"Bang!"
Ushijima had put every bit of his strength into that hit.
It was both courtesy and respect.
If his opponent took him seriously, then he had to take his opponent seriously as well.
But Haruma Bishin truly did not want to be taken seriously at all. This kind of spike was just too damn brutal. As for the time he had managed to defend against Bokuto alone, even Haruma Bishin himself knew very well that there had been some luck involved.
And even if he could receive Bokuto's balls, there was nothing he could do about Ushijima's. After all, one was right-handed and the other was left-handed. Even the ball's spin and arc were different. There was no way to compare them.
Haruma Bishin steeled himself and went up to meet it. No matter how hard this ball was to receive, he had to get it up.
The volleyball's arc spun toward the right, but Ushijima was left-handed, so a ball spinning rightward would often curve back to the left in the end. It was hard to say for sure. Even the person who hit the spike could not guarantee that every single ball he hit would be perfectly copied and pasted from the last.
Halfway through the ball's flight, Haruma Bishin accurately predicted where it would land and reached the spot ahead of time. He cut off the angle, raised both arms, and received it.
"Bang!"
The solid impact of the volleyball slamming into his arms made Haruma Bishin suck in a breath. This ball was even more ridiculous than Kiryū-senpai's.
In that instant, Haruma Bishin met Yamagata's eyes across the net.
Yamagata's gaze carried a hint of understanding. Spikes with this kind of power were hard to receive, but on their team, they had gotten used to receiving them every single day. At most, the strength of each ball was a little different.
At that moment, Yamagata saw the feeling of kindred spirits in Haruma Bishin's eyes.
He decided that once the match ended, he absolutely had to add the other team's libero on LINE.
Haruma Bishin's handling of the force was not perfect, and the ball flew crookedly into the air. As he ran, he shouted,
"Cover it!"
Setter Keisuke Unnan heard Haruma Bishin's call and ran straight under the ball. He reached out, took it, and adjusted the play.
Keisuke Unnan was still watching and deciding who to set the ball to. Shiratorizawa had given the opening attack to Ushijima, so as a return gesture, this ball should logically go to Wakatsu Kiryū. But Wakatsu Kiryū's current situation was not very good. Reon and Tendo were both watching him, as if they had known Keisuke would think that.
So sometimes, people understanding each other too well was not exactly a good thing.
Seeing that Kiryū's side had been marked, Keisuke Unnan decisively shifted the ball elsewhere.
Then, after thinking for two seconds, Keisuke Unnan realized that his own position was not far from the net. In fact, it was just about perfect. So he simply raised his left hand and dumped the ball down himself.
Everyone from Mujinazaka was surprised too. Keisuke was actually planning to do it himself. That really was rare.
But what surprised them even more was Shiratorizawa. They were watching it happen right in front of them, and not a single person stepped forward to block. This made everyone even more confused. Were they planning to give up on this ball?
Just as everyone was thinking that, Ryosuke silently appeared under the net.
The moment Keisuke saw Ryosuke, alarm bells went off in his head.
Damn. He had miscalculated and forgotten about this kid.
This guy was so good at receiving. There was no way his blocking would be bad.
Ryosuke appeared suddenly. At the spot where Keisuke used his left hand to push the volleyball over and launch the attack, Ryosuke straightened both arms and blocked it straight down.
"Bang."
"Smack."
In the blink of an eye, the ball hit the floor.
"Beeeeeep!"
No one had expected the first point of this match to be taken in this way. It was truly unexpected.
Ryosuke was stunned too. He had simply wanted to block this ball and either force a touch or keep it from crossing the net. He had never imagined he would score directly with a block.
Keisuke Unnan looked surprised. That ball had been blocked just like that?
"What a brilliant exchange! Kiryū serves, and Shiratorizawa's libero Yamagata receives it! The setter is Shirabu, and this ball goes to Shiratorizawa's captain, Ushijima. Ushijima unleashes a powerful spike! Mujinazaka's libero refuses to be outdone and receives it as well. Setter Keisuke Unnan gets under the ball. A second attack! Blocked and killed by Shiratorizawa's first-year middle blocker!"
"Not bad, Ryosuke. You dealt them a heavy blow right from the start."
"Ryosuke is amazing!"
"Shiratorizawa! Shiratorizawa! Shiratorizawa!"
His teammates' praise and the crowd's cheers made Ryosuke's cheeks turn red. He felt a little embarrassed.
Keisuke Unnan glanced at his own hand, then faced Ryosuke across the net with an extremely solemn expression.
This was definitely not coincidence or some accident.
