Coach Irihata weighed the situation in his mind. On one hand, he was worried that Kunimi Akira might not withstand the upcoming high-intensity matchups; leaving him on the court could lead to an injury.
On the other hand, even if Kunimi forced himself to stay, he might struggle to construct an effective defence against an opponent as formidable as Ushijima Wakatoshi.
After careful consideration, Coach Irihata substituted Kindaichi Yūtarō onto the court, hoping that his strength and height could at least disrupt Ushijima's rhythm.
Shiratorizawa served.
"Chance ball!" It wasn't one of their signature powerful serves this time, allowing Watari Shinji to receive it easily.
Once again, Oikawa Tōru's connection with Taichi came into play! In the blink of an eye, Taichi was already airborne, poised for a spike.
Yamagata Hayato, keeping up with Taichi's speed, barely managed to move into position to receive the ball.
The volleyball slammed into his face and bounced off, but Yamagata endured the pain and shouted, "Cover it!"
Ōhira Reon dived to save the ball, passing it to Ushijima.
"We have to block this!" Oikawa, Taichi, and Kindaichi leapt for a triple block against Ushijima's spike.
The ball struck Kindaichi's hand with immense force. His arm trembled, but he held firm!
"First touch!" Kindaichi called out to his teammates behind him.
Iwaizumi Hajime quickly passed the ball to Oikawa. Taichi dashed to the right, leaping once more as Oikawa's set arrived right on time.
"Bring it down!" Oikawa commanded.
But this time, Ushijima was ready. His sharp reflexes made sure his block was already in position despite it being only the second play.
Taichi swung his arm but barely touched the ball, lightly tipping it with his fingers instead of spiking it.
Ushijima's pupils dilated in realization, but his body couldn't react in time.
The ball dropped behind him.
[Aoba Johsai 9 - 10 Shiratorizawa]
Ushijima gazed at his opponent, a faint but noticeable shift in his demeanour as if a string deep within him had been plucked.
"Wow, that's scary!" Tendō Satori suddenly commented from Shiratorizawa's bench.
"Huh? What's scary?" asked Semi Eita, puzzled. "That first-year's decent, but he's not that intimidating."
"No, no, no, I'm not talking about the first-year! I mean Wakatoshi!" Tendō exclaimed, his tone brimming with excitement as if he had just discovered something extraordinary. "Didn't you see it just now?"
"See what?" Semi still couldn't follow Tendō's peculiar thought process, though he doubted anyone else could either.
"Just now, after losing that point....Wakatoshi smiled!"
Aoba Johsai served. Having finally halted Shiratorizawa's momentum, Iwaizumi decided to ramp up the tempo of their offence.
He smashed the ball across the net with force. On the other side, Yamagata struggled to receive it.
A shaky first touch! All of Aoba Johsai's players caught onto this immediately, adjusting their defensive formation while preparing to transition into an attack.
Ushijima Wakatoshi's calm voice carried an undeniable authority.
But the first touch wasn't perfect. Shirabu scrambled to recover, lifting the ball as high and steady as he could.
Ushijima began his approach, his body moving with precision. As he reached the ball's underside, he jumped with explosive power, his body stretching to its full extent. The muscles in his left arm tightened like a coiled spring, and with the force of an iron whip, he spiked the ball.
"Three-man block!" Aoba Johsai's strategy remained steadfast: a three-person wall at the net, with libero Watari Shinji positioned to receive the attack.
The dull thud reverberated through the gym.
Watari was knocked off balance, collapsing under the impact of the spike.
The ball ricocheted diagonally, slamming directly into the courtside scoreboard. The unprepared board bore the brunt of the hit, letting out a resounding crash before toppling over.
[Aoba Johsai 9 - 11 Shiratorizawa]
The referee on Shiratorizawa's side drew a sharp breath. If the trajectory had shifted slightly, the ball might have hit him instead. It was in moments like these he realized volleyball officiating wasn't entirely risk-free.
Ushijima Wakatoshi gave a brief, silent bow of apology toward the referee and scoreboard operator. The game was momentarily paused.
Aoba Johsai's players gathered around Watari, checking on him.
"I'm fine," Watari assured, though his reddened arms betrayed the sting of the impact.
The scoreboard was quickly propped back up, and the referee signalled for the match to continue.
No matter how powerful a spike, it could only earn a single point. Everyone understood that. But this singular point carried an aura of invincibility, shattering Aoba Johsai's hard-won momentum.
[Aoba Johsai 9 - 12 Shiratorizawa]
[Aoba Johsai 9 - 13 Shiratorizawa]
[Aoba Johsai 10 - 13 Shiratorizawa]
[Aoba Johsai 10 - 14 Shiratorizawa]
The match continued, and though Ushijima didn't unleash his full power on every play, Aoba Johsai's players were visibly shaken.
The second and third years felt the weight of two years of being dominated by Ushijima, a fear they couldn't shake.
The first years, like Kindaichi, were left bewildered.
Taichi wanted to encourage his teammates, but reality pressed down on him: Shiratorizawa was a mountain too steep for Aoba Johsai to climb. His voice was caught in his throat.
Beep! Timeout called by Aoba Johsai.
Coach Irihata knew the impact Ushijima's last spike had left on his team. If it were just a matter of being outplayed from start to finish, these boys wouldn't lose hope. Their determination had brought them this far.
But to be overtaken while leading, and then to have their hopes crushed by a single display of overwhelming power—even spectators in the stands could feel the pressure. For the players on the court, it was suffocating.
Yet, giving up now would mean surrendering their final chance. They could either succumb or rise from the ashes.
"If you don't want to continue, I can concede to Coach Washijo," Coach Irihata said calmly, though his heart ached.
The players hung their heads in silence. None of them had ever heard Coach Irihata speak this way.
He sighed and began to walk toward Shiratorizawa's bench.
Almost simultaneously, Kaedehara Taichi and Oikawa Tōru reached out and grabbed him.
"I'm not giving up. We just haven't found the right opportunity yet," Taichi said firmly, his eyes brimming with resolve.
Oikawa was more direct: "Ushiwaka's in the back row now. If we can survive his serve rotation, we can catch up."
Coach Irihata turned back to face his team, scanning their faces. He saw that they had all lifted their heads.
"Then let's show Shiratorizawa the resolve of Aoba Johsai!"
"Yes!" the team shouted in unison.
"Wakatoshi, they're not giving up yet," Tendō Satori said, swaying beside Ushijima. "I thought we'd take this set without breaking a sweat."
"Hmm. Aoba Johsai is weak, but they're persistent," Ushijima replied earnestly. "However, persistence is meaningless in the face of absolute strength."
The whistle blew, and the match resumed.
Ushijima walked to the service line, volleyball in hand. His expression remained stoic as he declared, "With this serve, I'll make them understand that again."
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