Karasuno lost two points in a row at the opening, Hoshiumi felt as if he was losing his mind.
Inarizaki's playstyle remained bold and avant-garde; building on their opening advantage, they successfully extended the lead to 3 before the end of the second rotation.
During Hinata's second service turn, Inarizaki requested a substitution, replacing Number 4 Rishia Heisuke with Number 10 Hinata Shoyo.
Coach Kurosu patted the seat beside him. "Take a break. Heisuke, you're playing a rotation."
The advantage is very clear right now. It's enough to keep the score gap within about 2 points this round. Go back with Atsumu in a little while.
Hinata sipped the warm salt water, nodding to show he understood.
Miya Atsumu's hair had become a tangled mess after he ran his hands through it, his once-neat bangs pushed aside to reveal his forehead.
Hinata looked at him from the side, looking a bit dazed.
Miya Atsumu looked at him: "What's wrong?"
Hinata said instinctively, "It looks great, your hair."
Miya Atsumu froze for a moment, then raised his hand to touch his own head.
“You like it? Then once I graduate, I'll get one like this.”
He didn't change his hairstyle during his time at school, just to save himself from the Dean of Students constantly nagging him about it..
Hinata nodded, "Yeah."
Once his attention was slightly diverted, Hinata felt himself relax considerably.
He tried hard to adjust his breathing, attempting to cool himself down.
Miya Atsumu looked at the whorl of hair on his head, then slowly withdrew his gaze.
He raised his hand to signal Kumagai, who was looking toward the court, directing the general movement and positioning of the players.
And just like him, Asahina on the opposing side was also constantly directing the others on the court.
In terms of stabilizing the situation, Ginjima Yui, who had spent a long time alongside Kita Shinsuke and Aran, had quite a bit of experience. When Miya Atsumu returned to the court, the score difference was controlled within two points.
With the benefit of more than half a set's worth of rest, Miya Atsumu decisively chose to use Miya Osamu to execute a Quick Attack.
On the other side, Rishia Heisuke and Ginjima Yui coordinated perfectly, providing Miya Osamu with sufficient support for the Quick Attack.
And after being countered by Karasuno's defense, Miya Osamu and Miya Atsumu skillfully swapped roles, Miya Atsumu scored a point with a spike.
After this consecutive scoring run, Inarizaki led by three points once again.
Hinata suddenly spoke up, "Coach.."
Coach Kurosu looked at him: "What is it?"
Hinata replied, "As expected, we really need to pursue even stronger variations in our offense. After all, the defense probably won't be able to keep getting stronger in the short term."
“It's just.. uh.. how should I put it?"
Coach Kurosu understood what he meant: "It's true, our great advantage this time is built on the foundation of having a favorable draw."
If Karasuno were in top form at this stage, we really wouldn't be able to produce results like this. Throughout this match, the effects of the Triple Quick's strong offense were much more significant.
I'll have Rintaro work hard on his physical conditioning later. Didn't he say he wants to continue playing volleyball after graduation? There's no way he can slack off during physical training this time.
We have to master a Triple Quick style of play before Haruko.
Hinata nodded vigorously: "Yeah, yeah, yeah!"
After Rishia's serve was completed, Coach Kurosu substituted Hinata back into the game.
He watched Hinata stand up, his voice offering gentle encouragement.
Go, first secure the victory right in front of you.
Yes!
Hinata's return once again provided a shot in the arm for the entire Inarizaki team,
While he couldn't match the precision of Unabara Uta's setting, Nishizawa Hokuto had a huge defensive range, which completely freed up the spikers on one side.
After Ginjima Yui rotated to the defensive position, he and Nishizawa Hokuto were able to stabilize the team's receiving.
In addition, Karasuno could no longer produce a strong enough three-point attack. Relying on Hoshiumi Hikari and Hirugami, along with occasional back-row attacks, Inarizaki's ragged block was managing to cope by using receiving and digging.
Even though they couldn't further widen the gap without any new variables, their initial advantage remained constant.
Iizuna, watching from the stands, gave the most candid evaluation: "Karasuno's serve is not strong enough yet."
To push their current blocking system to its absolute limit, they would need even stronger serves, including but not limited to having Hakuma, the setter, others further strengthen their skills, or even researching the Dual Wield.
Similarly, this means that Karasuno actually lacks a certain amount of scoring ability.
