At the same time, Hakuma approached from the side, his broad shoulders blocking the overhead lights and casting a shadow over Hinata's face.
Hirugami smiled at Hinata.
Sorry, but their side is still a bit higher.
With a loud thud, Hinata's spike toward the corner of the court was blocked back by the combined efforts of Hirugami and Hakuma, landing heavily in the middle of the court.
Coach Kurosu, who had just arrived, frowned. "As expected, was it too hasty to face Karasuno's block directly?"
Hinata's change in jumping style was only just beginning; against the height and reach of Hakuma Mebuki and Hirugami Yukio, who both approached three meters, this height was truly insufficient.
Miya Atsumu smiled. "Nice jump."
To use it in a real match for the first time and jump to this extent was already quite impressive.
One more!
Hirugami's gaze remained fixed on Hinata.
Just as he had thought from the beginning, the purpose of this practice match was very clear: it was to let Hinata feel his way through something.
So.. it's enough to just focus on Hinata.
After being blocked once again, Hinata hurriedly apologized to Hoshiumi: "I'm sorry! Hoshiumi-senpai!"
Akagi felt a tingling sensation on his scalp: "Whoa, the pressure is intense."
Miya Atsumu had once lost his temper because his tosses failed to score, whereas Hoshiumi had already had several consecutive tosses blocked.
If it were Miya Atsumu.. it would be simply unthinkable.
On the court, Miya Atsumu turned his head and said something to Hirugami Yukio.
A look of surprise flashed across Hirugami Yukio's face, but he ultimately nodded.
"Nice receive!" After Rishia made the receive, Hoshiumi stepped forward once again, preparing to set the ball.
Hinata jumped countless times, trying to fight against the wall of blockers.
But this time.. it was a little different.
Generally speaking, in a three-on-three match, there are at most two blockers, one person will maintain a position in the back row to receive the ball.
After all, they needed to avoid technical shots like tips or deflections, so it was impossible to leave half the court empty.
And now.. the opponent had directly chosen to launch a three-man block.
When Hoshiumi noticed this, he was momentarily stunned right after having just popped the ball up.
He looked sharply at Hirugami, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Could Hirugami actually make a choice like this?
The key is, did Miya Atsumu accept it too? Doesn't Miya Atsumu value Hinata quite a lot?
Being stared at like that while playing.. anyone would find it hard to handle.
Hinata had already jumped, the three people on the opposite side leaped up simultaneously, blocking his way.
A strong sense of helplessness welled up in Hinata's heart.
Without a doubt, he should have gone for a spike at a time like this, but Hirugami, positioned right in front of him in the middle, had his hands completely pressed down, like an umbrella covering his head, leaving him with no way to get past.
What should I do, what should I do, what should I do..
Hinata's gaze swept toward the blocking side, he swung his wrist to spike in a desperate, last-ditch effort.
It should have been able to get through from there, but..
Hirugami, who had watched his movements from start to finish, simply reached out a hand to stop the ball and block it back onto the opponent's side of the court.
Down on the court, Aran froze for a moment. "Hinata wants to go for a sharp cross?"
Akagi denied it directly: "He probably won't."
It was obvious that Hinata completely lacked a technique like the shallow diagonal spike at this stage; he was likely just playing wildly out of pure panic.
"You can't do that," Miya Atsumu said, staring at Hinata, trying to find even the slightest hint of hesitation in his expression.
But it was obvious that Hinata was still thinking about the question just posed and had not been discouraged by the successive failures.
Hearing Miya Atsumu's words, Hinata bit his lip, his face filled with unwillingness: "I know."
It cannot continue like this.
No matter what, he had to find a way to overcome the wall of blockers.
On the other side, Hoshiumi let out a soft breath.
Should someone else go and score?
Being stared at like this, it was obvious that it would be a better choice for Hinata himself or Rishia to take this opportunity to score.
Hoshiumi's peripheral vision flickered toward Miya Atsumu on the other side of the net, only to lock eyes with him at that very moment.
Miya Atsumu's mouth was slightly agape, his lips clearly forming the words—
Again.
