"Nice!" Miya Atsumu's praise was far more sincere this time.
However, the state of this ball wasn't very good. Given that the height wasn't sufficient to begin with, Miya Atsumu didn't have enough space to jump, making it impossible for him to execute a Quick Attack.
He adjusted the stability of the ball as much as possible, setting it toward Miya Osamu, who had already jumped in Position 4.
Hoshiumi and Hirugami timed it perfectly to block Miya Osamu, as he sent a cross shot toward the right, Hirugami pressed down with one hand, cutting off the ball's trajectory.
With a solid sound of contact, the ball fell back onto Inarizaki's court once again.
Unabara Uta, who had just scrambled up and hadn't even stabilized himself yet, reached out and dove toward the ball, making solid contact and sending it toward the net.
Faced with this situation where they couldn't break through the defense, Miya Atsumu felt a bit frustrated.
Even so, he still successfully completed his job, setting the ball precisely and perfectly toward the high point in the center.
Currently, the one with the highest scoring potential in Inarizaki is Tokura Yukihito, his hang time after training is also quite good.
Although he is almost completely ignorant of technical balls other than the dump, his offensive threat is not much less than Suna's, having learned that style of play that changes the ball's trajectory.
With Hinata and Ginjima providing cover on both sides, Tokura's spike went quite smoothly; his straight shot motion deceived Hirugami, he twisted his waist to smash down a cross shot.
With a loud bang, the ball slammed into the floor behind the three-meter line on Karasuno's side; this time, Takahashi couldn't reach it.
After the whistle blew, the score on the sidelines jumped to Inarizaki 3:1 Karasuno, Inarizaki regained the Service Right.
Tokura was full of joy, turning to high-five Unabara, who had just successfully made several consecutive saves. "Great play, Unabara! You were absolutely amazing today!"
Unabara Uta high-fived him and laughed, "Of course! I've been resting and recuperating well."
After seeing the junior's brilliant performance yesterday, he was already itching for action.
Hinata also gave him a thumbs-up: "As expected of Unabara."
Coach Himegomiya rubbed his chin, his gaze toward Unabara Uta held not only admiration but also a hint of surprise: "Not a single mistake.. Inarizaki's libero is truly.."
This kind of high-pressure counterattack environment is difficult for most liberos to handle. Although Komori can ensure maximum precision in his passing, Inarizaki's playstyle is renowned for its speed, so the first receive must also be delivered with enough speed to coordinate with the subsequent offense.
To provide a suitable set under these circumstances.. requires a great deal of thought.
When playing against them yesterday, Inarizaki's number 17 wasn't actually that meticulous in this regard, but being able to receive Sakusa's balls steadily and provide a sufficiently stable first receive was already quite impressive.
However, counterattacks really do require massive practical experience to support them; this is likely why Inarizaki didn't choose number 17 as a starter.
Hinata Natsu stared at Unabara on the court, tilting her head slightly.
Coach Himegomiya smiled and reached out to pat Natsu's shoulder: "Counterattacks are something you need to focus on training; I'll add that to your schedule for this vacation."
Natsu nodded earnestly, "Okay!"
It is unknown when her father's continuous overtime work will end, so they will not be returning to Sendai this winter break.
However, her brother had invited her to go skiing in Nagano before, but if Coach Himegomiya had arrangements, she should prioritize her training after all.
Although if she didn't go, only her brother and Miya Atsumu would be going together, considering this would be a way for her brother and the others to relax after their hard-fought matches.. she decided to be magnanimous and agree to let the two of them go and have fun.
Xia turned her head to look at Coach Himegomiya: "Coach, that playstyle where the ball path changes back and forth is amazing. Can I learn it?"
Coach Himegomiya rubbed his chin. "That style of play requires very high physical flexibility. While your flexibility is quite good, Xiaoxia, your body hasn't fully developed yet, so let's not attempt that style of play for now."
I'll teach you the approach jump style later. As for changing the ball trajectory, that style is also quite good.
Xia Chong nodded repeatedly: "Mhm! I'll do whatever Coach says!"
The Inarizaki lineup on the court had completed its rotation; Miya Osamu moved to the front row, Ginjima Yui served.
After being baptized by Miya Atsumu's serve, Takahashi suddenly felt that Ginjima's serve was incredibly gentle.
Even though it was a bit heavy and a bit fast, it didn't have that nauseating spin; it was so much easier to receive!
Takahashi delivered a perfect first receive, making even Asahina, who had been chasing the ball for ages, feel a sense of relief.
Ginjima frowned slightly as the ball landed.
For some reason, he felt as if he was being looked down upon by his opponent.
It felt so bad.
After performing a fake set toward Position 4, Asahina quickly transitioned the ball to Hoshiumi, who was moving toward Position 2 to play a wide attack.
Miya Osamu was responsible for defense on this side for Inarizaki; although Tokura could move over to help, Hinata was too far away.
With Hinata's height and long legs, at this distance, he could basically declare himself out of the block, but if it were a double block, Hoshiumi would have absolutely no problem.
Keeping a close eye on Miya Osamu and Tokura's hands, Hoshiumi jumped to his highest contact point and spiked the ball directly onto Tokura's fingers.
He hit this ball high, specifically so as not to give the Inarizaki members a chance to save it.
Watching the ball fall toward the stands, Unabara Uta couldn't help but frown.
That kind of ball is truly annoying..
At the same time, Hinata expressed his envy.
