Seems like I forgot to release this chapter, my bad....
,,,,
Chapter 18: Powerful Attack
Kageyama Tobio gently tossed the ball into the air, calculating the descent speed as the ball was pulled by gravity.
One, two, three!
He jumped, imitating his senpai's powerful jump serve. This moment, he was finally able to execute it on the official court.
Compared to Ichise Guren's serve, Kageyama Tobio's jump serve was slightly weaker in power and speed, but far superior in ball control.
Not to the point of hitting the exact spot he wanted, but he could still target a general area without issue.
The ball flew towards the space between Suzuki and Hyakuzawa, and this time the two players, standing a bit too close together, hesitated for a fraction of a second in their receiving reactions.
And in that brief hesitation, Kageyama Tobio's powerful jump serve had already landed between them. The fundamentally sound Hyakuzawa Yudai could only manage a side step.
The score was now 8-7, Kitagawa Daiichi closing the gap to only one point behind.
Kageyama Tobio didn't make any roaring or fist-pumping celebration, because he knew his side was still trailing, the match wasn't over, and there was nothing to celebrate yet.
Continuing to focus his energy and attention, he needed to stay concentrated on the next ball, aiming to score with his serve and then tie the set. Finally, getting one more point to stabilize the situation.
Of course, it's not that Kageyama Tobio only wanted the minimum of three points. For him, the more serve points the better, three points was just his lowest personal requirement.
This time, the ball flew towards the corner of the court after being served by Kageyama. Just as he thought this point was secure, Ichise Guren made a diving save to keep the ball up.
In the moment after Ichise Guren saved the ball, the two exchanged a look. While Ichise Guren didn't make a sound, his expression, movement, and gaze were all conveying a single message to Kageyama Tobio's attempt to at least score three points: "Forget about it!"
Quickly getting back up, he ran around the blocking Suzuki in the middle of the back row, then took off for a jump from behind the 3-meter line.
"Ichise-senpai!"
Ichise Guren, tightening his body like a fully drawn bow in mid-air, unleashed his arrow towards the three blockers.
This back-row attack wasn't a perfectly executed spike, but Ichise Guren's "explosive" legs still allowed him to reach a spike height of 345cm.
This height was already enough for Ichise Guren's spike to ignore a significant portion of the blocking coverage and find an opening in the defense for a decisive kill.
Bam!
It was like the sound of a .500 Magnum revolver firing right next to one's ear.
The ball left a trace in the air as it "teleported" off Ichise Guren's palm.
The moment the ball made contact with Ichise Guren's hand, it disappeared from everyone's vision. When it reappeared, the ball was already on the floor.
The Kitagawa coach, who had regained some of his composure, could no longer sit still. As he tried to call a third timeout, he was stopped by the assistant coach.
Only then did he realize they had already used up all their timeouts for this set.
But the sheer style of this spike still deeply shook the Kitagawa coach.
The coach stared intently at Ichise Guren, who had just landed and made a stabilizing motion. Muttering to himself, "Could this be another 'monster child' who will reach their full potential later?"
The assistant coach, hearing this, also had a look of astonishment on his face.
"'Monster child'? Are you saying their captain is as powerful as the legendary Ushijima Wakatoshi?"
"Ah? No."
The somewhat calmer Kitagawa coach shook his head in negation.
"That's not what I meant... But I can't say that either."
Still not fully composed, the Kitagawa coach spoke in a slightly contradictory manner, then paused to collect his thoughts before reorganizing his words.
"What I mean is, the captain of the opposing team, the attacking power of that last shot, and its overall disruptive effect on our team's defense, is on the same level as the legendary 'monster child' Ushijima."
"But their styles are completely different."
"Top-level opposite hitters may have similar attacking power, but due to factors like individual physique, technical characteristics, team needs, and more, the most distinctive traits they present to their opponents can vary greatly."
"Take Ushijima for example, what was most memorable about his spikes was the unique spin from his left-handed swing, and only then his national high school-level spike height and power."
"The other two national top-3 level opposite hitters, Wakatsu Kiryu and Kiyoomi Sakusa, one had national-level height combined with the strongest power in the high school, while the other had top-level height, slightly lower power, but the strongest spin in the high school."
"The captain of the opposing Yukigaoka, while his attacking ability is on par with the middle school-era Ushijima, his strongest point is his incredibly high spike touch. You have to remember, he's still a middle schooler."
"If he enters high school and continues to develop his volleyball skills, rather than switching to other sports, I can hardly imagine how high his maximum spike touch could reach."
"360cm? Or even 370cm?"
"The current volleyball world record for spike touch is 390cm, held by a professional player in the Brazilian league. While they can't spike the ball with their fingertips, spikes reaching that height can essentially turn a 1-on-6 situation into a 1-on-3, ignoring the defense."
Listening to the coach's analysis, the assistant coach's mouth gradually fell open.
"Are you saying he could become Japan's highest spiker in the future?"
"Yes, he may truly become Japan's absolute ace spiker."
****
25+advance chapters at patreon.com/Eatinpieces