Actually, if it were Woguo, he would be able to react, because his position is further back, but with good luck, he could use his feet to dig the ball up.
The problem was that he had actually been observing Hinata's hand movements and hadn't considered that this ball might be a "Second Attack."
Miyazaki Sho also raised his hands to cover his face. "That was too dirty, too dirty.."
This way, his first service turn is gone as well. The biggest opportunity for a comeback at the start has vanished, from here on, they can only take things one step at a time.
Aoba Haruka said calmly, "It's fine, it's fine, leave it to me."
Three points, huh..
To be honest, he wasn't very sure. Although he could ensure his own scoring rate, he couldn't control how many points Rakusan would score.
Inarizaki's offensive intensity was so high that their own Libero was already having a bit of trouble keeping up.
Standing by the sidelines, Oikawa Tooru looked slightly disappointed: "Three points.. they basically won't be able to get them back, right?"
Although he really wanted to see the battle between the Little Giants, Hinata and Hoshiumi, just thinking about Miya Atsumu's smug expression made him feel irritated.
Kito remarked, "Rakusan needs a more stable Setter and a Wing Spiker who can cover for the Opposite."
Oikawa Tooru shrugged his shoulders. "They're hard to find, aren't they? The competition in Kyoto is too intense. Relatively speaking, Seito's student enrollment has been quite stable these past few years; they might even have a chance to return to their peak in the next year or two."
However, speaking of which, although Seijo's performance in last year's Haruko was decent, they haven't received much significant reinforcement this year.
But it's understandable; after all, by the time last year's Haruko ended, the recommended admissions for various schools were basically already decided.
All the good talents have already been picked over; among the new students, the best are really only at Kindaichi's level.
A while ago, when he returned to Sendai, he met with Coach Irihatsu. The coach said he had found a successor for Watari—a player graduating from Kitagawa Daiichi next year, this year's best Libero in the prefecture.
With a reliable first receive, Seijo, Shiratorizawa, Karasuno might just have a fighting chance next year.
In short.. Aobajohsai won this time.
Oikawa Tooru stood tall with his chest out.
The whistle blew on the court, Inarizaki took the lead with 8 points, entering a time-out.
Coming off the court, Aoba Haruka grabbed a towel and wiped his hair vigorously, rubbing his once-neat hair into a messy state.
He turned his head toward Kureha. "Kureha, in a moment, you.."
Aoba Kureha interrupted Aoba Haruka's words: "I've probably memorized his movements, just leave it to me."
Aoba Haruka's eyes widened. "For real? You actually used your brain? Won't you overheat?"
Aoba Kureha didn't react in time: "Huh?"
Aoba Haruka fell silent for two seconds before giving up: "Never mind."
He continued with his previous idea, "Kureha, you block on Hinata's side. If Hinata rushes to the other side, have someone else watch him."
As for blocking.. Yumi Matsuo and Iori Miwa, you two keep a close eye on the setter's movements, adjust your positions quickly from left to right, once you've identified your target, call out to the others immediately.
Iori Miwa nodded. "Understood."
Yumi Matsuo also responded, "Okay, I'll try my best."
Let him chase Hinata? Is he serious..
But he also understood that they didn't need to actually catch up to Hinata; they only needed to ensure he remained within their defensive range and that they could close in on him at any time.
This is Karasuno's blocking style; they only need to split a portion of their attention toward Hinata because they lack Karasuno's reaction speed, which allows them to join a three-man block at any time.
However, compared to before, Rakusan's current blocking has become much stronger under this pattern.
Hinata bounced in place, feeling his incredibly light ankles: "This feels amazing!"
Miya Atsumu smiled. "Run all you want, this is the final set of the day."
Even if it continues at this pace, the exhaustion for today won't be too great. Given Hinata's physical recovery speed, he likely won't have any problems at all by tomorrow.
Hinata nodded solemnly: "Alright, then let's end this match as soon as possible."
No problem. He felt that even if he played in the Finals against Karasuno tomorrow, he would have the confidence to break through Karasuno's Block.
—Even though it's impossible to shake off Karasuno's Block.
The match resumed.
With the advantage of Hinata's quick offense, Inarizaki attempted to further extend the lead, but the offensive intensity from Rakusan was also very high. After one rotation, Inarizaki had only managed to pull the score difference to 5 points.
Miya Atsumu's serve failed to score, as it was received quite clumsily by Iori Miwa.
Inarizaki was not to be outdone either; when faced with Miyazaki Sho's serve, Unabara Uta responded in a way that was clumsy yet precise.
Harukawa from Rakusan serves, Kureha from Aoba moves to the front row.
After high-fiving Aoba Haruka, Aoba Kureha stood before the net, facing Hinata from across the net.
They will win; they will overcome today.
“What a great serve!”
Harukawa tossed the ball as the serve time was nearing its end, locking his eyes on Miya Atsumu, who was stuck in the Inarizaki back row and unable to move forward, using the serve to block the opponent's path to the front row.
Miya Osamu took a step forward to chase after the ball: "I've got it!"
