As expected, power serves still need further improvement in their spin; the opponent's low-certainty method of receiving power serves is somewhat difficult for him, since he has no way to increase his power to the absolute limit.
But before that, Star First's current starting lineup has no record of receiving high-level Jump Float Serves.
Considering that both their setter and Hayami can use a dump, their wing spiker also has a jump float, so the jump float probably won't be very effective.
The moment he had a complete plan in his mind, Suna, who was at the front row, already made contact with the ball that Arashiyama had spiked from the opposite side.
Hinata, who had not participated in the Block, had already retreated in sync, creating enough distance for his approach run.
Nishizawa's positioning was also incredibly fast, his hands steady as he sent the ball precisely to the spot directly above where Miya Atsumu was about to set.
Sasaki and Arashiyama watched Hinata out of the corner of their eyes, while simultaneously maintaining a central position, staying vigilant against Suna and Miya Osamu.
Inarizaki's quick attack rhythm was terrifying. The moment Miya Atsumu was about to touch the ball, Hinata and Miya Osamu had already jumped, Suna also circled around to Position 3 at Miya Atsumu's side, preparing to coordinate with Miya Atsumu for a Back Quick Attack.
Based on the rhythm of Inarizaki's offense, Hayami silently adjusted his position to between Position 1 and Position 6 to cover the range of Hinata and Suna's Line spikes.
On the other side, Hatta held his position in the corner, guarding against their sharp crosses. At the same time, Kuwabara stood further forward to defend against technical balls dropping in the front area.
Miya Atsumu could also see all of this clearly.
A sense of frustration instantly spread through him. To be honest, given the defensive setup of the back row on the opposing side, it could be described as impeccable.
At the moment of the set, he locked eyes with Hinata, who had already jumped at Position 4.
Hinata was looking at him, as if asking..
Aren't you going to give him the very first serve of the match?
Miya Atsumu no longer hesitated, as his hand touched the ball, he directed it toward Hinata, who was positioned directly in front of him.
Meanwhile, the incredibly fast Izumi and Arashiyama followed up, the slightly distant Sasaki, taking advantage of his long legs, also jumped for a block a step later.
Hoshiumi's expression by the sidelines turned serious instantly: "Here it comes."
The Star First Block position is very strange.
In general, if one wants to block a Strong Attack at Position 4, a Block of three people can only be organized when the Setter's movement is clearly identified.
If there is only a two-man Block, they will often choose to shut down the Line position, forcing the opponent to hit a Sharp Cross. Alternatively, they might press forward while close to the net to shut down the Sharp Cross, leaving an opening for a Line.
But neither of the two Star First options was chosen. Without knowing the setter's next move, they still chose to follow up and organize a three-man block.
Gaps were left on both sides for Hinata to dive through; one could say this Block was completely meaningless.
Kageyama, standing by the sidelines, frowned; he couldn't understand what Star First was doing.
Even Karasuno, whose blocking was only being held up by Tsukishima, wouldn't make such a low-level mistake, so.. there must be something wrong somewhere.
And this problem could only be truly felt by Hinata, who was preparing to spike at this very moment.
—Of course.
Hinata already completely understood what the opponent wanted to do.
Because of that seemingly meaningless Block, he found himself in a position where he simply could not make a move.
Star First's block was not a three-person block, but a four-person, even a five-person block.
Arashiyama and the others were not prepared for his spike's trajectory, but were instead on guard against his dump and were pressing forward to completely avoid him tooling the block.
As for the spike's trajectory.. Hayami is behind him, blocking him.
Hayami stared intently at Hinata.
In this glance lasting less than a tenth of a second, Hinata had already made a decision worthy of an Ace.
Spike a Line, slamming the ball straight down.
He was betting on.. his own speed being faster!
While Izumi Nozomi was preparing to reach out to block Hinata, the ball had already slammed down a step faster than him.
Hinata's hitting point was very high, the ball was smashed down along the shortest possible route; the speed was simply more than he could keep up with.
Thud!
Thud!!
Two heavy thuds rang in everyone's ears as the ball hit the side of Hayami's arm and bounced out of bounds.
The whistle blew, the referee signaled an Inarizaki score.
Great play, Shoyo!
So cool, Shoyo! The invincible orange flash!!
While cheers and applause erupted from the stands, Hinata's expression as he landed on the floor was not very good.
It was touched.
Even with that ball speed, it was still touched.
During the previous training camp, he had faced Hayami many times, many times Hayami was unable to keep up with balls of that speed.
Even considering that Hayami's continuous rehabilitation has shown sufficient results, he does not believe this will allow Hayami to make much more progress, since the training he is primarily undergoing is focused on physical fitness.
A low chuckle came from his ear, the moment Hinata looked up, he locked eyes with Izumi Nozomi on the opposite side.
