Just as Aran expected, the ball flew straight over the net toward his side; it was traveling very fast, he could feel its heaviness.
But Aran's first receive ability had grown significantly during the past six months of being tormented by the gorilla, specifically reflected in his increased understanding of how to absorb the impact of a hit.
After judging the approximate landing area of the ball, he took a step back, lowered his center of gravity, used his forearm to cushion the ball.
The ball hit his forearm, he sent the ball up from a low stance, but he controlled his posture well, his knees did not touch the ground.
Beautiful," Coach Unabara applauded. "Aran is growing so fast; his judgment is precise and sharp enough.
Coach Hiya chuckled, "After all, a professional player's training volume can't be compared to what they had during their student days."
After multiple layers of screening, the players who finally make it into the professional world must be those capable of enduring such terrifying training volumes.
Without academic concerns, players can focus more energy on volleyball itself. Combined with the excellent coaching staff of top professional teams and customized resource provision, it certainly yields such results.
Ushijima's attacking position was quite good, so Miya Atsumu leaned his body slightly back, also preparing to give the ball to him.
Aoba and Hakuma completed their rotation once again, still preparing to handle Ushijima Wakatoshi's difficult-to-suppress line shot.
But just as Miya Atsumu was about to set, he maintained his original stance and delivered a short-distance high set slightly ahead of his own position.
Hirugami Fuku, who had been ready for a long time, leaped up after a single step and perfectly completed this Back Quick combination.
With a heavy thud, because Hinata and the others failed their block, the already high contact point allowed the ball to smash into the court as if it were an undefended territory.
Komori dived forward to save the ball, his fingers touched it, but he failed to lift the height of the ball.
Hinata, who had moved up from the front row to save the ball, was a step too slow and also failed to successfully save it.
“Nice play! Hirugami-senpai!”
Miya Atsumu raised his hand to high-five Hirugami, then turned his head to look at Hinata on the ground, flashing him a winner's smile.
Komori apologized hastily, "My apologies."
He had already touched the ball; failing to lift the ball's height would be a major mistake.
Hinata quickly stood up, shaking his head repeatedly. "It's okay, it's okay! The next ball will definitely be fine!"
Damn, he thought Miya Atsumu's feint would be for Bokuto on the other side, but it turned out to be a Back Quick.
As expected of Atsumu-ge, he was able to complete a Back Quick with a Middle Blocker he had never played with before in such a short amount of time.
In the back row, Kageyama slowly lowered his gaze, suppressing the surprise in his eyes.
Hinata had previously mentioned to him that Karasuno needed to consider frequently using the Back Quick tactic. Although he hadn't had time to watch the footage of the schools Hinata had used as examples, he had roughly identified this tactical approach, which Karasuno hadn't experimented with much before, from the matches over the past few days.
To be honest, if he were to set a Back Quick to a player he had never worked with before, he wasn't quite sure what he should do.
At that thought, Kageyama paused slightly when his gaze caught the back of Hinata's head.
No, he could actually do it, it was just.. he needed a bit of that "selfishness" that he had already cast aside.
Hinata had once set a Quick Attack to Tsukishima when they weren't well acquainted, although Tsukishima was displeased, he still moved to spike it.
He could also do this, setting only when he confirmed his teammate could keep up with the spike, without having to consider the opponent's specific "intentions."
That's right, the most important thing to confirm during this process is the spiker's condition, that is all.
Since their first meeting a long time ago, Miya Atsumu has been saying that his play is "well-behaved," and Hinata has also said more than once that his sets "lack spirit."
Even though he could let loose a little in front of such excellent players during the Junior National Team training camp, he was still uncertain whether he could maintain this state after returning.
Although he didn't want to admit it, he did indeed hesitate.
The Back Quick playstyle is also like that; if there's even the slightest error in coordination, it will fall out of sync, it could even spiral completely out of control.
Perhaps..
Watching Miya Atsumu's profile as he spoke with Hirugami-senpai, Kageyama let out a soft breath.
Perhaps it wasn't that he lacked sufficient understanding of his own volleyball, nor was it simply a lack of courage.
He just.. didn't trust others enough.
But that's not right, is it?
The boy with the orange hair looked at him, his eyes filled with anticipation and fighting spirit.
He was urging him to set, as if as long as he delivered the set, they could score and even the tide could turn.
He knew Hinata's learning ability was incredibly strong; he could even mimic every single person in Inarizaki, even to some extent, digest their techniques.
But when it came to "trust," Hinata was completely equal; from the very beginning, he gave it to every single one of them in a state so overflowing it was almost bursting, this trust would drive the others to give him the same feedback in return.
Perhaps.. this is why he and Hinata can sync up so unexpectedly.
—Because he trusts Hinata.
Taking a deep breath, Kageyama took his position slightly further forward to avoid being targeted by Bokuto's serve.
Now, he would give this trust to every spiker; the balls he set would definitely assume the opponent could keep up, "forcing" them to provide the same feedback.
Hinata did exactly that, didn't he?
Feeling something, Hinata tilted his head slightly toward Kageyama, but the other person wasn't looking at him, his final request for the ball had completely fallen through.
The whistle blew, the Head Referee signaled for Bokuto to serve.
