"You should save some strength. The next part won't be easy."
Tendō could not help speaking up. Right now, Goshiki was the only one on the entire court shouting the loudest. No matter how large the difference in strength between the players on each side might be, one thing was clear: in the overall match score, Shiratorizawa was definitely behind Aoba Johsai.
That meant they absolutely had to keep chasing.
"Hurry up and match their rhythm. Don't let them score again. If we lose this set too, there won't be any chances left."
Ōhira also felt somewhat helpless inside. The next set was the final one. For Shiratorizawa, it was rare to be suppressed this badly by another opponent. It could be said that none of them knew whether something unexpected would happen next.
They could only hope that the Aoba Johsai players on the other side had already reached their limit.
"Focus."
After Ushijima said that calmly, he threw his entire mind and body into the match.
A dull impact rang out.
The moment Kunimi, in Aoba Johsai's back row, sent the ball into Shiratorizawa's court, everyone on Shiratorizawa's side immediately began moving. Ushijima, who had already been storing up his strength for a long time, had abandoned his stamina-preserving style of play. His entire body bent in midair.
And the playstyle this brought out made his already terrifying spike power become even greater.
The ball smashed into the floor, and even the people nearby could feel the vibration. It was easy to imagine how much damage that ball might cause if it landed on someone's body.
This had already reached the level of true competitive sports.
"Wakatoshi Ushijima has completely awakened. He isn't planning to keep conserving his strength anymore. After all, they know that if they lose this set, they'll have no chances left."
"Now we can see the truly strongest Wakatoshi Ushijima. No matter how you looked at it before, he was still preserving his strength. But this is already the match that can decide the victory. If he still held back now, there would be no excuse."
"Looks like Shiratorizawa is ready to fight with everything they have too. Can Aoba Johsai withstand it?"
The nearby spectators also began analyzing the situation. They could tell that every player on Aoba Johsai's side was rather exhausted, while Shiratorizawa had already begun going all out. Both sides were preparing to unleash their strength in this match.
"What should we do now?"
Oikawa glanced at the spike Ushijima had just slammed down, and an inexplicable tension rose in his heart. If they continued playing at this rhythm, they might lose this match. But he absolutely refused to let that happen.
So he had already begun thinking about risking everything. Next, he and Hank had to cooperate even more perfectly in order to turn the battle around.
"We can carry out the stamina-preservation plan now."
Coach Irihata looked at the Aoba Johsai players on the court, feeling somewhat helpless inside. They could now carry out the plan they had made at the start: taking Oikawa off the court, while Hank also switched to an even more conservative, stamina-saving style of play.
They had to save as much strength as possible so they could face Shiratorizawa in the final showdown.
(End of Chapter)
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