Chapter 15: The Battle Continues
Unlike Kageyama Tobio and Kindaichi, Kuguri Naoyasu of Kitagawa Daiichi wouldn't step onto the court too early before the timeout ended.
His belief was to sit when possible, and lie down when possible.
Kuguri slowly sipped his sports drink, waiting for the moisture to fully wet his mouth before swallowing it down.
"The other side is so arrogant, just because they won a few points in the first set, they're already shouting about conquering the nationals."
Kuguri complained bitterly about Yukigaoka's rallying cry as he loosened his thighs.
"Conquering the nationals, it's not that easy. Do they think they can just shout it and it'll happen?"
"Do they know how many powerhouse schools are out there nationwide?"
"There might even be a team with three players over 190cm, an impenetrable wall."
As the referee prepared to blow the whistle to end the timeout, Kuguri got up from the bench a little early and started moving his body.
Glancing over, he saw Yukigaoka was still huddled together, talking about something.
While Kuguri usually seemed lazy, his mind actually worked quite quickly.
'If it weren't for that Kageyama guy dragging us down, I feel like beating the other side wouldn't be that hard.'
'Well, it's a club activity, the coach can do whatever he wants. I'm not going to say anything.'
Kuguri silently finished his inner rant, then followed the referee's whistle onto the court.
Yukigaoka had also taken the court, and each of them looked quite confident.
Ichise Guren and Kageyama Tobio were now staring each other down.
Kageyama Tobio, 'I've found your weaknesses!'
Ichise Guren, 'Who doesn't have any?'
Kageyama Tobio, '?!'
While Kageyama Tobio was rather blunt and had low emotional intelligence, appearing a bit unpleasant at times.
Compared to the slicked-back Ichise Guren's expression of one-third nonchalance, one-third disdain, and one-third mockery, Kageyama's demeanor was far less severe.
The score was 7-4, Yukigaoka leading.
Right before the timeout, Yukigaoka's wing spiker Hyakuzawa Yudai had scored a crushing overhead spike, breaking Kitagawa Daiichi's serve.
So when they resumed, the rotation had changed.
This could be considered Yukigaoka's weakest lineup.
The front row had two new players, Suzuki and Kawashima, along with Ichise Guren. The back row consisted of Hyakuzawa Yudai, Hinata Shoyo, and the new setter.
Their libero, Hoshino Masaru, had already subbed out for Kawashima, so he couldn't sub in for anyone else in the same match.
So when Kawashima rotated to the front row, Yukigaoka's formidable back row defense would be completely absent.
Ichise Guren, who could receive well, was now in the front row, while Hoshino Masaru, their defensive stalwart, had already been subbed out. So this lineup was Yukigaoka's weakest in both blocking and receiving.
But if they could endure Kawashima's three rotations in the front row, Yukigaoka would regain their strong blocking and solid defense.
Seeing Yukigaoka's lineup, Kageyama Tobio couldn't help but smile, his desire for victory clearly visible.
'This set, I'll win it!'
"Blows whistle!"
Yukigaoka's number 1, Hinata Shoyo, prepared to serve.
He stood with his feet, tossed the ball naturally with the momentum of his arm, then hit it with his palm.
The volleyball crossed the net with a very ordinary serve.
Kitagawa Daiichi, who had been caught off guard by Ichise Guren's powerful jump serve, were a bit dazed when they saw this ball.
Fortunately, the fundamentals of a powerhouse volleyball school were still there. Their libero expertly received the ball and delivered a high-quality first pass.
After carefully observing Ichise Guren's movements, Kageyama Tobio quickly set the ball to the number 4 player in the front row.
Although not very tall, the 180cm number 4 player easily broke through the new blocker's defense with his experience and power, completing a nice quick attack.
The score was now 7-5.
The rotation continued, with Suzuki moving to the back row and Hinata Shoyo coming to the front.
Although the back row receiving was still lacking, the front row attacking firepower had received a boost with Hinata's addition.
After Ichise Guren's quick attack training, Hinata could now coordinate quick attacks with almost anyone on the team.
He had mastered not only feint tips, but also gained the ability to predict ball speed, landing, and trajectory through countless failed spike attempts.
The opponents didn't know about these developments, and instead saw the shortest player on the team rotating to the front row, their expressions eager to make a big play.
Kitagawa's captain number 1 was now in the serving position. He tapped the ball, then delivered a fast, accurate standing serve, just like the previous ones.
In the stands, Sawamura Daichi noticed this serve and commented, "This serve, while standard, feels a bit like a mass-produced item - quality checked, but nothing special."
Tanaka looked a bit sheepish. "So this is just a 'quality checked' serve? Then what does that make my serve?"
Daichi quickly explained, "No, it's just that in comparison to the Yukigaoka captain's powerful jump serve, these standing serves seem to lack any distinctive features."
Sugawara replied a bit irritatedly, "Well, of course, after seeing that strong jump serve, any standing serve would feel unimpressive in comparison."
Daichi was awkwardly laughed as he scratched the back of his head. "Well, that's not quite what I meant, I just can't put my finger on it exactly."
While it was indeed a standardized standing serve that the Kitagawa players had trained together, as the captain, every detail of his serve was honed to perfection.
The ball speed was not slow, and it even had a slight float to it. Though the amplitude was small, it still presented a challenge for Yukigaoka's receivers.
After three months of intensive receiving training, they had improved their spiking, blocking, and even serving and setting skills to some degree.
But receiving, the one-on-one interaction between the player and the ball, was a skill that required mastery of body coordination, fundamentals, and ball trajectory judgment.
It was not something that could be quickly improved overnight - it took daily, diligent training, a steady dripping of effort to truly elevate.
Unexpectedly, the tall Hyakuzawa Yudai in the back row stepped forward when his two teammates didn't know how to handle the serve.
"I've got it!"
Using a solid, standard underhand pass technique, he received the ball.
"It's okay, I'm here. Although I'm not as good as Hoshino at receiving, I won't be a hole in our defense!"
Hyakuzawa Yudai declared with unwavering determination in his deep voice.
*****
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