Bokuto, who had just been used entirely as a decoy by Miya Atsumu and hadn't received a single glance from him, decided to use his serve to build up his own momentum.
However, there was no cheering squad at this match, so he had no way to liven up the atmosphere of the entire venue; he could only clap for himself and cheer himself on.
Aran called out thoughtfully, "Give me a good serve!"
Bokuto felt encouraged and lightly tapped the ball.
Although this team has Ushijima, who was stronger than him back in high school, Aran, with whom he has always been in competition since high school, still.. this first serve point will definitely be his!
Full of confidence, Bokuto decisively tossed the ball after confirming his condition, aiming directly for the space between Komori and Sakusa.
Bang!!
A heavy thud suddenly exploded as Bokuto's absolutely violent serve accurately struck the center of the backline on Hinata's side of the court.
Sakusa didn't move an inch, completely unbothered by Bokuto's little trick of a serve aimed right at the center.
In Itachiyama's tactical arrangement, the focus was primarily on Komori's defense; as long as it was a ball Komori could receive, there was absolutely no need for the others to move.
“I've got it!”
Komori stepped out, crossing his legs and dropping his center of gravity as he retreated, steadily and reliably receiving the ball.
Bokuto's expression collapsed the moment before the ball even hit the ground: "Ah—!"
What a great first receive!
Kageyama offered praise, his expression relatively calm.
Komori's first receive could be described as incredibly considerate; he sent almost every ball directly above where he was positioned, so all he had to do was jump and set.
Karasuno's own Libero is also very impressive; although his stability in receiving was not particularly good before, after communicating with Nekoma, Nishinoya has also begun striving to provide absolutely stable First Receives, it has become quite effective now.
Imagine his usual state..
Watching Hinata jump again at Position 4 to prepare for a Quick Attack, Kageyama's expression remained as calm as still water.
After being startled by the opening, Hirugami, who was now two hundred percent alert against this kind of Quick Attack, had already moved half a step toward that side, Ushijima, over there, was also staring at Hinata's movements.
The two players, both around 1.9m in height, looked at Hinata simultaneously, giving him the highest level of alertness.
Just as Kageyama was about to touch the ball while maintaining his forward setting motion, he leaned his whole body back, sending the ball toward Aoba Haruka near Position 2.
It wasn't a Quick Attack, but Hinata had already drawn most of the opponent's attention toward the block; as long as Aoba Haruka could follow this ball immediately, he would definitely, definitely have a chance to hit an open net.
Aoba Haruka followed up very decisively, taking a three-step approach run-up before leaping upward, his eyes fixed on the ball's position as he raised his hand, preparing for a spike.
Aran on the opposing side had already moved up to block, but he alone was unable to restrict Aoba, who was already highly skilled in technical shots and varied ball trajectories.
Aoba Haruka flicked his hand, not even choosing a cross-court spike, but instead pressing the ball down into the gap between Aran and the sideline.
He was positioned a bit too far away; although he dove to reach the ball, his diving touch failed to send it upward.
The ball, which hadn't been hit with much force to begin with, bounced up a few centimeters before falling again, striking Heiwajima's arm.
The Libero's consecutive hits allowed Hinata's side to score.
Hinata raised his hand and rushed toward Aoba: "Nice play! Haruka!"
Aoba Haruka high-fived him. "Hinata's decoy work was also great."
As for the way he addressed him, it was something he had requested himself; after all, he wasn't the only one named Aoba in Rakusan now. Although he didn't know if his younger brother would have the chance to make the Junior National Team selection in the future, he felt it was necessary to make a distinction in their names.
As for why he didn't call Hinata by his name..
Because he had been glared at by Miya Atsumu when he tried to call his name on the first day.
Aran looked at Hinata, his face full of resentment: "That's so dirty, it's just too dirty."
This way of using Hinata as a Decoy was something they used to do themselves, just to let him, the Ace, enjoy himself, but as a result, he has actually become the one being victimized by this decoy tactic..
Miya Atsumu shook his hands and looked at Kageyama, who was high-fiving Aoba Haruka on the opposite side, said, "You don't even give Shoyo any balls? That's really going too far."
Aran turned his head toward the even filthier guy: "What are you talking about? You don't give him any either."
Because Hinata was used as a Decoy too frequently before, he had even held a grudge against Miya Atsumu for a period of time.
But he felt that Hinata would definitely get its revenge in the future—in every possible way.
Miya Atsumu replied without a hint of embarrassment or hesitation, "How can those be the same?"
After replying to Aran, Miya Atsumu's gaze fell upon Kageyama.
Rather than scoring by using Hinata as a decoy, what he actually cared about was the slight sense of incongruity he had just caught.
It felt as if something had changed silently.
Although he hadn't figured out exactly what it was, but..
He felt very displeased.
Miya Atsumu stood with one hand on his hip and judged, "This is all just a poor imitation."
"Your name isn't written in the tactics." Aran rolled his eyes.
But he did understand what Miya Atsumu was trying to say.
Without having a complete understanding of the overall tactics, copying someone's homework was indeed the fastest way to adapt; Kageyama's current use of Hinata was basically based on Miya Atsumu's approach.