Ishikawa's attempt at a limit-defying Short Diagonal failed; after the ball cleared the block and traveled a certain distance, it hit the top of the net and then dropped toward Inarizaki's court.
Hinata, in the back row, lunged forward desperately; he had already started moving the moment he judged that Ishikawa would hit a Short Diagonal, at this very moment, he pushed off the ground and dove, perfectly positioning himself to receive the ball.
Hinata's torso went over the net, he successfully received the ball.
Tokura, on the Coach's bench, stood up in excitement: "Great save, Shoyo! Cover, cover!"
Ishikawa landed with his teeth clenched, his eyes filled with such intense resentment and disbelief that it nearly consumed him entirely.
Ogihara Ayato had his hands to his mouth on the Coach's bench, shouting loudly, "Defense! Again!"
Ishikawa, whose head was feeling a bit fuzzy, was jolted awake by that shout, his vision refocused on the volleyball being received in his field of view.
The ball itself was close enough to the net, leaving the setter with very little room to play. Miya Atsumu jumped up facing the net, clearly preparing to spike it directly.
Outside of Koldorf's field of vision, Suna silently retreated.
The three members of Itachiyama lunged toward Miya Atsumu's position, but just as he was about to spike, Miya Atsumu twisted his entire body away from the net and sent the ball out with a single hand.
Suna, who had been prepared for a long time, stepped forward, lowered his center of gravity, jumped, raised his hand to spike the ball.
Sakusa's reaction was fast enough; he bent his knees and dropped low, performing a receiving movement that was almost touching the floor to cushion the ball.
Nice one, Kiyoomi!
Listening to the cheers in his ears, Inamoto quickly adjusted his position.
Ishikawa clearly wanted to execute a more complex play, but his set was a bit too close to the net just now.
This time, he will set it a little further away..
Sakusa's serve was very stable, Inamoto made the most of it. After performing a Back Arch at Position 4, he transitioned to deliver the ball right in front of Ishikawa.
However, Inamoto's movement only managed to draw Suna away from the position; although Miya Osamu and Miya Atsumu started their movements a bit late, they still managed to catch up to Ishikawa.
It was an almost identical scene to just now, this time, Ishikawa did not hesitate either.
Inamoto-senpai had already done everything he could; the rest was simply giving the opponent enough time to respond.
He was incredibly familiar with the Short Diagonal playstyle, but to further compress the angle..
Recalling Sakusa's playstyle, Ishikawa's wrist snapped toward the backhand side as much as possible.
The moment his hands made contact with the volleyball, the weight hanging in his heart finally lifted. The touch was perfect, the height of the ball was sufficient.
This ball will work.
Orange appeared in the corner of his vision, that gaze, so full of certainty, left Ishikawa momentarily dazed.
It seemed like praise, yet it also seemed like mockery.
—I knew you could do it.
Having anticipated it well, Hinata didn't even use a diving movement this time.
Having anticipated it, he stepped into a diagonal cross-step and lowered his center of gravity, bending one leg and reaching out to dig the ball from underneath; his forearm received the ball without any doubt. His knee did not touch the ground, allowing him to maintain the opportunity to participate in the subsequent offense.
—But being able to play it back doesn't necessarily mean scoring a point.
Hinata's gaze was calm, the way his eyes looked up from below made Ishikawa feel a chill run down his spine.
Damn it.. Inarizaki's defense is watertight.
“Atsumu-ge!” Hinata called out to Miya Atsumu in the front row.
He withdrew his gaze from Ishikawa and stepped back, preparing his approach to participate in the subsequent offense.
Miya Atsumu's praise followed immediately: "Nice receive!"
Watching Miya Atsumu jump from behind the Three-meter Line and charge toward the net, Koldorf frowned.
This movement.. Is Miya Atsumu planning to pull off a fake spike and a real set again?
No, the same trick couldn't be used twice in a row, the placement of this ball was quite good; Miya Atsumu had the opportunity to score a Spike directly using his own contact point.
Watching Miya Atsumu draw his arm back, Koldorf didn't doubt him for a second and lunged directly at Miya Atsumu along with Inamoto and Ishikawa.
Miya Atsumu curled his lips slightly, as he raised his hand to spike, he rotated his wrist to the side.
He spiked the volleyball toward Position 4 of Inarizaki on a path that was almost a flat ball, but just as it passed Position 3.5, a hand reached out from behind and spiked it down with full force.
The heavy thud echoed throughout the gym as the ball slammed directly into the center of Itachiyama's formation, its speed leaving Komori in the back row with no time to react.
The whistle blew, Inarizaki's Miya Osamu scored with a Spike.
Nice play!
The strongest twins in the volleyball world!
Their chemistry is incredible! So cool!!
