Meanwhile, Hinata had already completed a front-cross swap with Miya Osamu, retreating from the side to a position for his approach run.
Ogihara's gaze followed the ball, while his own position drew closer to Position 2, where Hinata was located.
As Miya Atsumu jumped to prepare his set, Hinata had already run up from the back row.
Miya Osamu's tempo was a bit slower, clearly preparing to execute a Strong Attack from Position 4.
Inamoto, who was ready at any moment to move toward the other side near Miya Osamu, calmly analyzed the intentions of the Inarizaki members.
If you also take Miya Atsumu's personality into account, it's clear that he should be shown what the real thing looks like, you clumsy imitator.
But.. Miya Atsumu actually loves using "counter-intuitive" tactics as well, so until the moment Miya Atsumu makes his set, no possibility can be ruled out.
Ogihara, who had experience being tricked by Miya Atsumu, was even more cautious; the moment Miya Atsumu's fingers touched the ball and his palm pulled back, he stepped forward and lunged toward Hinata along with Ishikawa.
Hinata jumped from a spot near the sideline, just behind the one-meter line. His jump height wasn't particularly high, his entire posture was relatively upright, not like his usual state of full arm extension.
Coach Himegomiya, standing by the sidelines, dazed for a moment, his hand pausing as he rubbed his chin.
The two players from Itachiyama positioned themselves close to the antenna, preparing to shut down Hinata's path for a Line spike.
The ball was sent toward Hinata on a relatively flat trajectory, traveling at extremely high speed.
So, until the moment Hinata spiked, the block from Itachiyama hadn't actually fully reached their positions.
However, Hinata didn't jump very high, so he didn't have the chance to spike over the block.
Hinata didn't panic in the slightest; he had plenty of room to swing his arm, as he had prepared for this from the very beginning.
Hinata, who had originally prepared to spike toward the line, slightly shifted his center of gravity, the moment his arm swung down, he sent the ball toward the cross shot.
Koldorf, who was responsible for defense on that side, was not particularly good at receiving, especially since Hinata's spike had carried an intense spin from beginning to end.
With a loud thud, the ball bounced up and flew out of bounds.
The whistle blew, Inarizaki scores.
Hinata pumped his fist and cheered, "Yes!"
Miya Atsumu turned and raised a hand to high-five Hinata. "Nice play, Shoyo!"
“Eh, eh, eh? Didn't Shoyo just prepare for a Line shot? How did he adjust it into a Cross shot? He didn't even twist his waist like Suna did!”
Bokuto's face was written with shock as he reached out, grabbing Shiratori's arm and shaking it vigorously.
Shiratori grabbed Bokuto's hands and calmly, gently pushed him away: "It's a jump serve, right?"
It was in that Men's Volleyball footage Coach Raphael showed you before. I remember it being called this name; it's widely used when a Spiker performs a Flat Ball.
Knowledge slipped from his brain, Bokuto struggled to recall.
Did he.. actually watch it.. once?
He remembered that when he watched that match, it was during their tactics analysis class. The coach had rambled on about a whole bunch of things, since Coach Raphael's Japanese wasn't that good, he hadn't actually remembered much after the entire class.
Shiratori sighed and raised a hand to wave it in front of Bokuto.
He explained simply, "When a spiker hits a flat ball after the 1.5m line, they can use a low-point approach jump to minimize the time spent on arm extension and the wind-up, allowing for more flexible arm swings during the spike and achieving the goal of adjusting the ball's trajectory without needing to twist the waist."
Think about the process and try to find the rhythm yourself.
Bokuto swung his arms through the air a few times, looking as if he had just had a sudden realization. "Ohhh! I totally get it now! I feel like I can use this in the next match!"
Shiratori breathed a sigh of relief, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked back at the court, but his expression remained serious.
Jumping and attacking is indeed useful for adjusting the ball's trajectory and can maximize energy conservation, but..
There are also some very obvious disadvantages, right?
A very crisp voice rang in his ear. Shiratori looked down, meeting Hinata Natsu's smug eyes that seemed to see through everything.
Shiratori instantly flashed a smile and gave a thumbs-up to Xiaoxia: "Xiaoxia is right."
He, who had originally intended to explain directly, suddenly felt like teasing Xiaoxia: "Actually, if I were the one using it, it would be fine, but Shoyo definitely cannot use this type of play at a high frequency. Xiaoxia, do you know why?"
Hinata Natsu gave the answer without a second thought: "It's because of the hitting height."
She held up two fingers. "First, Atsumu-senpai's strength isn't great enough; insufficient hitting height means he lacks the ability to fight the block head-on when the opponent has sufficient defense against cross shots and the block is positioned for a line shot."
Second, the setter's flat ball will result in insufficient air time, leaving no opportunity to adjust the technical ball. Coach Himegomiya mentioned this to me before.
Shiratori reached out and patted Xiaoxia's head: "Xiaoxia is truly exceptionally clever."
For some reason, he always felt a heavy sensation in his heart.
Looking at Hinata Natsu, then looking at Bokuto, who was bouncing around during the tactical lecture like a bull being poked by a coach!
Hinata Natsu narrowed her eyes: "Don't pat my head, I won't grow tall."
She was going to be much taller than her brother!
Shiratori complied readily: "Fine, I won't touch."
He curled his lips into a smirk. "However, Xiaoxia, you said one thing wrong."
Hinata turned to Shiratori, her eyes filled with an intense thirst for knowledge: "What?"
