Miya Osamu, who had no doubt that the ball could be saved, had already adjusted his position for the approach and jumped to prepare for a spike just as the three players from Shiratorizawa rushed over.
Even in such an emergency, Miya Atsumu did not give Miya Osamu a simple high ball.
After considering that Miya Osamu would have no way to avoid the block, he gave a set that lacked height but had enough airtime, allowing Miya Osamu to adjust himself and perform technical plays like tooling the block.
At the same time, having confirmed that there would be no follow-up attack, Suna hurriedly reached out to grab Hinata's leg, pulling him back to prevent him from being stepped on by the Shiratorizawa players.
Miya Osamu did not disappoint, hitting the ball precisely against Kawanishi's fingers to score by tooling the block.
The score on the sidelines jumped to Inarizaki 24:19 Shiratorizawa, with Inarizaki at set point.
"Beautiful!!" Aran stood up from the stands in excitement, raising both hands high to cheer and celebrate with everyone.
Miya Atsumu, who helped Hinata up as they both struggled to stand, high-fived the others, saying, "Nice play, nice play!"
Suna spoke up in praise, "Your reaction speed is very fast, Shoyo."
Hinata raised his hand and patted his chest. "Of course!"
Hoshiumi, who had already walked up to the edge of the court's railing, narrowed his eyes. He had originally intended to complain to Hirugami about Miya Atsumu's ridiculous set, but he noticed something even more important.
Hoshiumi raised his hand to his forehead, checking once more, "Shoyo.. isn't wearing an ankle brace today?"
Although Hinata did not play in the morning, he still came to watch Inarizaki's match, he was certain that Hinata had been wearing ankle braces while in the waiting area at that time.
Why did he take it off when he actually needed to play in the match this afternoon?
Didn't he remember that the Inarizaki coach and Miya Atsumu were the most worried about Hinata's legs?
You have to understand that out of all the protective gear, ankle braces have the greatest impact on a player's flexibility. To protect Hinata, they would rather have Hinata sacrifice that flexibility; how could they possibly agree to let Hinata rip it off now?
Hirugami Yukio shook his head. "I'm not sure.."
For some reason, he always felt that something was strange.
Hoshiumi frowned. "He doesn't run even if he takes it off, so there's no difference whether he takes it off or not."
Since there was no intention of using a playstyle that relied on flexibility anyway, it would be better to just wear ankle braces to protect his body.
Moreover, he wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that aside from his jumping and his intense energy during quick attacks, Hinata played quite conservatively in every other aspect.
Especially regarding the spread-out quick attack, Hinata simply ran from the center to both sides without any movement to tool the block.
Perhaps.. it was simply because Hinata felt uncomfortable?
Without protection, are certain playing styles themselves prohibited?
Then the Inarizaki coaches are being a bit too indulgent with their players.
Hoshiumi's expression was sour as he speculated about Inarizaki's two coaches in the worst possible way in his mind, while on the court, Kawanishi Taichi's expression was equally wooden.
Under Coach Washijo's death stare, Kawanishi slowly lowered his head, not even daring to breathe.
But fortunately, Coach Washijo, who seemed to be in a quite good mood today, didn't seem prepared to lecture him on the spot, giving him a bit of face.
As a middle blocker, being toyed with by the opponent Miya Osamu's tooling the block, he played this set as a middle blocker with absolutely no value.
Across the net, Miya Osamu had already walked to the service position. Goshiki, who had just been about to offer some comfort to his senior, shut his mouth and returned to his position to stand ready.
Kawanishi, who was fuming, made a hand signal behind his back. Shirabu glanced at it but said nothing more.
When the setter is in the back row, the quick attack counter-attack after the first receive must be coordinated by the middle blocker in the front row.
However.. the final decision still lies in the hands of the setter, depending on what kind of instructions the setter makes after moving up from the back row.
And this time, Shirabu didn't choose the hot-headed Kawanishi at all; instead, he passed the ball to the Ace he trusted more.
After Miya Osamu moved to the back row, the ones responsible for blocking and defending Shiratorizawa's Position 4 were Suna and Hinata.
Hinata, who lacked height, needed to take a faster approach, making him very easy to deceive with a feint.
Shirabu gave a fake move toward the center, because Hinata's blocking movement was a step too late, Goshiki Tsutomu seized the opportunity and spiked the ball right over Hinata's head.
Miya Osamu stepped forward from the back row to try and receive the ball, but Goshiki Tsutomu's spike was heavy enough that the ball went out of control after hitting Miya Osamu's arm, flying out of bounds.
The whistle blew, Shiratorizawa scored.
Goshiki, who had just scored, clenched his fists and cheered, "Yes! There's still a chance!"
The match isn't over yet; there might still be a chance to score consecutive points and tie it up!
“Nice hit, Akari! One more point!!”
The buzzer sounded at that moment, Shiratorizawa changed servers.
