Should a spike from this angle be done in this posture?
Aran's heavy spike smashed into the court, making a heavy thud the moment it hit the ground before bouncing away out of bounds.
The next spiker, with large ears, had already jumped, but just then, Aran's previous spike had already flown toward the still-open back door.
Watching the ball about to fly right out through the open door, the other person responsible for retrieving the balls let out a mournful sigh.
I'll have to change my shoes just to go out and get it.. If I had known, I would have closed the gates earlier.
Right at that moment, a figure rushed out from the other side at high speed.
Before the volleyball crossed the white line at the very edge of the court, Hinata leaped lightly, his hands grasping the ball in mid-air before he landed steadily on the ground.
He didn't jump particularly high, after all, the height of the ball itself wasn't that extreme.
Gota, the libero who was still changing his shoes by the sidelines, was completely stunned. "It.. it flew away.."
Gota, the libero who was still changing his shoes on the sidelines, asked without even looking up, "What? The ball?"
The libero shook his head repeatedly. "No, it's a person."
Having successfully prevented the volleyball from flying out of the court, Hinata tossed the ball back toward the court: "Senpai! The ball!"
On the other side, the people warming up didn't notice what had happened around them, but Coach Kurosu, standing on the sidelines, had his eyes fixed on the busy Hinata.
This child..
Omimi looked at the person beside him, who was wearing an exceptionally kind smile, felt an inexplicable chill run down his spine.
Inarizaki's Coach Kurosu, a man who made other schools' coaches tremble just by seeing him.
He was extremely skilled at scouting talent, and.. poaching players.
For example, Suna Rintaro is a product of his reaching his demonic claws into neighboring Aichi Prefecture.
And then there's this freshman on the court now, Rishia Heisuke, whom he also snatched from the gifted youth class in the neighboring city while he was there on a business trip, even going so far as to visit the boy's home to do some persuasive work.
In the end.. the Rishia family simply moved here directly.
And Kurosu's current expression was somewhat similar to when he had seen Rishia Heisuke in the junior class before.
Hinata's voice drifted from afar: "I'll pick it up!"
That kid.." Omimi weighed his words carefully, "is there something we need to be careful about?
In fact, he hadn't known before if there were any specific points to note regarding Suna and Kita, but now these two had completely become two of the pillars of Inarizaki.
Therefore, I believe Coach Kurosu's judgment is absolutely correct; one can simply follow him and place bets without a second thought.
Coach Kurosu pointed it out in a single sentence: "Speed. His speed is incredibly fast; his entire acceleration process is the fastest I have seen among all high school players so far."
With such explosive acceleration, his jumping height couldn't possibly be low either.
Omimi recalled it for a moment, his expression turning serious as well. "It's true, I didn't even react just now."
But with this height, a libero would struggle no matter what position they played..
Before Omimi could finish his subconscious thought, he suddenly thought of someone.
Coach Kurosu smiled and turned his gaze back to the crowd warming up on the court. "Take another look."
It was true that tall players might hold a significant advantage in volleyball, but players lacking height certainly had their own ways of fighting.
During the break before the match began, Coach Kurosu still pulled Rishia Heisuke aside: "In your opinion, how is that friend of yours at volleyball?"
Hearing this question, Rishia Heisuke froze for a moment. He lowered his head, thought seriously for a bit, then replied, "His physical strength is unexpectedly good; he runs very fast and jumps very high. Although his technique is average at the moment, he is consistently hardworking and puts in a lot of effort.."
Coach Kurosu listened intently, his expression unwavering regardless of Rishia's wording: "How long have you known each other?"
Rishia answered, "More than half a year."
Kurosu continued to press for answers: "How long has he been studying volleyball?"
And this time, Rishia Heisuke gave the answer from his own judgment: "It's also been over half a year."
The first day I met him, he couldn't even do a basic platform pass in place.
Kurosu looked at Hinata, who was already chatting animatedly with the second-string setter by the sidelines, smiled softly, "Is that so?"
He changed the subject and instructed Rishia, "I'll send you in to serve at the end of the first set. Don't overthink it; your only goal is to score."
"Yes!" Rishia Heisuke replied loudly.
The match between Inarizaki and Gota was nothing short of a complete stomp.
Even though they lacked experience working together in official matches, Ginjima and the others executed various tactics beautifully under Miya Atsumu's coordination.
Watching from the second floor, Hinata was incredibly excited; every single moment on the court seemed to stir his emotions.
“Nice hit, Owari-senpai!”
“Nice receive!”
He kept shouting at the top of his lungs, his eyes filled with excitement and anticipation.
One day.. he will also stand there, touching that volleyball with his own hands.