When they're in good form, their blocking pressure is significant enough to gain an early advantage, but once they need to chase points from behind.. it's difficult to play under the suppression of Inarizaki's strong offense.
Amatori crossed his arms over his chest. "True, but there's no way to change that in a short amount of time, unless Hakuma suddenly evolves and transforms into some kind of ultimate, powerful spiker."
Iizuna shook his head: "Actually, having Hirugami and Asahina study the Back Quick and the short-flat-quick as well would be a good option."
While Karasuno plays this as well, they ultimately can't provide enough support for Hoshiumi.
No.. actually, looking at it from another perspective, it wouldn't be bad if someone could free Hoshiumi from his receiving position.
Amatori's mouth twitched. "The best, simplest, most direct way would clearly be to let Hakuma evolve! Are you really giving up on him so easily?!"
Iizuna spoke with profound gravity: "You know, an elephant can't grow bird wings."
Amatori silently placed the blame entirely on Hakuma Mebuki: "Got it, it's all Hakuma's fault."
It definitely wasn't because he was envious of the other's height, definitely not!
Hoshiumi couldn't stop panting heavily; after several sets of play, his physical condition was already on the verge of collapse.
He wasn't sure how much longer he could hold on.
The disadvantage had existed since the opening, after chasing the score all the way to this point..
To be honest, he sees no hope of winning this.
Whether it was the opening strategy targeting the setter or the subsequent shift to a Double Quick to actively increase the tempo of the match.. everything was so meticulous.
Inarizaki had truly studied them thoroughly.
On the contrary, they couldn't keep up with Inarizaki's changes, because.. the opponents were making a series of adjustments in places they simply couldn't see.
Including this rookie Libero as well.
The opponent's level is very stable; in fact, they could be used extensively in the early stages of the National Sports Festival to save Unabara Uta's stamina.
But Inarizaki didn't, instead, they stayed here to haunt them.
Even though Nishizawa's play is still rough, there is no difference between him and Unabara on the current court.
Although he didn't want to admit it..
But Hoshiumi's rationality told him that he was powerless to change the outcome.
The sound of the ball hitting the floor was followed by the whistle announcing Inarizaki scores.
At this moment, the scoreboard on the sidelines jumped to Inarizaki 24:22 Karasuno, match point for Inarizaki.
Suna's serve.
The substitution signal rang out at this moment; Inarizaki 15 Masaru Haseda was replaced by number 6 Suna.
Hoshiumi closed his eyes, trying to steady his breathing.
The server for the critical point..
That's right, Inarizaki hasn't substituted the player in Suna's position during this set.
With his eyes slightly narrowed, Hoshiumi watched Hinata in his field of vision, who was hunched over and wiping sweat from his forehead.
It was obvious that Inarizaki was at the end of its strength; if Inarizaki failed to take this set, neither Miya Atsumu, Miya Osamu, nor Suna would have the chance to continue into the next set.
In other words.. as long as they can endure this moment, Karasuno might still have a chance to win.
From the very day he stepped onto this path, Hoshiumi Hikari had never truly accepted his fate.
He can still play.
Whether it's one ball, two balls, three balls, or even ten balls, a hundred balls.. he will spike them.
Masaru Haseda was confirming his touch.
Hinata wanted to cheer for them, but all that came out was a wheezing breath, completely ineffective.
He tried to wipe the sweat from his face, but he just couldn't get it clean.
His vision was a bit blurry, his breathing was a bit too rapid.
He had experienced the state of total exhaustion, so he knew very clearly that he had reached his limit.
But.. this was the absolute last chance. As the Ace, he had to lead the team to score this final point.
No matter the reason, he would not let the others suffer through another play.
After holding his breath for two seconds, Hinata's mind went blank, he suddenly took a deep breath.
Miya Atsumu heard Hinata's voice.
One last..
“Give me one more set.”
He said, "Okay."
The whistle blew, the Head Referee signaled for Masaru Haseda to serve.
A heavy thud echoed from behind, a powerful serve instantly soared over the net, crashing down onto the Karasuno court.
Compared to the serves in the previous two sets, Masaru Haseda's serve this time was even better, the ball speed was even faster.
He aimed for the space between Tokura Ria and Takahashi, his powerful spike left Takahashi with no way to defend it.
The ball bounced off his arm and flew out of bounds.
Without a moment's hesitation, Hoshiumi chased after the ball.
A little faster..
A little faster!