He said softly to Hinata, "Observe Karasuno's block from a close distance."
Hinata nodded. "Okay."
When he watched the video before, he had tried to put himself in Goshiki's position to deal with Tsukishima's block, but he always felt that something was missing.
Moreover, after this period of training, Karasuno's strength is definitely stronger than before.
Not much could be seen from the first two rounds of the match, so this match was the perfect opportunity to observe them.
Miya Atsumu's judgment was absolutely correct; Karasuno adjusted their usual rotation to let Yamaguchi Tadashi perform the Saki Te.
With this positioning, the opponent's Ace in Position 4 was positioned perfectly to face Karasuno's blocking core, Tsukishima Kei, allowing him to be monitored for an entire rotation.
Very good, Atsumu-ge was partly right about that.
He is truly amazing!
Feeling the intense gaze from the sidelines, Tsukishima Kei turned his head to glance at Hinata, who was staring intently at him.
He raised his hands to silently shield the sides of his head, preparing to provide service cover for Yamaguchi, who was the first to serve.
What use is it to watch him.. His blocking has never followed a fixed pattern; he simply does what needs to be done when the moment arises.
Just because he uses a touch tactic against this opponent now doesn't mean he will play the same way when he faces Hinata.
It was time to settle the score from over a year ago, when he was broken down by Hinata's direct assault and left completely helpless under his Quick Attack.
To achieve this, he had spent a significant amount of time researching specifically with Kageyama.
Of course.. this is a surprise left for Inarizaki, a surprise left for a certain someone.
Karasuno won this match 2-0. Although the point difference in each set wasn't large, there were no particularly thrilling moments; after gaining an advantage at the start, Karasuno maintained it perfectly until the end.
After high-fiving Yamaguchi, Kageyama turned his head to look at Hinata by the sidelines.
Although beads of sweat still hung on the sides of his face, his expression was exceptionally calm.
His heartbeat gradually stabilized, his brain, which had remained calm on the court, suddenly became active once again at this moment.
That sense of post-victory excitement combined with the anticipation for the next match surged within him, he laughed sincerely, though that laugh felt more like a provocation.
Hinata locked eyes with him, the smile he had while speaking to Miya Atsumu vanishing as his gaze toward Kageyama gradually filled with fighting spirit.
He heard him say—
I'm coming.
Watching Kageyama go back to line up, Miya Atsumu stood behind Hinata with one hand on his hip. "Looking forward to it?"
Hinata responded without any hesitation, "Of course."
Miya Atsumu curled the corner of his mouth. "Then we'll crush them."
Hinata's voice was even more decisive: "Alright!"
Yamaguchi, who was a step behind and just about to head toward his position in the lineup, paused, a somewhat awkward smile appearing on his face.
He should have at least waited until he left before saying something like that..
After watching Karasuno's match, the two of them didn't plan to continue watching the subsequent matches involving Itachiyama and the others; after all, the current match was more important, they could just watch the recordings when they returned that evening.
The two walked under the Inarizaki banner, preparing to leave through the Players' Tunnel, while Akagi, who was leaning over the railing above, shouted down to Hinata and the other person, "Eat well, good luck in the afternoon's match!"
Hinata thumped his chest loudly and gave a big thumbs-up to the crowd above. "Yeah! We've already scouted our opponents, so there's absolutely no problem!"
Don't worry, seniors! I will definitely succeed in my revenge!
Shiratori rested his chin on his hand and said with a smile, "Everything is ready; there's nothing left to wait for."
Bokuto leaned in again: "What do you mean by 'east wind'?"
This time Shiratori did not ignore Bokuto again, but instead responded softly, "Just a sense of.. an unshakeable determination to win."
Bokuto spoke seriously, "That Shoyo and his group have always had momentum, um, we have it too."
Shiratori laughed loudly, in an exceptionally good mood: "Of course, that's why we won the championship."
He and Bokuto never won a single championship during their high school years, but this University Championship has finally made their dreams come true.
Even though Waseda had incredible momentum, they were the ones who ultimately won the match.
But in the end, momentum is just momentum; the "preparation" done beforehand is the most important part of victory.
Meanwhile, Hinata, who was following Miya Atsumu toward the cafeteria, looked up at him. "By the way, Atsumu-ge, regarding the Karasuno service rotation we were just discussing.. why wasn't there a situation where we serve first?"
Hearing this, Miya Atsumu stopped in his tracks.
Hinata's tone was relaxed and his question was sincere, without the slightest hint of teasing him.
But for some reason, he always felt like his heart had just skipped a beat.
"Um.. this.." Miya Atsumu struggled to find the right words in his mind.
He turned his head and held up a finger toward Hinata, saying, "Even if it's a back row, we will definitely win."
Suna, sitting at the table by the restaurant entrance, looked up and said, "You have to see if he can get it."
They had already discussed Miya Atsumu's luck many times, the final conclusion they reached was to develop a way to play even when he was struggling with his serves.
Miya Atsumu was somewhat embarrassed and angry: "What do you know? This is just letting them have a bit of an advantage."
Looking at the serve in his hands, Miya Atsumu no longer knew what to say.
Hayami, sitting in the Inarizaki stands, muttered under her breath, "Atsumu-senpai's luck.. is something else."
Ogata, who had moved to the front to sit, spoke up to comfort Hayami: "It's fine, Inarizaki is bound to win."
[Next up is the first match of the Spring High School Volleyball Championship Quarterfinals.]