When the serve passed to Suna, Rishia Heisuke, who had been waiting by the sidelines for a long time, stepped onto the court to replace him.
Rishia's specialty was the purest form of a power serve, a playstyle that released his full strength in an instant.
In the somewhat empty gymnasium, Hinata's cheering sounded exceptionally clear.
“Heisuke, serve a good one!!”
The whistle blew in his ears, the referee signaled for Rishia to serve.
Taking a deep breath, Rishia spun the volleyball in his hands, once again simulating the entire serving process in his mind during the brief moment.
The current score gap is already quite large, so making a mistake won't matter much, especially since this is just a practice match.
In short.. leave a relatively deeper impression on the seniors.
Of course, it was also to allow Hinata to see his serve more clearly.
At the very last second of the time limit, Rishia raised his hand and tossed the ball.
He did not choose a safer, flatter trajectory like he did when playing with Hinata and the others; instead, he went for a direct high toss.
He took three standard steps toward the baseline, then lowered his center of gravity, using the strength of his arms to drive his entire body upward—leaping.
After spreading his arms in mid-air, Rishia raised his hand and slammed the ball toward his intended target with all his strength.
BANG!!
A loud bang rang in everyone's ears, it slammed heavily into Hinata's mind as well. The volleyball landed at the feet of Gota, the libero, finally bounced out of bounds.
Rishia scored an ace.
Before Rishia could even celebrate, someone even more excited than him was already cheering with stars in his eyes: "Beautiful, Heisuke! What a great play!"
So cool—really so cool—
Rishia gave Hinata a thumbs-up, then turned his gaze back to the other side of the net.
Of the year spent in Amagasaki, the most meaningful thing for him.. was perhaps meeting Hinata.
It was Hinata's attitude from beginning to end that gave him confidence, for the first time, he realized the fact that he could become even stronger.
Therefore, he would stand on the court carrying Hinata's encouragement with him. Until.. Hinata also reached this stage.
The second ball sent by Rishia was barely received by the opposing libero, who had already anticipated it.
“What a great set!” Gota stepped back two steps as the setter, using the cover provided by the front-row middle blocker at position three, raised his hands to send the set toward the ace in the same direction.
The ace, who had moved to the right wing and jumped, raised his hand to spike the ball, hitting it directly off Omimi's fingers, sending it flying high out of bounds.
“Save the ball, save the ball!”
Although the height was great, the overall position wasn't particularly far away; even though Akagi was not on the court at the moment, the others could still go for the save.
Rishia Heisuke quickly caught up, raising his hand to pass the ball toward Miya Atsumu.
Ohhh! I got it! Heisuke, you're amazing!
Looking up at the falling volleyball, Miya Atsumu instantly judged that the pass was a bit too high.
But it didn't matter; it was normal that Rishia Heisuke wasn't clear on his setting point, so he just had to cooperate with him.
But still.. I'll have to give him some proper instruction later.
Miya Atsumu took a step toward the net, then leaped, preparing to set the ball.
Under the watchful eyes of the opposing blockers, Miya Atsumu flicked his wrist, making a motion that appeared to be a short quick set.
The quick-reacting setter, Gota, immediately chased after Miya Osamu, who was performing a quick attack in the center, but Miya Osamu only jumped without actually spiking the ball, sending it straight toward Aran along the same line.
The probability of an ace's spike being saved after hitting the net is minuscule, but this ball ultimately slammed firmly onto the opponent's three-meter line.
Beautiful!!
"Great receive, Owari-senpai! Great save, Heisuke!" On the second floor, Hinata was even more excited than if he were playing himself.
Miya Atsumu narrowed his eyes.
Wait, was he skipped?
Rishia Heisuke's smile was somewhat forced as he recalled when he had first met Hinata.
At that time, Hinata would always shower him with intense praise for plays that had absolutely no technical skill involved. At first, he thought Hinata was just flattering him, so he would respond with a few polite words, feeling somewhat awkward.
Later.. he discovered that those compliments were Hinata's sincere admiration, because of that, he was left feeling somewhat carried away on air several times.
But now, in front of so many seniors, he just wanted to find a hole to crawl into.
So embarrassing!
After the match ended, Hinata and Rishia left first, while the members of Inarizaki still needed to conduct a post-match summary.
While changing shoes before leaving, Akagi Michinari suddenly recalled a detail: "Come to think of it.. that little guy didn't praise Atsumu at all."
Even Kosaku, who only stepped onto the court to serve a single ball, received cheers, while it seemed as though Atsumu was completely ignored.
Aran, who should have become close with Rishia Heisuke and learned quite a few "insider secrets," said in a low voice, "He's probably just holding a grudge."
After all, someone once severely crushed my self-confidence.
Miya Atsumu's face was written with displeasure.