To appear in exactly the right place, he must have predicted it in advance. But what puzzled him was that even Keisuke himself had not decided who he would set the ball to. The second attack had been a spur-of-the-moment decision too. So how had that middle blocker known?
No matter how he thought about it, he could not understand.
At this moment, Ryosuke received the attention of the audience, the referee, and his opponents.
This was the first time.
The referee glanced at everyone still celebrating, then blew the whistle to signal them back to their original positions.
Keisuke Unnan looked deeply at Ryosuke on the other side of the net, then said,
"You're very good. I underestimated you."
After saying that, he turned and walked away.
Ryosuke found that sentence completely baffling. He scratched his head and returned to his position.
The match continued.
Standing in position one now was Reon. Reon walked to the serving position and prepared to serve under the referee's whistle.
Reon had now learned bad habits from other schools too. In the past, he would serve as soon as the whistle sounded. Now, he forcibly held off until the last few seconds of the serving whistle before serving. It really messed with people's heads.
Haruma Bishin had already cursed Reon countless times in his heart. How had Shiratorizawa become so crafty?
"Bang!"
The volleyball suddenly flew out of Reon's hand, and Haruma Bishin took off running.
He locked onto the ball and sprinted toward the three-meter line.
Just when it looked like he would not make it in time, he threw himself onto the floor and made a diving receive.
"Bang!"
"Cover it!"
The first pass was not very stable, so they could only place their hopes on the setter.
Keisuke Unnan shouted,
"Got it!"
Then he jumped into the air, twisted his waist, adjusted to the pass, and sent the ball out from a very awkward position.
The ball flew toward position three, where Nozomu Mami and Tendo were currently facing off.
Seeing the ball come over, Nozomu Mami's eyes widened, and he turned his head in disbelief.
What was he doing? What was he doing? Couldn't he see that blocking monster was here too? Wasn't this just handing over a point?
"Oh?"
Tendo, of course, saw the ball coming too. He let out a curious sound. Bold move. There really were not many people who dared to face him head-on like this.
Was this middle blocker that good?
No. Something was off.
Almost instantly, Tendo's mind turned sharply. In a match like this, there should not be anyone that stupid.
Seeing the ball about to come over, Nozomu Mami had no choice but to jump and spike.
A figure flew in from the side. Understanding flashed through Tendo's eyes. He knew this ball could not be that simple.
So he waited in place for a fraction of a second, creating a timing gap with Nozomu Mami. When Nozomu Mami landed, Tendo finally jumped.
Tendo's instinct told him that this was exactly how he should block this ball.
Nozomu Mami had just landed and was still wondering why he had not hit the ball when a figure flashed up from behind him and jumped. The ball was about to drop, but in his hands, it could still carry plenty of power.
"He specializes in bad sets. As expected of Wakatsu Kiryū."
Tsutomu Goshiki watched the figure jumping on the court and sighed in admiration. That was right. The one who had jumped was Wakatsu Kiryū.
Keisuke's set had been a little high, but that was naturally not an accident. As a setter, Keisuke knew his teammates' highest contact points better than anyone. This ball had been meant to hide the real attacker, Wakatsu Kiryū, to the point that Keisuke had even fooled his own teammate.
Wakatsu Kiryū's contact point was not especially fixed. His highest was 337, but he could hit balls at all sorts of heights. That was why Keisuke had set this ball a little higher. Only by making it higher would Wakatsu Kiryū, who suddenly appeared from behind, not have to work so hard when spiking.
Tendo tightened his arms and locked eyes with Wakatsu Kiryū in midair.
The next second, Wakatsu Kiryū swung his arm and hit a line shot.
Tendo's eyes caught Wakatsu Kiryū's small movements like radar. He stretched out his arm and precisely blocked the path of Wakatsu Kiryū's spike.
But Tendo's thin arms could not withstand a ball like that.
"Bang!"
The volleyball smashed into Tendo's palm.
Then Tendo turned his wrist and let the volleyball fly over. He felt his entire palm and wrist bones go numb from the shock of that hit.
"One touch!"
The two of them landed at the same time and moved back to defend. Mujinazaka quickly organized their defensive formation.
The ball had flown a little too far, and Yamagata had to start his miserable chase after it again.
He slid in, caught the ball with his left foot, and the volleyball bounced up after striking his ankle.
Everyone cleared space for Shirabu. Shirabu ran in to set the ball, choosing Ushijima again without hesitation and sending out a long, flat set.
One reason he kept setting to Ushijima was because Ushijima was the ace, but more importantly, this starting formation leaned toward a one-point offense.
Right now, Ushijima was the only one on the team attacking and scoring. Everyone else was defending.