A sensation like hair standing on end surged up from his back, Hoshiumi's expression completely broke; he looked at Miya Atsumu with a somewhat distorted face.
Is this guy a sadist?!
He felt like Rishia Heisuke was about to become socially withdrawn on Hinata's behalf!
Miya Atsumu's voice sounded softly: "Calm down, think about everything you've seen today."
While waiting for the opponent to serve, Hinata closed his eyes.
What did he see today?
What has he been hearing during this time?
Hoshiumi stepped back, performing a perfect receive to send the ball toward Rishia.
"What a receive!" Rishia Heisuke raised his hands, preparing to set the ball.
Hinata's footing was slightly behind, so Rishia passed the ball directly to Hoshiumi Hikari.
He wasn't sure exactly how high Hoshiumi's hitting point was, so he consistently sent the ball at the same height he usually gave to Hinata.
Hoshiumi said nothing about this, instead steadily raising his hand to deliver a cross-court set.
When facing him, the opposition didn't dare to set up a three-man block, which left plenty of room for the two of them to operate.
Hinata's brain was still spinning.
The time difference, the tip, the straight shot, the cross shot that Hoshiumi used.. which one can he actually use right now?
Watching Hakuma's spike, Hinata decisively took a step back.
He remembered that movement and the force of the spike; the landing spot should be..
The heavy spike caused Hinata to sink slightly, but he still managed to barely stabilize his posture.
"Nice receive!" Rishia said, sounding somewhat excited.
He still remembered Hinata's clumsy appearance when he was receiving the ball before, but now he was already able to judge where the ball would land.
Watching the volleyball fall behind the attack line, Hoshiumi quickly moved two steps to keep up.
Rishia and Hinata are both first-years; from the very beginning, he hadn't expected them to be particularly accurate; it would be good enough if they could just receive it.
Hinata breathed a sigh of relief, moving toward the net at almost the same time as Rishia.
Hoshiumi's toss this time was once again completely unprotected, clearly intended for Hinata.
—Go for the block.
Build an insurmountable wall of people, then.. wait quietly for someone to try and climb over it.
Hinata took a running start, his eyes fixed intently on the incoming volleyball.
Coach Kurosu had said before that observation, thinking, experience are all equally important.
But when it came to experience, he truly had none at all, so he could only rely on the other two.
He recalled those brief exchanges in the air.
Atsumu's height is lower than the other two seniors, that two-meter senior's blocking doesn't pose as much of a threat to him as Hirugami's blocking does.
Ultimately, was it because Atsumu is a bit shorter, the two-meter senior's blocking isn't as skilled as Hirugami's?
Although they didn't seem to be much different at the time, looking back on it now..
Almost simultaneously, Hinata suddenly recalled the training matches he had watched today while following Coach Kurosu.
Hoshiumi's contact point is indeed high, but he can't perform an overhand spike every single time. So, how did Hoshiumi-senpai play during those moments?
What did Coach Kurosu say was Senior Hoshiumi's absolute best technique?
With a heavy thud, Hinata jumped, reaching his personal limit once again.
—But it still wasn't enough.
The two-meter-tall wall of people stood before him, seemingly unshakeable.
Hinata's gaze shifted slightly, instantly sweeping across Hakuma's block on the other side.
Indeed. Whether it was Hakuma's blocking angle or the level of threat he posed, both were far inferior to that of Hirugami-senpai.
So.. should we try to find an opening from that side?
As soon as Hirugami sensed Hinata looking at Hakuma's finger, he had a sudden premonition and was already preparing to adjust his blocking angle toward that direction.
Is this guy planning to learn from Hoshiumi and score using a tool?
At that moment, Hinata's pupils suddenly contracted.
No, it shouldn't be like this.
Even though it looks that way to the naked eye, something merely presented on the surface should not be the conclusion reached after thinking.
And the opening that he could truly capture..
Almost perfectly synchronized with Hirugami's adjustment of the block angle, Hinata slightly shifted the entire direction of his spike.
His wrist snapped, adjusting the angle of the spike toward..