Unabara Uta gave an awkward smile, Coach Kurosu turned his head to glance at him.
Nishizawa's receiving level is undoubtedly stable now, but just like Unabara Uta when he first arrived at Inarizaki, Nishizawa is actually still unfamiliar with various tactical positions, making it easy for situations like this to occur, where a receiving movement leaves Hinata stuck in the back.
Nishizawa didn't realize anything, but he felt as if he had been praised and then glared at by Miya Atsumu.
Suna spiked the ball he had received, adjusting its trajectory so that he could successfully spike it into Karasuno's court.
Takahashi moved into position to receive the ball, Asahina passed the ball to Hoshiumi again.
At the net, Hoshiumi, Suna, Miya Osamu locked eyes, in the moment of the spike, Hoshiumi changed his hand shape, feinting a dump.
Suna reacted quickly and pressed his hands down, but Hoshiumi didn't touch the ball.
By the time Suna realized something was wrong, it was already too late; he had touched the ball a step before Hoshiumi.
The whistle blew, Suna spiked over the net, Karasuno scored.
Hoshiumi let out a mischievous grin, hands on his hips as he watched Suna: "Got you."
Suna frowned imperceptibly.
He was getting a bit impatient. As expected, was fatigue affecting his brain's ability to think..
Miya Atsumu clapped his hands, signaling to everyone not to panic.
After Asahina, the service right returned to his hands, Inarizaki returned to their strong state of front row three-point attacks once again.
His serve was received by Hoshiumi, but he couldn't control it, giving them an Opportunity Ball.
Miya Atsumu did not let this opportunity slip away.
While signaling Nishizawa Hokuto to go for the receive, he also surged up from the back row, raising his hands to prepare for the set.
Hinata and Miya Osamu had already rushed to opposite ends of the net, their movements almost perfectly synchronized, they had already jumped before Miya Atsumu's set.
Although Suna was a bit slower, he was close to the center and the setter, so the rhythm of the three players was actually not that different.
Hirugami felt his scalp go numb.
From the moment the Inarizaki starters won the first championship of their lives, Inarizaki's signature playstyle has never been the balanced type it is now.
Miya Osamu only provided cover for Miya Atsumu because Inarizaki lacked other useful players, but he has always been Inarizaki's most powerful Spiker.
Inarizaki's comfort zone.. is precisely this current mode of full-throttle, overwhelming firepower.
Now, the opponent's defense was finally showing signs of collapse under their systematic dismantling; this was the exact moment for them to sound the horn for a full-scale counterattack!
Inarizaki's three quick attacks completely dismantled Karasuno's block. In a situation where they could only rely on anticipation, it was impossible to organize a three-person Iron Wall, leaving Hakuma to face Miya Osamu in a one-on-one block.
Miya Osamu's spike was heavy and powerful, smashing through Hakuma's block, but unfortunately, it was saved by Norikura Isao.
Hirugami coordinated with Asahina for a Back Quick in Position 3; Nishizawa reacted with incredible speed, stepping in with two quick steps to steadily receive the ball.
Miya Osamu and Hinata both called for the ball almost simultaneously: "Give it to me!"
Atsumu hesitated for a second before ultimately relying on his ability to execute a Second Attack from behind the Three-meter Line.
Hoshiumi Hikari moved back to cover the defense and took his position in time to receive Miya Atsumu's ball.
Having failed to score, Miya Atsumu received a sharp glare from Miya Osamu and a look of pity from Hinata.
After Nishizawa delivered another beautiful ball, the scales in Miya Atsumu's heart, which had already been unbalanced, tipped completely to one side. His whole body tilted, he sent the ball directly toward Hinata.
Hinata jumped high and stable; even as Hakuma began to descend, he was still in the air, thanks to his incredible hang time.
Hakuma's face was filled with shock.
This guy.. how can he still jump? How can he maintain such incredible hang time?!
BANG!!
The sound of a heavy spike rang out as Hinata, maximizing his hang time, used Miya Osamu's toss to execute a perfect line spike.
The extremely fast ball speed became the ultimate key to scoring. The defensive players on both sides of Karasuno's back row lunged forward at the same time, but in the end, neither of them could save the ball.
[Hinata! Another powerful point! The deadlock in the match has been broken!!]
Shoyo, Shoyo, great hit! One! More! Point!!
The middle-aged man in the stands had shouted his voice hoarse, yet he continued to enthusiastically cheer for the Inarizaki members.
Hoshiumi crawled up from the ground, his vision swaying with his movements until he steadied himself by bracing his hands against his knees.
His legs felt heavy and sore, his high-intensity heartbeat drove his breathing to become even more labored, making his throat, even his entire trachea and lungs, feel a burning pain.
No.
They absolutely cannot lose this set.
One more point, they will be able to tie the score again.