But the other person said nothing, only turning their head to whisper something to Hayami in the back row.
Hinata was stunned for a moment.
No.. it wasn't that Hayami increased his speed.
Instead, was it because the restrictions of the Block made the area Hayami had to judge smaller, combined with his fact that he possessed the fastest reaction speed in the entire Youth Training, that allowed him to keep up?
Hayami withdrew his gaze from Izumi Nozomi and looked back at Hinata on the other side of the net.
His voice was very soft, but there was an incredible strength in his pauses: "I will definitely receive the next ball."
After mentally reviewing the feeling of the recent exchange, Hinata had already thought of the simplest way to solve the problem.
He looked at Hayami on the opposite side and said very seriously, "No, I will score on the next ball regardless."
Miya Atsumu, who had walked up behind Hinata, reached out and patted him on the back, his eyes showing a hint of worry.
Hinata shook his head slightly and said, as if he were breathing a sigh of relief, "As expected, you can't tell this kind of thing at all when watching recordings; you have to experience it firsthand."
From a third-party perspective, the Star First Block pattern is quite mysterious; sometimes it's a follow-up, other times it employs a Guess Block.
And thinking about it now, all of this actually points to a single answer.
—The type of block used depends on what kind of cover the player responsible for receiving needs.
Hinata rubbed his chin. "It feels.. actually quite useful?"
Miya Atsumu curled his lips into a smirk and reached out to pat Hinata's head. "You'll need proficiency. Go back and study it with Yukihito and Tomoya; you might have a chance to use it later."
Hinata nodded in agreement, "Okay."
Miya Atsumu stood with one hand on his hip, tilting his head to look at the Star First group on the other side of the net: "So, what are we doing next?"
Hinata responded quickly without much thought, "Let's not do a Quick Attack. The opponent isn't prepared for a split block. Even though following with a back attack might result in a crude block, they can still manage to organize.. um.. a block with a large enough area for this ball, making it a bit difficult to strike."
“In a standard offense.. I need a ball with a longer flight time.”
Miya Osamu froze for a moment. "A ball with a longer time?"
What kind of description is that?
Even without using a Quick Attack, Miya Atsumu's sets always had plenty of height, enough for them to make any adjustment..
Miya Atsumu replied with an OK: "Understood."
And at this moment, Miya Osamu also reacted; a ball that took longer than usual would be..
Individual time difference.
Hoshiumi, standing by the sidelines, gave his final judgment with extreme composure.
“If the ball's trajectory can't be adjusted, then we have to find a way to score through a technical ball, right now, it's their block that is limiting Shoyo's technical balls.” Hoshiumi crossed his arms over his chest.
“If the conditions aren't there, then create them yourself. The simplest and most direct way to crush their Block is through an individual time difference.”
Hirugami said calmly, "But even if you can think of it, the players from Star First can think of it too."
A three-man block doesn't appear often on the volleyball court, but once it does, it's a lethal weapon with enough coverage.
The Star First's preferred strategy was to sacrifice a portion of the block's precision to maximize its coverage area, aiming to coordinate with the back row's receiving to restrict the opponent's ball path; this had nothing to do with who the specific spiker for Inarizaki was.
Either they defeat the opponent's receiver in a direct confrontation, or they find a way to deal with the block.
“That depends on how the opponent chooses to respond.”
Miya Atsumu rotated his wrists, assessing the current situation.
Hinata's expression was calm, the moment he locked eyes with Miya Atsumu, the corners of his mouth curled into a confident smile.
Don't worry, Atsumu-ge.
“When it comes to how to reduce lost points and increase scores.. I also have one, two, three, four insights.”
Chapter 493: The 493th Fox
Miya Atsumu's second serve was still a Power Serve.
After confirming this, Hayami raised her hand to give Hatta a signal, Hatta nodded to her after seeing it.
Miya Atsumu exhaled softly and raised his hand to toss the ball.
The path to victory was laid out before him, he had no reason to let it slip away.
Hatta stared intently at Miya Atsumu's movement, while on the other side, Hayami was much more relaxed; he knew Miya Atsumu wouldn't spike at him, so he was even more composed.
As long as Hatta can send the ball up properly, the rest won't be a big problem.
Just as Nishizawa Hokuto expected, Miya Atsumu's Power Serve had extra spin on it. This kind of ball absolutely cannot be received with a Diving, otherwise it will definitely fly out.
Hatta raised his concentration to the highest level, relying on his decent reaction speed to get in front of the ball as it smashed toward the corner, lowering his center of gravity to scoop the ball with his arms.
The ball flew up steadily, the setter, Izumi Nozomi, praised aloud, "Great first receive!"
The quality of this ball was much better than the previous one, giving Izumi Nozomi more room to play.