Creak!
With both teams' players in position, the referee's whistle sounded again!
This time, the first serve went to Shiratorizawa's side!
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Hayato Yamagata sent the ball toward Karasuno!
Bang!
Yū Nishinoya in the back row twisted his body and dug up the ball!
"Come on!"
"Right wing!"
On the opposite side of the net, seeing Kageyama Tobio's pass direction, everyone from Shiratorizawa swarmed forward, aiming at the right wing—Akira!
But this time, Akira's smash did not bypass the blockers as expected!
Instead, it struck the left arm of Reon Ōhira's block, "two five seven"!
Bang!
To everyone at Shiratorizawa, the ball flew far out toward the sideline!
It hit the ground!
Creak!
The referee's whistle blew outside the court!
Point to Karasuno!
Outside the stadium, Tanji Washijō, Shiratorizawa's coach, frowned deeply.
He naturally knew that Akira had a tactic involving "wipes out of bounds."
Therefore, Shiratorizawa had prepared a response to this offensive method beforehand!
That is...
To rely on split-second reactions developed through continuous practice to adjust their blockers' positions!
Because Akira's kind of "wipe out of bounds" isn't like a normal wipe!
When most players use a wipe out of bounds, they drive the ball into the blocker's palm to send it out of bounds.
But Akira doesn't need that!
The unique spin on his smash allows the ball to graze the blocker's arm just right—
This is extremely difficult for normal players to pull off!
That's why it troubled everyone before!
Because defending it is almost impossible!
You can only rely on anticipating and pulling back the blocker's arm from the net!
But thankfully...
Washijō felt that since Akira's smash targets the blocker's arm, the attack's direction must differ from a normal smash!
During such a high-intensity match, the team's concentration would allow them to notice this subtlety!
The first time, they just hadn't adapted yet!
...
In fact, everyone on Shiratorizawa's side felt the same way.
In recent months, they had trained extensively against Akira's style!
They wanted to be ready to defend against his relentless attacks!
So even after the first point lost, no one was discouraged!
Instead, their fighting spirit burned brighter!
Creak!
The referee's whistle blew again, and the serve went to Karasuno!
Bang!
A serve fired straight to Shiratorizawa's back boundary!
It looked like an out-of-bounds serve!
But Hayato Yamagata in the back row didn't hesitate!
With his experience, he was certain the ball would land in bounds!
Bang!
After Kenjirō Shirabu set the ball, Wakatoshi Ushijima scored another point!
Even though Karasuno's front row was prepared, Ushijima's powerful spike still shocked them!
The serve returned to Shiratorizawa!
The rally continued!
...
"It seems Shiratorizawa's cannon has gotten even stronger!"
In the audience, Yūsuke Takinoue exclaimed.
"Since the last game until now, the intensity of his spikes hasn't dropped—it's increased!"
"That's the hallmark of a slow-burn player!"
"That's right!"
Makoto Shimada added.
"I don't remember Ushijima being this strong the last time I saw Shiratorizawa play."
"Haha!"
Ikkei Ukai chuckled.
"A worthy opponent, a strong enemy, always fuels a person's drive!"
"Looking at Ushijima now, he was already the type who worked extremely hard."
"Now, after being challenged by Karasuno's initiative, he must've pushed himself even harder to reach this level."
"It's just a pity…"
"There can only be one final winner."
He shook his head slightly.
"Yes!"
Takinoue smiled.
"Akira's endless offensive tactics really are something else."
"Even if Shiratorizawa is barely coping now, it won't be for much longer."
...
The on-court situation matched his words.
Thanks to Shiratorizawa's thorough preparation, they were gradually dealing with Akira's powerful attacks!
It was grudging, but impressive!
At the very least, facing his offense no longer meant losing the point outright.
Occasionally, they even managed to save a ball or two, turning the tide back on Karasuno!
Shiratorizawa's double setter system was starting to show its worth!
Although running constantly this way couldn't last long, it was far more efficient than the previous back-and-forth two-pass system!
But now, with the referee's whistle, the tension on the court tightened again.
Because it was Akira's serve time once more!
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