Chapter 532: The Five Hundred and Thirty-Second Fox
As Hoshiumi rotated to the back row to serve, Hirugami also breathed a slight sigh of relief.
With Takahashi not in top form right now, it is indeed quite difficult to expect him to shoulder the heavy pressure from Inarizaki all by himself.
Hoshiumi is not like Hakuma; he can execute quite beautiful attacks even from the back row without being affected by his positioning, at the same time, he can coordinate his defense to relieve pressure from others.
With him and Hakuma in the front row, there definitely won't be any problems.
Hoshiumi's serve targeted Miya Atsumu, who was being covered by Unabara Uta.
With Miya Atsumu's current positioning, once his forward space is blocked by Unabara Uta, he will have no choice but to circle around from the other side. Furthermore, with the setter approaching Position 4, attempting to pull the play wide to Position 2 would become extremely difficult.
At least.. it would give them time to react to the block.
As Unabara Uta stepped forward to receive the ball, Miya Atsumu moved from the back row to a position near Position 4, just as Hoshiumi had anticipated, Unabara Uta's set had also been adjusted in advance as expected.
Atsumu jumped to set the ball toward Position 2.
Hinata had also completed his rotation with Tokura by this time, rushing to a position near the edge of Position 2, looking exactly as if he were prepared to coordinate with Miya Atsumu's set for a Quick Attack.
His gaze swept past Hakuma, who was chasing after him, sharp and focused on his target.
Hirugami stared at the movements of the Inarizaki members.
Hinata's movements were fast, but as soon as Hoshiumi's serve was completed, they adjusted their front row blocking positions, leaving Hakuma to be responsible for defending Inarizaki's Position 2.
They didn't have any extra requirements for Hakuma; as long as he could touch the ball.. no, even if he just managed to limit Hinata's line shot, that would be enough.
The rest is up to him, who has moved back, or the back row defense.
And in the instant Hirugami's attention was drawn away by Hinata in the distance, the ball in Miya Atsumu's hands was already flying toward the position behind him.
Hoshiumi, who had taken in everything from his position in the back row, decisively took a step forward.
Miya Osamu, positioned near the boundary line, spiked the ball at point-blank range, while Hirugami, who had just arrived, was unable to sync up with Norikura Isao in time.
The ball slammed down heavily between the two, the side of Norikura Isao's arm hit it before he could react.
And it was precisely because of that touch that the ball, which would have slammed straight down at Hoshiumi, lost control instantly and flew in the opposite direction toward Takahashi.
Takahashi, who had been positioned further back to coordinate with Hoshiumi's movement, rushed forward, but in the end, his diving was still too slow.
The ball slammed against the floor, making a heavy thud.
The whistle blew, Inarizaki scores.
The signal for a substitution appeared at this moment as Inarizaki changed their server.
Fukami replaces Tokura Yukihito.
Akaashi, watching from the stands, froze for a moment. "So fast?"
Although Inarizaki also changed the key server during the first service turn of the opening when the middle blocker served, Fukami, as a scoring point who earned several points in the previous match, felt that he should appear at a more critical moment.
Shiratori analyzed calmly, "He wants to kill this set in one go."
As Akaashi looked over, Shiratori said calmly, "Rather, it's more like.. this is the most critical moment."
"Karasuno's lineup actually lacks any effective means of counteracting when they are trailing by a large score," Inamoto explained, holding up a finger to clarify for Inamoto.
“Hakuma and Hoshiumi's scoring ability is indeed strong, but Inarizaki is even stronger than them right now. Similarly, with their blocking being somewhat reinforced, it won't be easy for them to score points either.”
A powerful block and defense are indeed unstoppable, but.. it's rare for a team to be able to score consecutive points relying solely on blocking, right?
"I understand." Inamoto nodded seriously, noting down the keywords in his small notebook.
Ishikawa also nodded in agreement: "In other words, as long as Inarizaki uses their initial advantage to build up a sufficient score gap during the opening, then ensures they don't make any mistakes, they won't give Karasuno a chance to overtake them."
Iizuna nodded with satisfaction, "Exactly, that's it."
As expected of Itachiyama's juniors, they catch on instantly.
But regarding this, Inamoto expressed a hint of doubt: "Can you do it?"
Komori leaned back in his chair and said with a smile, "I think they can do it."
What high school players lack most is sufficient experience, especially a first-year Libero like Takahashi; there are many things you just can't understand without trying them out for yourself.
Takahashi understood this very well, he was also clear that he lacked Komori's rapid reaction capabilities.
He had repeatedly studied this person's serves by watching videos yesterday and this morning, he had also asked Asahina to simulate them, but Asahina was not successful.
He had originally intended to use the warm-up session to observe him from a close distance, but it was as if Inarizaki had read his mind; during the warm-up, Fukami only used regular power serves and did not attempt any other types of serves.
But there was no other way; secret weapons, of course, work best when they are revealed sparingly.
I'll just have to bite the bullet and go for it..
Bathed in the cheers of the entire crowd, Fukami Uta held the ball with his chest out and head held high.
After yesterday's match ended, he felt his touch was better than ever before. It was the same now; he was at just the right temperature and was certain he could deliver a great play.
Takahashi lowered his center of gravity, his eyes fixed intensely on Fukami.
He had to stay calm; he wasn't the only one working hard on the court, he wasn't the only one tasked with solving this problem.
During this morning's meeting, Hoshiumi-senpai and Hirugami-senpai had a discussion with him regarding Inarizaki's offensive patterns.
Hoshiumi had proposed a viewpoint back then, he remembered it very clearly.