Number 16, Miyano, replaced Kanegawa to take the court for the serve.
Miyano came from Kitagawa Daiichi and was recruited to Shiratorizawa.
Kanegawa's serve was decent, but his strength lay in defense; compared to him, Miyano's serve was relatively much better, as he specialized in it.
Miyano took a deep breath after grabbing the ball, then stood in his approach position, preparing to serve.
After being stopped in the quarterfinals during the last National Tournament qualifiers in Junior High, he spent all his remaining time practicing his serve.
Serving was what he was best at; in this regard.. he would not lose to anyone.
Struggling to control his trembling legs, Miya Atsumu spun the ball in his hands.
Whether it was because his hands were numb from nervousness or not, the ball slipped from his hands and rolled onto the floor.
He quickly picked the ball up, stood firmly again, prepared to serve.
It's okay.
Looking on the bright side, they weren't supposed to win this set anyway; the coach only let him come on to get some practice in..
Miyano shook his head, his gaze turning resolute.
He couldn't think like that; as a key server, his only goal had to be scoring!
Because he didn't know how many seconds had passed, Miyano hurriedly tossed the ball up and then took a running start toward the front.
With a loud thud, the ball spun as it struck forward, but the height was very low, it looked as if it were about to hit the net.
Unabara Uta relaxed, but in the next second, the ball hit the net and bounced up, flying straight toward Goshiki.
Goshiki couldn't dodge in time and was struck squarely in the face.
Ugh!
Goshiki Tsutomu bent over, covering his face.
Miyano's legs went weak as he landed, he fell straight to his knees, sliding forward before collapsing face-first onto the ground: "I'm sorry!!"
On the silent volleyball court, the first person to lose his composure was Rishia, who was closest.
He admitted he was startled, but more than the fright.. having witnessed everything from such a close distance, he couldn't hold back his laughter at all.
Pfft.
Hearing that laugh, Goshiki Tsutomu snapped his head up and locked onto Rishia Heisuke, his gaze so sharp it looked as if he wanted to carve a piece of flesh right off him.
Rishia Heisuke pursed his lips to restrain his expression, but it was already too late.
His laughter seemed to set the court ablaze; the Miya Twins, Suna, the others burst into laughter one after another, even Kawanishi Taichi on the other side of the net couldn't help but laugh.
Hinata peered at him through the net, his eyes filled with curiosity alongside his worry. "Akari, are you okay?!"
Goshiki, his face flushed bright red, waved his hands repeatedly. "It's fine, it's fine."
That being said, he didn't lower his hand, it was clearly quite painful.
Upon hearing the whistle signaling the end of the set, Old man Washijo's good mood was instantly ruined.
He tapped his clipboard loudly. "What are you doing?! What kind of serve was that?!"
I tell you to practice your serves properly, but you just throw it all down the drain, don't you!
“Three hundred extra jump serves every day when you get back! Now get lost!”
Chapter 417: The 417th Fox
He's angry.
Coach Omimi watched the Inarizaki members walking back, his eyes fixed straight ahead.
Hmm, he's angry.
Coach Kurosu rested his chin on his interlaced hands, his face full of smiles.
Hinata, who came rushing back first, bounced over and took the seat closest to Coach Kurosu: "Who's angry?"
Miya Atsumu took two large steps and sat down beside Hinata, spreading his hands and saying, "The old man, obviously."
Watching Miya Atsumu's movement, Miya Osamu hesitated to speak.
Atsumu looked up at his cheap brother: "What's with that look? Did I offend you again?"
That couldn't be right; he hadn't stolen any of Miya Osamu's pudding these past few days. After all, because Miya Osamu was trying to reduce body fat, he had no snacks to eat at all.
As for the match.. he was certain there was nothing wrong with his sets this set, providing Miya Osamu with meticulous care.
He was already a mature setter and captain; even if Miya Osamu hated him, he wouldn't treat him with any particular severity!
Miya Osamu replied with a straight face, "A little bit of a regret."
Miya Atsumu didn't bother asking Miya Osamu what he was feeling regretful about, because he had already guessed.
Without a second of hesitation, Atsumu suddenly stood up and threw his towel directly onto Miya Osamu's face. "You bastard! You're unhappy because Rintaro didn't hit me, aren't you!"
You don't have to wait anymore, because I'm going to deal with you right here, right now!!
At this moment, there are likely only two things Miya Osamu would feel regret about.
One was that Suna didn't hit him, the other was that Hinata hadn't mastered this style of play back in Junior High, hitting the ball right into his face and making him lose all face now.
Based on Yu Yi's understanding of Miya Osamu, it was ninety percent the latter.
Goshiki Tsutomu, who had just sat down on the Coach's bench while clutching his face, turned his head toward the net, which had suddenly become noisy, with confusion in his eyes.
Shirabu pressed the ice pack against his face with a thud, startling him completely.
Goshiki Tsutomu instinctively tried to stand up: "Thank you, Senpai."