The moment the ball passed Hinata's decoy, Hinata spiked the ball straight down.
Hakuma, who had rushed over in a hurry, accidentally jumped and blocked the path of the ball at an angle. When he touched the ball, he himself was visibly stunned and in disbelief.
Hinata frowned slightly. Hakuma's distance from the net was unexpectedly far. Under normal circumstances, he should have considered a Woguo or tooling the block for this kind of ball, but this flat ball didn't allow for that kind of adjustment..
Miya Atsumu also felt extremely frustrated.
But Hoshiumi was delighted at this moment: "Great block! Meisei!"
Takahashi retreated to follow up on the ball that Hakuma had popped up: "I've got it, I've got it!"
He stepped up to send the ball to the front row Attack Line, trying his best to give it high, so that this hard-earned moment to "catch one's breath" could be extended as much as possible.
As Asahina's eyes lit up, he was gasping for breath in the high-intensity, fast-paced match, his mind feeling a bit clouded.
Hirugami and Hakuma prepared for an attack at the same time, both choosing positions at opposite ends of the net to ensure they could split Inarizaki's Block to the maximum extent.
Asahina also performed a back arch.
He couldn't perform the seamless setting cover that Miya Atsumu could; his true back sets and deceptive back sets could mostly be distinguished most of the time.
The Inarizaki members were also very clear on this, so at the same time they caught this signal, Hinata and Suna moved toward Miya Osamu's side.
The three of them jumped in time with Hirugami's rhythm; the tempo of the set was a Quick Attack, it would be too late if they waited even a moment longer.
And right at that moment, behind Hirugami's broad frame, Hoshiumi Hikari had leaped up at some unknown point, following closely behind Asahina's toss to deliver it right in front of him.
Detecting the signal that Ginjima was positioned deep, Hoshiumi raised his hand and gave a light push, sending the ball directly over Inarizaki's Block.
Ginjima rushed forward to dive, but in the end, he was just a little too late.
The whistle blew, Karasuno scored.
Asahina smiled slightly.
His technical ability in directing the ball to both sides was indeed a bit lacking, but when it came to the same side.. he could still do it very well.
Fukami dove with incredible speed: "Mine, mine, mine—"
Ginjima slammed a spike toward the back row, but the one who actually managed to defend the front row from that positioning was Fukami. However, he never expected that Hoshiumi would be the one to send that ball forward, he simply had no time to react.
Seeing that Fukami had still managed to score a point, Miya Atsumu didn't press the matter too much: "It's fine, next ball."
Fukami scrambled up quickly and went to the sidelines to switch positions with Tokura.
Unabara Uta also quickly followed back onto the court to take over the defensive position.
The weakness of a Middle Blocker's service turn is that when the Libero is not on the court, it is actually very easy for the opponent's offense to disrupt their rhythm.
But it doesn't matter; the consecutive scoring just now has basically brought this set to a close. This kind of score gap is very difficult to overcome.
However, to be on the safer side, they should still aim to widen the score gap even further.
Komori, watching from the stands, analyzed calmly, "Miya Atsumu has rotated to the back row. As long as Inarizaki's Block can control this rotation, Karasuno will have no chance for a counterattack."
Bessho's offense from the Karasuno front row was quite good, but his individual blocking ability is not as strong as Hirugami's, without Hirugami's direction, Hakuma's height advantage cannot be fully utilized.
Taking both aspects into account, they also couldn't create much of a gap with Inarizaki.
Iizuna nodded: "Hinata's decoy also clearly wasn't able to have much of an effect."
Amatori shrugged his shoulders. "There's nothing that can be done about it. After all, with Master playing defense on the other side, Hinata's intention to play a technical ball is easily recognized by Hoshiumi."
Similarly, perhaps because Hinata's presence in the team usually involves tormenting his own teammates, Hoshiumi's scoring rate has also dropped significantly compared to the IH and National Sports Festival.
Shiratori rested his chin on his hand and let out a light chuckle. "Coming from the same master.. it's a pattern that can't be broken."
Akaashi also nodded in agreement: "Yeah, although Inarizaki still has Quick Attacks to use, this is a five-set match. If they use high-intensity Quick Attacks in the early stages, once they lose a set, it will be very difficult for them to keep up later on."
So.. the deciding factor actually still rests on the shoulders of the Spikers.
Shiratori expressed his agreement: "Yeah, Miya Osamu's momentum today is very strong."
Watching the match descend into a tense, long rally, Bokuto unconsciously held his breath again, so Shiratori decisively changed the subject to something more relaxed.
By the way.. Akaashi, are you thinking about going professional again?
Akaashi froze for a moment. "Me?"
"Yeah." Shiratori nodded.
Setters are also a scarce resource in professional volleyball. Given Akaashi's skill level, even if he is still far from V1, he should be close enough to playing in V2.
Bokuto blinked, seemingly about to speak.
But Akaashi spoke up first: "As for myself, I don't have any, I am already satisfied having been able to play for three years at Fukurodani."
However, volleyball is one of my hobbies, so I'll play it again if I get the chance in the future.
Bokuto nodded beside him.
He had actually discussed this topic with Akaashi once when he graduated, the answer Akaashi gave back then was the same.
He had actually experienced a moment of "unacceptability," but after calming down and thinking it through.. he had a feeling that "it really should be this way."
After all.. Akaashi is Akaashi.
Shiratori wasn't actually surprised by this answer, but he still wanted to ask about the other side: "So, are you going to join the Volleyball Club in university?"