Hinata immediately rotated to the back row, which was the perfect opportunity for them to take the lead. If they won this set, they would hold two set points and the situation would be essentially under control; otherwise, Inarizaki would gain the upper hand.
Just hold on a little longer.
Please, just hold on a little longer.
Hoshiumi narrowed his eyes slightly, the sweat flowing into his eyes making his vision exceptionally blurry.
The opponent's silhouette was somewhat blurred, only that bright speck in his field of vision remained dazzling.
About a year and a few months ago, when he and Hinata had only known each other for a few days, he went to the National Observatory with Hirugami to watch a total solar eclipse.
Even though he went there to accompany Hirugami, that time truly left an indelible impression on him.
He could clearly see the corona of light composed of erupting energy surrounding the sun..
It was even more scorching than the sun itself, which was already constantly surging, expanding and erupting outward in an irrational, ceaseless manner.
It was.. a solar storm capable of sweeping everything away.
In that dark world, those magnificent currents of energy and air were the only bright colors he could capture.
That overflowing, scorching aura was almost like—
Solar Corona.
Chapter 457: The 457th Fox
One more ball!
Hinata raised his hands high and shouted at the top of his lungs.
The cheering section for Inarizaki was also filled with shouts: "Shoyo, Shoyo, great spike! One! More! Ball!!"
Hinata rubbed his hands together, looking at the Karasuno members opposite him with fighting spirit.
A war of attrition.. it has only just begun!
Hoshiumi stretched his ankles.
Indeed, a war of attrition has only just entered a stalemate at this point, but.. it is undeniable that some people haven't even reached the starting line.
The announcement sounded from the sidelines; Karasuno requested a substitution, with Tokura Ria replacing Asahina.
Unlike the previous situation where a brief substitution was used to stabilize the game, Tokura Ria is coming onto the court now specifically to take over the setter position.
Watching Asahina leave, Miya Atsumu gave a thumbs-up to everyone behind him.
Very good, that troublesome guy is gone, so he will unceremoniously accept the victory of this set.
Coach Aran ushered Asahina back and patted the seat beside him for him to sit down, then handed him a blanket.
Asahina's condition was declining rapidly; if he continued like this, he would likely become a target for Inarizaki's complete focus, his continuous mistakes might eventually affect the entire team.
After leaving the court, Asahina's mind also calmed down.
He let out a soft sigh and wiped his sweat-drenched face with a towel.
He estimated that he wouldn't have any chance of getting on the court for this match, so he would take a good rest and let his brain start functioning properly again.
Observe from a third-person perspective and try to find as many scoring opportunities as possible for the team..
Kito rubbed his chin, posing a question on behalf of the spectators watching the match: 【Karasuno is making a substitution at this moment?】
Yamamoto, at the commentary desk, provided a timely answer: 【Inarizaki's offensive momentum is too fierce; Karasuno is likely choosing to substitute in a setter with a higher block level to improve coordination.】
[In the current match statistics, Tokura's block assist scoring rate is significantly higher than Asahina's.]
Oikawa Tooru added, "Besides, Hakuma can't jump much longer either."
Kito nodded: "The Spiker Inarizaki substituted in after the time-out is a player who has been very active both last year and this year. His match experience is excellent, he is much more mature compared to Rishia."
[In terms of the overall comprehensive level of the substitute players, it is clearly Inarizaki that holds the advantage.]
In the stands, Amatori shrugged his shoulders. "It's not easy for Karasuno's playstyle to assemble an entire team in the first place, but to have strengthened themselves to this extent this year.. you could say they've had a certain degree of good luck."
Iizuna smiled and said, "I can only say that after confirming Hakuma Hirugami and the others were coming, Coach Aran also put a lot of effort into the selection of the new students for these two years. Bessho's level is also quite excellent when compared horizontally to other Middle Blockers."
However, the one who has supplemented this lineup and provided support in every aspect to the absolute limit.. is still Hoshiumi Hikari.
Amatori shrugged. "That's just pure luck."
Iizuna shook his head slightly. "No, Karasuno is the strongest school in Nagano. In a sense, this was inevitable."
Amatori fell silent.
The service right was once again handed to Miya Atsumu, by this time, the score gap had been pulled to 3 points during Inarizaki's brief series of counterattacks.
Miya Atsumu, who had been forced to handle many setting duties due to Unabara Uta's poor condition causing a drop in first receive quality, had returned to his previous, more relaxed state once Nishizawa Hokuto took the court.
Tokura Ria, who had already rotated to the back row, pursed her lips.
After being subbed in, he played a few balls in the front row, but to be honest, his touch wasn't very good.
Inarizaki's frequency of using the Quick Attack was too high, he was having a bit of trouble keeping up; he still needed time to adapt.
But.. Karasuno is out of time.
Don't be impatient.
Tokura looked up and saw Hoshiumi Hikari standing before her.
For some reason, his originally irritable and uneasy heart slowly calmed down at this very moment.