[The match is between Inarizaki High School, representing Hyogo Prefecture, Karasuno High School, representing Miyagi Prefecture.]
[The match is about to begin.]
Unai Aman, sitting in the Karasuno stands, let out a slow breath, his heart filled with excitement: "It's finally starting.."
Chapter 501: The Five Hundred and First Fox
Just as Miya Atsumu had predicted yesterday, when playing against Inarizaki, Karasuno did not choose Yamaguchi Tadashi to serve again; instead, Kageyama took the opening Serve.
In the waiting area, Yamaguchi rotated his wrists, looking calm and composed.
The starting Libero sent out by Inarizaki this morning was Nishizawa Hokuto. At that time, he had discussed with Enoshita Chikara that, based on their collective judgment, Inarizaki would prioritize sending Unabara Uta onto the court for the afternoon match.
With a top-tier Jump Float Serve expert like Miya Atsumu in the high school ranks, the entire Inarizaki team has a decent level of receiving float serves, so his serve might not necessarily be effective.
Kageyama walked toward the baseline, holding the volleyball, took his approach position.
Hinata's expression was somewhat excited: "Here it comes, the Kill Serve."
Facing Kageyama's power serve, no one in Inarizaki's current rotation is positioned to provide him with cover. If Kageyama intends to target him, he will certainly fall within the opponent's range.
Rishia replied in a low voice, "Don't worry, I've got you."
Listening to the boos coming from the Inarizaki supporters across the net, the Karasuno faculty advisor in the stands shouted loudly along with the cheering squad behind him, "Give them a good serve!!"
Unai laughed with great difficulty. He hadn't felt it this clearly when he was sitting on Inarizaki's side, but now that he was standing in the position of Inarizaki's opponent, this terrifying atmosphere of boos was a massive threat to players with insufficient mental fortitude.
For example.. the former him probably wouldn't have been able to handle this kind of pressure; the more nervous he became, the more mistakes he would make.
But seeing Kageyama still casually spinning the volleyball in his hands, it shouldn't be a big problem.
In fact, Kageyama wasn't paying any attention to the Inarizaki supporters at all; to him, there was no difference between boos and cheers—they were both just noisy sounds that needed to be tuned out.
His attention should only be focused on the serve itself; what matters most is that his serve can gain an advantage and bring a score to the team.
The players defending the Inarizaki back row are Hinata, Rishia Heisuke, Unabara Uta.
Suna was in front of Hinata, only Rishia Heisuke could provide him with some protection for his first receive, but even he only reduced the space Hinata had to defend; essentially, Hinata still had to receive the balls near the corners himself.
Kageyama knew that Hinata's receiving skills were decent enough, but right now, targeting him was indeed the best option.
Scanning Hinata's determined face, Kageyama exhaled and lowered his gaze.
The feel of the ball had already been confirmed, the spatial perception of the entire gymnasium had been fine-tuned through the matches over the past few days. Next..
The sound of sneakers friction against the floor rang in Hinata's ears, the rhythm was very fast, every step was planted firmly.
The volleyball soared through the air, descending at the peak of its arc, falling with an extremely steady velocity toward the spot near the baseline where the player had jumped to spike.
—A perfectly executed set.
Peering over the net and the faces of the front row players, Hinata lifted his head slightly, meeting the gaze of Kageyama, who had already leaped up behind him.
The opponent's face was slightly contorted from holding his breath at the moment of the spike. The sensation of being targeted was incredibly intense; he knew that Kageyama's serve would definitely be aimed right at him.
In fact, there was no need for much guesswork regarding where this ball would ultimately land. Kageyama's choice was bound to be an ace rather than a tactical play; targeting the corner at Inarizaki's Position 5 would have been far better than aiming directly at him.
The moment he confirmed Kageyama's spiking form, Hinata's tiptoes dropped to the floor, his weight shifting onto his left leg as his entire body moved to the left following the shift in his center of gravity.
He stepped back far enough to cover the entire area of the corner with his body, lowering his entire posture.
After confirming his entire body's posture, Hinata, who was staring intently at the ball's trajectory, finally extended his arms, facing the ball head-on with his wrists lowered toward the ground to ensure he had the stability needed to receive the serve.
And in the next instant, the ball traced a sharp cross, striking precisely right in front of Hinata.
Hinata's positioning was perfect; it could be said that the ball had to pass right through him.
With a heavy thud, the ball flew upward, landing near the edge of Position 2 on the Inarizaki side.
Miya Atsumu almost burst out laughing.
Although the landing spot was quite off, for two people with such a massive difference in power, Hinata's receiving movement could be described as perfect.
“What a great First Receive!”
He gave Hinata the loudest praise without holding back and quickly stepped forward, preparing to coordinate the subsequent offense.
Hinata did not choose to use a diving movement during his receiving movement, his knees did not touch the ground; he could rise up without any extra movement, leaving him in a position to participate in the subsequent offense.
Miya Atsumu, whose mind had rapidly processed the situation on the court, quickly moved ahead of the ball, simultaneously leaping and arching his back, appearing as if he were preparing to set the ball toward the side of Inarizaki's Position 4.
Tsukishima Kei's eyes were fixed intently on the volleyball; he stood in the center, ensuring he could make the necessary defensive adjustments in response to any tactical shifts from Inarizaki.
Miya Atsumu's reaction speed and technique are enough to support him in making any temporary tactical changes, so he must be patient.