limit had elapsed.
With Karasuno's current receiving lineup.. he actually has no way to exploit it.
Even though the setter is in the back, with Hoshiumi and the Libero there, there are no opportunities for a targeted attack.
Exhaling softly, Kumagai leaned his body forward while tossing the ball up.
But he wouldn't be able to let it go without trying; he'd go for a Power Serve with a flat trajectory.
Thud!!
“I've got it!” Hoshiumi shouted decisively.
He lunged forward in a diving motion, measuring the distance perfectly to get under the ball. After the ball hit his arms, it flew up steadily, landing near where Asahina was currently positioned.
Although Asahina didn't move forward, he had the ability to deliver a back-row pass.
Even if he can't achieve the same level of perfection as Miya Atsumu, he can still provide a simple high ball.
Hakuma is still in the front row, his two-meter height alone should be enough to dominate the volleyball.
Asahina sent the ball to the high point at the Center, Hakuma had already shifted his weight down and jumped, the overall rhythm of the offense being faster than any previous attack.
The rhythm of Ginjima Yui and Tokura Yukihito's dives was not synchronized with Hakuma, neither of them touched the ball.
Hakuma Mebuki's spike pressed down over the block, Karasuno scored.
"YES!!" Hakuma Mebuki cheered, pumping his fist.
That damn Inarizaki block—he finally smashed right through it!
Inamoto raised his hand and covered his mouth: "Two meters.."
This feeling was sickening; just thinking about the prospect of facing such an opponent, he felt as if his life had lost all its light.
But fortunately, Itachiyama has Sakusa and Komori, so even if the block doesn't touch the ball, the back row's saves still give them a fighting chance.
Inarizaki's slow reaction speed for back row players, combined with the fact that their Libero is even injured, makes them very difficult to deal with.
Miya Atsumu let out a click of his tongue. "That's totally unreasonable."
Watching Kumagai leave the court to bring Unabara back in, Hinata's gaze shifted back over the net, landing on Bessho Chigen, who had moved to the front row.
It's fine, we can just win it back.
Hirugami Yukio's serve was as tricky as ever, aimed directly at the back-row gap created by Miya Atsumu moving forward to avoid the serve's target.
If that ball were hit to that position, Miya Osamu would have no choice but to perform a diving save.
Although Miya Osamu himself doesn't perform back-row attacks very often, he is an all-rounder after all, capable of both setting and covering, so it would be quite worthwhile to remove him from the offensive system.
Miya Atsumu didn't care much about that either.
Miya Osamu playing in the Right Wing was originally to protect him; their front row still had three attacking options, so no problems would arise just because Miya Osamu could no longer play.
After performing a feint of a positive set, Miya Atsumu immediately transferred the ball into the hands of Hinata, who had already rushed toward Position 2.
Hinata leaped up on one foot, his gaze passing over the volleyball to look at the Karasuno blockers.
Starting from Position 4 of Inarizaki, the Karasuno block consisted of Hakuma, Bessho, Norikura Isao.
Thanks to Ginjima Yui's offensive cover and Miya Atsumu's feint, the confused Norikura Isao and Bessho Chigen failed to close in immediately, giving him enough space to play.
And that point.. he had actually noticed it during Hoshiumi's block, it was even more obvious then.
Hoshiumi's block was more skilled than his, but to keep up with Hirugami and the others' formation, he would also need better anticipation and faster approach-jump speed.
But now, Hoshiumi was no longer as composed as he was at the opening; from his very first block, there was a clear lack of synchronization, the disadvantage of his insufficient height was fully exposed.
——Norikura Isao is the same way right now.
His speed isn't fast enough, his height is also a step below the others, so whether it's jumping higher to hit over the block or tooling the block, both are good options.
And Hinata decided to choose tooling the block, not giving Karasuno a chance to receive the ball.
Staring intently at Norikura Isao's hands, Hinata spiked the ball directly without even looking at it.
The ball hung in the air from his contact point with perfect precision; he didn't need to make any adjustments at all; all he had to do was spike.
BANG!!
A heavy thud exploded, Norikura Isao was knocked backward by Hinata's hit, while the ball bounced high into the air following the impact, falling toward the spectator stands.
Hoshiumi withdrew his gaze.
—There's no value in trying to save this angle.
He looked at Shoyo, a twisted and terrifying smile appearing on his face: "Shoyo.. you're quite capable."
Hearing his voice, Hinata, who had just landed, looked back with a smile on his face as well.
—It's because Hikari-kun is a great teacher.