"As we can see, the two schools are almost evenly matched, pushing and pulling back and forth. Keisuke Unnan used Nozomu Mami as cover and set the ball to Kiryū. Wakatsu Kiryū and Tendo clash at the net. Tendo gets a touch! Shiratorizawa's libero receives the ball, and now it's Shiratorizawa's turn to organize another attack!"
Michiru Usuri and Nozomu Mami ran toward the spot where Ushijima was preparing to spike. Wakatsu Kiryū hovered in place, while the other wing spiker and the opposite ran to the front court in case anything unexpected happened.
Nozomu Mami and Michiru Usuri formed a double block. Two middle blockers around one meter ninety blocking together. That pressure was no joke.
Ushijima swung his left arm, planning to clash with them head-on and test their current level. Then he aimed above their arms and spiked, using even more power than last time.
"Bang!"
At that moment, Nozomu Mami suddenly understood Tendo's pain. His own palm was numb from the impact too. But he did his best to wrap his hand around the ball, and when he could no longer hold it, he flicked his wrist upward, sending the volleyball flying out.
He had learned this move from Tendo. Just now, Tendo had blocked Ushijima's ball in exactly this way. He had learned it on the spot and used it right away.
Tendo raised an eyebrow. Not bad talent. This was not something someone could learn just by seeing it once.
"One touch!"
"Hiss... That's so weird. It's like..."
After watching for a while, Atsumu Miya could not help speaking.
Hearing that, Shinsuke Kita glanced at Atsumu Miya.
"I know what you're trying to say. This match really does look strange. It's like looking in a mirror."
"Ah, so that's it!"
Atsumu Miya struck his left palm with his right hand, looking as if he had suddenly understood.
If Shinsuke Kita had not said it, he might have taken a long time to realize it. The configurations of these two teams were unexpectedly similar. A power-based wing spiker, two middle blockers, the libero, everything seemed like it had been made from the same mold.
This was really very similar to the match between Nekoma and Sarukawa Tech that morning.
Coach Washijō sat below the court with his brows tightly furrowed.
The two teams had been locked in a stalemate all this time, maintaining a strange balance even now. You spike, I receive. You block, I attack. Back and forth, it was impossible to see any difference between them.
Even after pushing into the teens, the situation was still the same.
The score on the board had already become 14-13.
Wakatsu Kiryū jumped and slammed the ball hard against Tendo's arm.
"Bang!"
Tendo's arm was smashed bright red. The tremendous force made it impossible for him to keep his arm in place, forcing it aside.
Yamagata rushed in from behind to receive, but Reon suddenly appeared, trying to save the ball, and accidentally blocked Yamagata's path. So Yamagata did not go for it anymore.
But Reon did not receive that ball either. The ball hit his arm with tremendous force and bounced away.
"Beeeeeep!"
The score was tied again.
They had only reached the teens, yet the match had already gone on for thirty or forty minutes. If this kept up, they would be worn down to death.
Coach Washijō could not take it anymore. The match was dragging on far too much, so he directly called to the referee for a substitution.
Then he instructed Kawanishi,
"You go on court. Make those two blockers on the other side suffer a bit. And while you're at it, tell Ryosuke to shut down every one of Wakatsu Kiryū's spikes."
"Yes!"
Kawanishi's whole body tensed under Coach Washijō's look, and he stood ramrod straight as he answered.
Holding the substitution card, Kawanishi was now going in to replace Reon.
As he walked, he was still thinking to himself that Coach Washijō really was vicious. He was actually telling Ryosuke to shut down Wakatsu Kiryū.
At first, that sentence did not sound like anything special. It was just a simple instruction. But thinking about it carefully, once Kawanishi went on court, Mujinazaka had never dealt with his playing style before, so he would definitely be hard to block.
Their only offensive scoring point was Wakatsu Kiryū, and under Coach Washijō's instructions, Wakatsu Kiryū would be targeted by Ryosuke too.
To put it simply, they would not let Mujinazaka score through offense, and they would not let them score at the front line through blocking either. In a little while, all the pressure would fall onto Haruma Bishin.
After the substitution was completed, Mujinazaka realized that Shiratorizawa's setter was no longer setting only to Ushijima. Occasionally, he would also give the ball to Kawanishi.
But every time Kawanishi spiked, it was fairly ordinary. In any case, he did not score.
Mujinazaka was also starting to lose track of what Shiratorizawa was trying to do.
Kawanishi did not know what they were thinking. But for him, this was a way to test the other side's strength. Watching from off the court was one thing, and personally playing against them was another. It was like the difference between the buyer's photos and the seller's photos. In the end, you still had to experience it yourself.
...
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