"Leave the game to us! Semi-senpai!"
Hayato Yamagata also had tears in his eyes as he looked at Eita Semi, who was slowly walking off the court, his figure growing more distant. His eyes were filled with sorrow.
Even as Semi reached the exit of the venue, his muffled sobs still echoed.
Everyone understood why.
Shiratorizawa had finally found a way to deal with Akira's powerful spikes.
What's more, they had practiced this strategy for months!
And Semi was the most critical link in their dual-setter system.
Everyone's sweat, everyone's effort...
Because of his injury, all of it had been for nothing.
"Alright!"
Coach Tanji Washijō clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention.
"In the next set, Kawanishi, you'll continue playing!"
"You'll take over the responsibilities Semi held!"
"Yes!"
Taichi Kawanishi nodded solemnly.
He wasn't a setter by trade, and his sets weren't particularly accurate.
But under the circumstances...
He understood that being chosen to replace Eita Semi was out of necessity.
After all...
If they didn't try something, they'd return to the hopeless state of being crushed by Akira's offense.
And that was something nobody on Shiratorizawa wanted to experience again.
———
Creak!
After the timeout, both teams returned to the court.
On the surface, powerhouse Shiratorizawa didn't seem too shaken.
It was just a substitute setter who had been injured.
But in truth, both sides knew it well—
The tide of the match had shifted dramatically.
———
"Oh my god!"
"Why does Shiratorizawa seem even stronger after switching players?!"
In the stands, Yūsuke Takinoue shouted in surprise.
And he wasn't wrong.
After Taichi Kawanishi replaced the injured Eita Semi, the gap between Shiratorizawa and Karasuno actually began to shrink.
"As expected,"
Ikkei Ukai, watching calmly from the sidelines, remarked:
"That No. 12 is originally one of Shiratorizawa's main players."
"And more importantly, he's a middle blocker skilled at the net."
"And right now, Karasuno's main attacker in the front row is Hinata Shōyō."
"A blocker with experience can pose quite a challenge to Hinata's attacks."
"That's the reason Shiratorizawa seems to have gained a slight edge."
Hearing this, Makoto Shimada's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed:
"But it's only a temporary advantage!"
"Just wait until Akira rotates to the front row again..."
"They won't be able to stop his attacks!"
"Exactly!" Ukai nodded.
"Right now, they've managed to break Akira's serving rhythm."
"But without the dual-setter system, Shiratorizawa can't stop his front-row dominance!"
"When the rotation comes around…"
"Losing the set will just be a matter of time!"
———
Sure enough, just as Ukai predicted—
While Hinata was in the front row, Karasuno's lead didn't widen any further.
But once the rotation brought Akira back into the front row, the absence of Eita Semi began to show its impact...
Creak!!
As the referee's whistle blew, Hinata launched the serve straight toward Shiratorizawa's side!
At this stage of the match, every player was performing at their peak.
No one was holding back.
No one was showing signs of fatigue.
Even those who usually started slow had now reached their full momentum!
Smack!
In the back row of Shiratorizawa, Hayato Yamagata swiftly turned and received the serve with a side dig.
"Right wing!"
The Karasuno front-row defense surged forward!
Akira, Kei Tsukishima, and Tobio Kageyama moved as one to set up the block!
Whenever the three of them were in the front row together, it was also when Shiratorizawa scored the least.
No matter who was attacking, the chances of breaking through their triple block were slim.
Akira's blocking skills needed no explanation.
And while Tsukishima's blocks hadn't yet reached Akira's level, they weren't far off.
Kageyama, being the tallest among the three, added extra reach and strength to their block.
This was—
Karasuno's strongest front-row defense.
The three of them sealed off every possible attacking lane!
Even the audience, watching breathlessly from the stands, felt a suffocating pressure.
They couldn't imagine what kind of attack could possibly break through such a wall.
But across the net, Wakatoshi Ushijima showed no hesitation.
He charged forward and swung with full force!
Bang!
A fearsome spike cut toward the edge of Karasuno's blockers!
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