Exactly, that is the point.
Akaashi nodded. "Yeah, university clubs also have credit requirements for extracurricular activities. Personally, I'd still prefer to choose a club I'm familiar with."
But university clubs are filled with countless experts; when he joins, he will most likely be just an ordinary member.
It doesn't matter; being able to play volleyball with others is exciting enough. Besides, there might even be a chance to travel with the team as a supporter to watch the matches on-site.
Bokuto, unable to hold back, raised his hand and answered eagerly, "Akaashi said before that he wanted to challenge Waseda, the one with Washio and the others."
"A prestigious school." Shiratori was surprised, but not that much.
As one of the largest private high schools in Tokyo, besides those like Bokuto who were admitted through athletic scholarships, most of Fukurodani's students are the top performers from various junior high schools.
Even as a high school that hosts different school years simultaneously, Fukurodani doesn't loosen its quotas for its junior high graduates like Shiratorizawa does; being able to get in already represents one's strength.
Akaashi gave a bitter smile. "That's true, but I'm not sure if I can pass the exam."
Shiratori gave Akaashi a thumbs-up: "Where there's a will, there's a way. I believe you can definitely do it. I've played against the Waseda Volleyball Club before, you certainly won't regret going there."
"Then I'll take your good words to heart, Shiratori-senpai." At this, Akaashi paused.
Starting tomorrow, I'll be focusing all my energy on preparing for exams. Since I still have club duties to hand over, my cram school sprint will be in the second half of the month, so I'll be studying in the library during my extracurricular time in the first half of the month.
Hearing a certain keyword, Shiratori's eyes lit up.
Akaashi extended an invitation to Shiratori: "Bokuto-senpai mentioned that you really want to visit the Fukurodani library. Just send me a message when the time comes, I'll come to the school gate to pick you up."
Shiratori agreed readily, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Akaashi. Also, if you have any questions about National Language, you can always ask me."
The person who said that had scored only three points short of a perfect score in National Language and a single digit in Mathematics on his third-year mock exams.
Across the middle, Shiratori and Akaashi reached a cooperation.
Bokuto, who automatically blocked out the two people's conversation by frowning at the mention of exams, stared at the volleyball hovering in the air above the court.
When Unabara Uta's counterattack succeeded, Inarizaki members reorganized their offense, Miya Atsumu scored directly on the second ball, Bokuto finally let out the breath he had been holding.
He raised his hand and patted his chest. "That scared the life out of me—"
Karasuno was almost about to score consecutive points!
Hoshiumi's rotation happened to be at Position 4 in the front row, which was exactly when neither Hinata nor Miya Osamu were in the front row, meaning there was no strong attacking point.
And having missed this opportunity, Karasuno would have to wait until the next rotation to try and claw back the score.
Looking at the current slowing pace of the match, Karasuno is also trying their best to adapt to the increasingly dominant Inarizaki; perhaps they truly do have a chance..
The service right passed to Suna.
Unabara Uta sat on the Coach's bench, Rishia quickly handed him a towel while holding Unabara Uta's water bottle, ready to hand it over at any moment.
Coach Kurosu patted his shoulder: "Good job."
Today's match could be described as Unabara Uta's best performance of the year. In terms of defending under such high-intensity blocking pressure, Unabara Uta did the best he could, without making any serious mistakes from start to finish.
Unabara Uta responded earnestly, "I will do better."
His peripheral vision swept past Rishia beside him, he was slightly surprised.
After this rotation, Karasuno will gradually enter their next strong phase; although it won't be as good as the previous opportunity, they will still maintain the chance to counterattack at any time.
He saw Rishia coming over and originally thought Rishia was preparing to take over Suna's service turn at this juncture to further solidify the victory through serving, but the Coach had not made such a decision.
But the Coach must have had his reasons for this decision, so he didn't need to worry too much.
Suna's serve went in just before the buzzer, Takahashi followed up quickly, providing an almost perfect first receive.
This kind of buzzer-beater..
It was useless against him, whose nerves were already wound tight.
What a great first receive!
As soonina as he got the ball, Asahina quickly sent a pass to Karasuno's Position 4, ensuring that Hoshiumi would have the most comfortable environment for his attack.
Atsumu and Tokura quickly moved toward Hoshiumi, but Hoshiumi seized the gap between the two players as they jumped and the marker, spiking the ball straight down.
The ball spiked straight down, Suna, who was stuck in that position, lowered his center of gravity as much as possible to control the ball.
“Nice play!”
Watching the ball fly up, Miya Atsumu adjusted his position and moved in once again.
Hinata from the back row and Suna, who had just received the ball, moved forward in sync to prepare for an attack, while Miya Osamu stayed behind to handle defense.
Tokura is in the center of the Attack Line, Ginjima has also moved to a position near Position 4.
Bessho stared calmly at the Inarizaki members, the moment Miya Atsumu sent the toss, he moved in with his terrifying reaction speed, closing in on Tokura in the center.
Tokura's spike point is high, but his ability to execute technical balls is weak, so there was no need to block him directly in front; he could have easily created distance and positioned himself at a lower point.
Bessho leaned back to create distance between himself and the net during Tokura's spike, blocking the ball back into Inarizaki's court.
Miya Osamu's reaction time was timely, as he dove forward in an attempt to save the ball.
The ball flew toward the net near Position 2, because it lacked sufficient height, there was no room for adjustment.
Atsumu jumped at an angle, raising his right hand to spike the ball.