Under the cover of Rishia and Suna, Hinata took advantage of the opportunity to spread out from Position 2, but the vigilant Aoba Kureha followed up quickly, successfully meeting his spike.
Matsuo quickly sent the ball toward the high point at Position 3.
After adjusting to multiple sets, this type of toss, which he himself wasn't very good at, gradually stabilized, providing Aoba Haruka with more than enough space for his spike than before.
Aoba Haruka created enough space for his approach, quickly stepping forward to shift his center of gravity before leaping powerfully.
His movements were very standard, a playstyle that expanded the range of his motions based on the foundation of standard technique.
Suna and Rishia lunged toward Aoba Haruka, attempting to block his path to spike toward Inarizaki's Position 1, forcing him to spike toward Unabara Uta instead.
Aoba Haruka's brain worked at lightning speed; his attention lingered on Unabara Uta for only a split second before his gaze finally locked onto Hinata on the wing.
With a loud slap, Aoba Haruka, while his center of gravity was leaning to the left, used a backhand flick to force the ball past the block and spike it down behind Suna.
Hinata stepped forward in an attempt to receive the ball, but the ball carried a bit of side spin, causing its trajectory to veer off its straight path and graze Hinata's arm before hitting the floor.
The whistle blew, Rakusan scored.
Nice play!
Nice play, Haruka! One more!
Aoba Haruka looked toward Hinata on the opposite side and gave him a smile.
Hinata's eyes were bright as he reached out to mimic Aoba Haruka's spiking motion from just now, thinking about the possibility of him using it himself.
But it was highly unlikely, because Haruka was taller than him; if he tried to use that same movement for a spike, there was an eighty percent chance he would spike the ball straight into the net.
Aoba Kureha breathed a slow sigh of relief.
Great, we have a point.
“One more, Kazuya!”
What a great serve!!
Harukawa lightly spun the volleyball in his hands, tossed it up once more, stepped forward to serve, once again aiming his serve toward Miya Atsumu at the far end of his field of vision.
Although Miya Atsumu can set from anywhere, having some interference is still better than none; what if something unexpected happens and Inarizaki can't handle it?
As it turned out, there were no accidents.
After Miya Osamu delivered a fairly good First Receive, Miya Atsumu immediately transitioned to give Rishia a ball at Position 4.
Aoba Haruka and Iori Miwa chased after it, but Rishia's Line shot through the gap between the two of them and the antenna.
Harukawa Kazuya's reaction speed was incredibly fast; he stepped forward and received the ball with a bump.
"Nice play! Give me the ball!" Miyazaki, from the back row, raised his hand to call for the ball.
Rakusan's main offensive points are Miyazaki Sho and Aoba Haruka, making Inarizaki's defensive setup relatively clearer by comparison.
But Matsuo didn't only have those two options; Aoba Kureha was originally a Wing Spiker, her spiking skills were actually quite good.
After performing a fake back set, Matsuo immediately passed the ball to Kureha at Position 4.
Hinata and Suna's follow-up speed was slightly slow, allowing Kureha to seize the opportunity and hit a sharp cross into Inarizaki's back row.
Unabara Uta dove forward in a diving motion, successfully receiving the ball and sending it to the front row.
Oikawa Tooru, standing by the sidelines, covered his face with his hands: "This is way too sloppy.."
Inarizaki's defensive positioning just now left the front row wide open; if Aoba Kureha had played a Short Diagonal, they would have definitely won that point.
Using Hinata's decoy in the back, Miya Atsumu set the ball to Suna.
Suna adjusted his spike's trajectory, attempting to exploit a gap in Rakusan's back row defense.
But the experienced Harukawa did not give him this chance; even for a Middle Blocker, Harukawa's receiving skills were top-tier even within Rakusan.
“Nice play! Give me the ball!” Aoba Haruka raised his hand, calling for the ball.
Suna did not move immediately; instead, he was subtly observing Yumi Matsuo's movements.
Yumi Matsuo is not a particularly straightforward setter; he is capable of using the Ace as a decoy to set the ball to someone else.
Suna's judgment was basically correct this time; using Aoba Haruka in Position 3 of the front row as a decoy, Yumi Matsuo set the ball to Miyazaki Sho in the back row.
Miyazaki Sho possessed excellent height and strength, delivering a powerful and heavy side spin spike.
With Suna and Rishia both attempting to block, he forcefully broke through Rishia's side, knocking him down while flying toward the back of the court.
Miya Osamu and Unabara Uta both chased after it, but ultimately Miya Osamu's speed was a step faster, successfully sending the ball back before it could fly past the boundary.
Nice!
Miya Atsumu adjusted his movement following the ball, rushing to the area outside Position 4 to jump, preparing a Back Set.
Nice receive! Cover, cover!
Aoba Kureha's gaze swept across Inarizaki's mobile front row, Suna and Hinata, as he slightly lowered his center of gravity, preparing to adjust his position toward both sides.
Compared to the others who were currently excited or filled with passion, his state appeared exceptionally calm.
He actually didn't like volleyball.
No one knew this better than he did.