Shiratori replied, 'Atsumu's flat ball can provide enough spin; if the opposition adjusts their defense to account for different trajectories, Shoyo will have the opportunity to adjust his technical ball.'
The reason there aren't many opportunities to use them extensively is indeed because of the contact point. When playing technical balls, if the contact point isn't high enough, the options become limited; for example, the backspin spike that Shoyo excels at cannot be fully utilized. As for jumping attacks, the opponent's defense will have made preliminary preparations before the clash with the block, they will definitely take further measures to press down on the next play, meaning there might not even be an opportunity for tooling the block. However, situations like the short diagonal are quite easy to execute, by taking advantage of the opponent's front row defense, one can further disrupt the opponent's subsequent offense, though this turns it from a goal of easy scoring into a tactical play.
Second.. I don't think either of them likes it very much.
After all, dominating the air is the best feeling, isn't it?
Hinata Natsu did not refute this, but instead nodded solemnly: "Yeah, Atsumu-senpai is indeed incredibly amazing."
Shiratori leaned back against his chair and laughed heartily, sounding quite happy: "When people who can change their playstyle as they please are combined, it creates an absolute freedom brought about by absolute strength."
It wasn't just a single Quick Attack, but a sense of freedom in their tactical choices.
It's simply..
The best partners.
Chapter 519: The Five Hundred and Nineteenth Fox
On the other side of the net, Ogihara withdrew his gaze from Hinata, his expression calm and devoid of any panic.
Ishikawa pursed his lips, silently committing Hinata's recent movement to memory.
Komori, who had come up from the back row, reached out to pat Koldorf's junior, comforting him and telling him not to blame himself.
Changing the ball's trajectory isn't difficult, but what's hard to receive is the spin Hinata adds. Koldorf's receiving skills were already mediocre, Hinata specifically targeted him, so it was only natural for him to fail the receive.
Now that he is back, he won't give Hinata a single chance.
Koldorf sat down on the Coach's bench, Coach Himegomiya, sitting beside him, reached out to pat his shoulder: "You won't be able to keep up with Shoyo.. Number 10."
Just like we agreed before the match, cover the center, restrict the opponent from hitting cross shots, try to press down on the ball to avoid giving them any chance to tool the block, leaving the line for the back row to handle.
Staring at Miya Osamu, who was preparing to serve, Koldorf nodded vigorously: "I understand."
Komori, in the back row, received Miya Osamu's serve, while Ogihara Ayato on the wing called out to Inamoto, "Give me the ball!"
Inamoto looked up at the ball, the moment his fingers touched the volleyball, he delivered a flat set.
Jumping from Position 4, Ishikawa leaped with all his might, while Suna and Hinata had already closed in on him.
Ishikawa is very calm.
He didn't have Sakusa's flexible wrists, nor did he have that excellent 1.9m height, but being decent at everything was also a survival strategy.
However, whether it was Suna or Hinata, both were masters of technical balls, he didn't think he could find an opportunity to tool the block or perform a dump against either of them in a direct confrontation.
Since there's no opportunity, then.. let's do it again.
The moment of the spike, Ishikawa consciously relaxed his body, letting the ball hit Suna's hands with extremely light force.
Suna knew exactly what Ishikawa was trying to do, he also didn't want to give Ishikawa another chance to counter-attack. The moment he felt the volleyball touch his hands, he pressed down directly, intending to smash the ball into the Itachiyama court at maximum speed.
As Ishikawa's body descended, his arm, which had already been pulled back, swung upward along with the rotation of his body, scooping the ball directly from below.
He was highly experienced, timing his descent perfectly while maintaining his balance, successfully digging the ball up and attempting to send it toward a high point in the backcourt.
Inamoto praised, "Beautiful!"
Ishikawa shouted loudly without even looking back, "One more time!"
He had already figured out the pattern of Inarizaki's Block; he just needed to be a little higher, a little faster..
His gaze was like a torch, fixed intensely on Suna, who had already moved back to the center.
If it happens one more time, then definitely—
The moment Hinata stepped forward following Ishikawa, Inamoto performed a back set, sending the ball to Ogihara, who had already spread wide toward Position 2.
With a sharp crack, Ogihara spiked the volleyball, which grazed past Suna and Ginjima before smashing into the back half of Inarizaki's court.
Nishizawa stepped forward, getting his hands under the ball, sent it up steadily.
Miya Atsumu also breathed a sigh of relief: "Nice play!"
Ogihara couldn't help but frown.
The opposing Libero's receive is so stable, this is going to be difficult..
Having received a good ball, Miya Atsumu bared his teeth, with almost no telegraphing, he sent the ball to a high point at Position 4 with a single hand.
Ginjima, who had been prepared for a long time, jumped to spike, facing the Itachiyama block that had already been split by Hinata; he decisively chose a Strong Attack straight down the line.
Ogihara Ayato, following up from the back row, grit his teeth; he had intended to try and block the ball, but ultimately lost the opportunity to press down because his timing on the follow-up was slightly too late.
He stepped back slightly to create enough distance, extending his hands to meet the heavy spike: "Touch!"
Great touch!
Komori quickly retreated backward, after stepping out of bounds, he turned to face the direction of the ball and lowered his center of gravity to receive it.
Sakusa, from the side, called out in praise, "Beautiful."
Ishikawa called for the ball again: "Give me the ball!"
Sakusa-senpai is in the back row; right now, he is the main offensive force in the front row. Before the Ace moves to the front row, he will carry the banner of the offense.