"Wow, that was a fantastic toss!"
"Oikawa, that was brilliant!"
Tōru Oikawa accepted his teammates and the crowd's praise with a proud grin.
On the other side, Goshiki Tsutomu stared at his hands in frustration. His signature 'Super Straight Shot', something he prided himself on, was not only received cleanly but turned into a spectacular counterattack by the opposing team.
Aoba Johsai was now serving. Oikawa stepped onto the service line.
"It's our turn to attack now!" Oikawa called out confidently, pointing directly at Ushijima Wakatoshi.
Ushijima locked eyes with Oikawa, his expression cautious and alert.
Oikawa tossed the ball into the air—one step, two steps—and leapt high, delivering a serve aimed straight at Kawanishi Taichi. But it wasn't his usual powerful jump serve; instead, it was a jump float!
Kawanishi, expecting one of Oikawa's signature fast and heavy serves, had braced himself for impact. However, seeing Oikawa point at Ushijima earlier had made him slightly drop his guard. To his surprise, the ball came hurtling toward him instead.
What shocked Kawanishi even more was the erratic movement of the float serve. It shifted unpredictably, and just as he was about to make contact, the ball took a sudden sharp dive and hit the court.
Service Ace for Oikawa!
[Aoba Johsai 5 - Shiratorizawa 4]
"The score is flipped!"
"Nice serve! Oikawa-senpai is amazing!"
Oikawa smirked, glancing at Kawanishi. Not so smug about my first-years struggling with float serves now, huh? Seems like you're not much better yourself.
Kawanishi could only grit his teeth in frustration.
Once again, Oikawa pointed toward Ushijima. "If you still think Seijoh is the same as before, you're in for a rude awakening, Ushiwaka."
Ushijima didn't respond, staying focused on receiving the next serve.
Unbothered by the lack of reaction, Oikawa simply shrugged and stepped back to the service line, dribbling the ball with purpose.
By now, Shiratorizawa had calmed themselves. Tricks like that only work once.
Oikawa tossed the ball into the air again, this time accelerating with a powerful run-up before leaping. With a calculated strike, he delivered a fierce jump serve, using only about 80% of his full power.
The ball zoomed directly toward Ushijima like a cannonball.
The speed left Ohira Reon no time to cover for Ushijima, but Ushijima himself simply crouched slightly and received the ball cleanly.
Of course. I should've known. Oikawa bit his lip. Even with his limited experience in passing, he's still no slouch. Ushiwaka only steps up to receive when he has no choice.
The ball flew to Shirabu's position, hovering above the net. Tendō Satori moved up quickly, with Iwaizumi Hajime and Matsukawa Issei preparing to block at the net.
If it's Tendō....thought Seijoh's libero Watari before stepping up just behind Matsukawa to cover the unexpected.
Shirabu executed a soft set to Tendō, who paused for a split second, baiting the blockers into jumping early. Once they began to descend, Tendō leapt and spiked the ball using a delayed timing—a one-man tempo gap attack.
But Matsukawa's cover wasn't alone. Behind him, Watari barely managed to deflect the ball with a desperate dig.
"Cover!" Watari shouted.
Oikawa chased after the ball, positioning himself near the net. Up front, Iwaizumi, Matsukawa, and Hanamaki Takahiro were ready to attack.
Which one is it? Shiratorizawa's blockers stayed locked onto the three spikers and Oikawa, trying to read the setter's choice.
But at the last moment, Oikawa twisted his torso mid-air and redirected the ball in a lightning-fast setter dump.
Only Tendō had anticipated the move, but by the time he jumped, the ball had already dropped behind him.
Point for Aoba Johsai!
[Aoba Johsai 6 - Shiratorizawa 4]
Even the crowd was taken aback. For a moment, the normally rowdy gym fell silent.
"Whoa! He twisted his body like that in mid-air?"
"How bold! Going for a setter's dump off a messy pass?"
"Are we really going to lose? They're scoring back-to-back on us!"
For Shiratorizawa to trail by two points at the start of a match within the prefecture was a rare sight indeed.
Tweet! Shiratorizawa called for a timeout.
"You idiots! Is playing volleyball impossible when Ushijima is in the back row?!" Before the players had even left the court, Coach Washijo's booming voice echoed throughout the gym.
"Shirabu! What kind of sets were those?! It's like you're baring everything for the opponent to see! If you don't want to play, get off the court!"
"And you, Goshiki, you idiot! Move more aggressively! You call yourself the future ace, and yet you can't even land a straight shot?!"
One sharp reprimand after another erupted from Coach Washijo, leaving even the onlookers frozen in stunned silence.
"…Yes, sir," Goshiki muttered softly.
"Where's your voice?! Is that how you usually talk?!" Coach Washijo smacked Goshiki on the head with a loud thwack.
"YESSIR!" Goshiki shouted louder this time.
"And Tendō! When Ushijima is in the back row, you need to be more aggressive! Stop hesitating! What are you even doing out there?!" Coach Washijo angrily slammed the strategy board onto the bench. "If we lose this practice match, you're all training until you drop!"
"Yes, sir!" the Shiratorizawa players shouted in unison.
"Yikes, there he is—the Demon Coach," Oikawa said, crossing his arms and pretending to shiver. "So scary. Coach Washijo hasn't changed a bit."
"You're not secretly in Aoba Johsai just because you're scared of Coach Washijo, are you?" Iwaizumi Hajime teased, rolling his eyes at Oikawa.
"How cruel, Iwa-chan! How could you say such a thing about me?" Oikawa leaned in closer to him.
"Get away from me!" Iwaizumi pushed him back with an annoyed look.
"All right, all right." Coach Irihata clapped his hands to refocus his team. "You've all been doing well so far. Even from the start, you didn't let Ushijima's presence overwhelm you."
"Oikawa's float serve and Taichi's receives have both improved. We've revealed most of our new tricks already, so from here on, it's all about raw strength. Keep up the effort!"
"Yes, coach!" the Aoba Johsai players responded, their energy no less than Shiratorizawa's.
The timeout ended, and both teams returned to the court.
Inwardly, Coach Washijo couldn't help but feel puzzled. Based on his players' skill levels, those last two plays by Goshiki and Tendō shouldn't have gone wrong. It was as if Aoba Johsai's Kaedehara Taichi had anticipated the moves perfectly, positioning himself in the right spot ahead of time.
Still, Washijo believed in the simplicity of strength. Tricks and schemes could only go so far—when faced with sheer power, there were balls that simply couldn't be returned.
Aoba Johsai served again. Oikawa stepped up, adding a little more force to his serve. Kawanishi Taichi barely managed to receive the ball in the back corner.
"Not a clean receive—cover it!"
"Set it to me!" Ushijima called for the ball from the back row.
Goshiki did his best to lift the ball high, sending it toward Ushijima's ideal strike zone.
Kunimi Akira moved closer to Taichi, anticipating Ushijima's spike. As expected, the ball came flying in their direction.
"I've got it!" Taichi took a step back, leaving Kunimi to position himself for the pass.
During the timeout, Kunimi had sought advice from Oikawa and Watari Shinji on how to handle Ushijima's spikes.
Smack! The ball connected with Kunimi's arms, and in that instant, he realized the gap between theory and practice.
The overwhelming spin on the ball sent it careening off his arms uncontrollably as it flew in an unintended direction.
The ball shot off at a sharp angle. Iwaizumi chased it outside the court, but his effort wasn't enough to keep it in play.
Point for Ushijima Wakatoshi with a powerful spike.
[Aoba Johsai 6 - Shiratorizawa 5]
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