The Service Right passed naturally into Miya Atsumu's hands.
Miya Atsumu turned his head to high-five Nishizawa, who had provided an excellent first receive, Hinata, who had successfully made two consecutive diving saves.
Nice play!
“Of course!” Hinata raised his shoulders and wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve, letting out a long sigh of relief.
After interrupting Sakusa's Service Turn, as long as Miya Atsumu could score a single point, Inarizaki would hold a significant advantage in the Score, not to mention that he had also moved to the Front row.
Miya Atsumu lightly rotated the volleyball in his hands, tossing the ball into the air and starting his approach when half of the service time had elapsed.
His Jump Float Serve at this moment also utilized a high toss approach; after all, standard ball trajectory variations wouldn't be enough to deceive a top-tier Libero; he had to make the float serve heavy and difficult enough to handle.
Komori was on high alert, but Miya Atsumu's ball was aimed at Inamura in the center.
Inamura raised his hands, having anticipated being targeted, positioned himself perfectly to meet the ball, successfully sending it up.
Inamoto jumped to set, his back arching into a small curve as he released the ball.
Koldorf had already jumped, the angle of Inamoto's set clearly indicated a Back Quick.
Suna, having made his judgment, quickly followed up.
But Inamoto's ball did not come out the way they had envisioned.
Behind Koldorf, the Ace from the back row jumped to spike this ball.
His gaze locked onto Nishizawa, his eyes sharp and clear.
A backhand side spin serve slammed down from overhead, its massive arc allowing the ball to bypass the block and head straight for a spot just beside Nishizawa.
Nishizawa grit his teeth, his eyes fixed intensely on the ball.
To maintain a basic receiving stance and pass the pressure on to Miya Atsumu?
He has already lost a point; going up against him directly is not a wise choice..
In his field of vision, Hinata, having just landed from the block, had already turned to move toward the sideline, preparing for his subsequent approach.
Nishizawa bit the tip of his tongue hard.
No, what he wanted was never a compromise; he stood here specifically to give the setter the best possible ball.
Absolutely,
Absolutely no backing down!
Thud!!
A heavy thud exploded as the ball hit the flat surface of Nishizawa Hokuto's raised forearm, bouncing up at an extremely high angle.
But.. the spin had been mostly neutralized.
Miya Atsumu rushed out to follow up.
Even if it wasn't perfect, it was.. enough.
This kind of ball was enough for him to handle the most difficult and extreme Quick Attacks.
The next second, the sound of the set and the sound of the spike rang out in rapid succession, the rhythm so fast that the Itachiyama players couldn't react in time.
Hinata, who had already jumped near Position 4 without any doubt in Nishizawa's receiving movement, scored with a Spike.
Cheers echoed throughout the entire arena, seeing the scoreboard jump once more, Miya Atsumu let out a sigh of relief.
At this point, the victory of this set was already secured.
Hayami lowered her hand, which had been clutching her collar, a smile unconsciously curled at the corners of her mouth. "I.. I've started to appreciate him a little."
Chapter 523: The Five Hundred and Twenty-Third Fox
What kind of qualities should a qualified Libero possess?
Mature technique? A calm brain capable of analyzing the situation? Or perhaps a keen judgment for every single ball?
These are certainly important. But.. these alone are far from enough.
To truly become a top-tier and competent Libero, the one thing you absolutely cannot lack is the courage to charge forward.
Compared to spikers and setters, the vast majority of liberos have far fewer responsibilities; a libero's only job is the single task of "receiving the ball well."
So.. if he lacks the confidence and courage to connect every single ball, then what is the meaning of him standing on the court?
Hayami is now firmly convinced of this.
Miya Atsumu's personality is indeed quite difficult, but he is actually quite lenient toward Inarizaki's two liberos—especially compared to the sharp attitude he had toward certain temporary liberos during the Junior National Team training camp.
And this was precisely because, by their own volition, they always wanted to provide the most stable balls to the Setter; at most, it was simply a matter of their own lack of ability.
Hayami clasped her hands in her lap, her gaze toward the people on the court remaining very calm.
Although he was still very annoyed, he admitted that he was moved for a moment.
Glancing at the scoreboard at this moment, Coach Kurosu reached out and beckoned to Masaru Haseda in the waiting area.
Masaru Haseda was a bit nervous; after his whole body stiffened for a moment, he walked toward the two coaches, looking almost as if he were walking with his feet together.
Coach Kurosu smiled and reached out to pat the seat beside him. "Come sit, it's your turn to go up in a bit."
Masaru Haseda's expression became even more stiff upon hearing that.
Coach Kurosu had indeed said that he was planning to sub him into today's match, but he hadn't specified who he was replacing; he had only told him to be mentally prepared to take the court.