"Thump, thump, thump…"
The rhythmic sound of the volleyball kept ringing out. Standing at the service line, Hank could feel everyone's gaze around him.
They were all watching him.
At this point, this could basically be called the final game. If Hank made a mistake on this serve, then this match would essentially be declared a loss.
"Bang!"
After the referee's whistle signaled for the serve, Hank leapt high from the service line. Immediately after, he slammed the ball toward the court ahead of him.
This ball carried every bit of serving technique he had right now, along with the strength of his entire body.
If this serve was received, then Hank would not be able to send out a better ball than this.
The volleyball's arc began to spin and drift. In the end, it actually struck Tendō, who was in the front row, on a diagonal line.
Although it looked as if the ball had no spin at all, anyone who understood volleyball would know that this was a jump float serve.
During the serve, the server struck the volleyball with extremely high power in a short amount of time, causing the ball to maintain its inertia for a long stretch without friction altering its path.
And precisely because of that trait, a serve that was already difficult to receive became even harder to predict.
"This guy!"
The instant Tendō received Hank's serve, he suddenly felt as if his arms had been struck by something heavy. His whole body went dazed for a moment. He instinctively tried to absorb the force, but he had not expected Hank's power to be so overwhelming.
The ball was sent flying out of bounds, and it stayed suspended in the air for a long time before finally dropping.
"All right!"
When Oikawa and the others saw Hank score directly off his serve, they instinctively shouted.
Right now, their stamina was almost completely drained. They might not be able to organize another attack after this.
But if Hank could score directly with his serve, then their score against Shiratorizawa had already reached 24–24.
Because this was an official match, once both sides reached 24, even if one side reached 25 first, they would not be able to win the match. They had to score two consecutive points.
In other words, even if Hank wanted to win, he would have to score two points in a row.
And because of that rule, many members of the Aoba Johsai volleyball club did not dare to celebrate early. Everyone was waiting for Hank's next serve.
If he could score consecutively, then they could seize victory ahead of time.
But that was easier said than done.
The instant Hank landed after jumping from the service line, Shiratorizawa's libero in the back row immediately looked as if he were facing a powerful enemy. His entire focus was locked onto Hank's serve.
When he saw that this serve was coming straight toward him, his nerves immediately tightened.
He stepped forward into a lunge.
The instant he received the ball, the tremendous force made it scrape off his hands and up against his face. A numb sensation spread through him at once, as if half of his face had already lost feeling.
"Go get it!"
At this point…
The score between Aoba Johsai and Shiratorizawa had reached 25–24!
As long as there was one more ball, a turnaround could happen.
But if there was no miracle…
Shiratorizawa would be eliminated right here.
(End of Chapter)
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