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Akashi Asuto made an error with his serve, bringing the score to 5:6.
The gap had not widened.
This round was essentially a showcase of both teams’ serving techniques.
After Asuto lost serve, the match between Sengoku Junior High and Kitagawa Daiichi once again became a fierce battle.
6:6.
6:7.
7:7.
7:8.
· · · ·
Both teams’ offensive power far exceeded the other side’s defense. Unless they could gain a breakthrough through serving, every serve rotation was practically just handing the opponent an opportunity to attack.
However, when Kageyama and Asuto each returned to the number one serving position for the second time, it seemed as though they had secretly agreed beforehand.
Both made errors.
Kageyama’s Jump Serve slammed into the net.
Asuto’s mistake was even more outrageous.
He put too much power into the hit, and the volleyball soared wildly upwards. His Power Jump Serve sent the ball flying from the first floor to the second.
By pure coincidence, it landed right beside the couple hugging each other.
Clang!
The sound startled the two of them badly.
The deadlock continued until the score reached 22–22.
By this point in the match, the difference between Sengoku Junior High and a long-established powerhouse like Kitagawa Daiichi was becoming apparent.
That difference was foundational ability.
Ever since losing at the Prefectural Athletics Meeting earlier that year, every Sengoku Junior High player had trained hard, determined to avenge their loss against Kitagawa Daiichi. Ultimately, they had caught up with Kitagawa Daiichi’s pace.
But they had only caught up to their pace.
There was still a gap between the two teams.
After all, the players at Kitagawa Daiichi had been training rigorously ever since their first year of secondary school. They could not erase a gap of more than two years in a short period of desperate effort.
This was particularly evident in their basic techniques and physical conditioning.
At the start of the match, the difference was not very noticeable.
However, as the game progressed, aside from Asuto, the Sengoku Junior High players were visibly breathing harder and more frequently than the Kitagawa Daiichi players.
Once physical exhaustion set in, technical execution was naturally affected as well.
Consequently, during the second half of the match, the number of mistakes made by Sengoku Junior High increased at a visible rate.
Had Asuto not repeatedly relied on his personal ability to score with powerful attacks, the point gap would probably have widened to three or four points by now.
Even so…
If things continued like this, Sengoku Junior High would inevitably fall behind.
As long as Kitagawa Daiichi maintained their current rhythm, they had at least a seventy percent chance of taking the first set.
Consequently, while Shimokawa Mitsuto grew increasingly anxious, Kitagawa Daiichi’s coach remained calm and composed throughout.
However…
At that exact moment, something unexpected happened.
With the score tied at 22–22, Sengoku Junior High served. After receiving the ball, Kitagawa Daiichi once again had the opportunity to attack.
According to the flow of the game so far, this point should have belonged to Kitagawa Daiichi.
But the unexpected occurred during Kageyama Tobio’s set.
Positioned at the center of the front row, Kageyama Tobio received the pass and appeared to attempt an ‘A-type quick attack’ with Kindaichi on the right.
Yet after the volleyball left his hands… Kindaichi failed to connect with it.
Thud.
The volleyball fell onto the court floor, producing a dull, faint sound.
23:22.
The atmosphere inside the arena suddenly went silent.
With his hands on his hips, Kindaichi stood breathing heavily, sweat streaming continuously down his cheeks.
He was exhausted.
As the team’s main attacker, the constant spikes and repeated jumping had consumed an enormous amount of his stamina. Unlike Asuto, Kindaichi could not continue smashing Spike after Spike for an entire set while still maintaining abundant energy.
By this point, although Kindaichi could still jump, he was already finding it difficult to reach his maximum contact height.
The Setter should have taken this into consideration as well.
Unfortunately, however, no one had ever taught Kageyama that.
So, after this failed play, confusion and anger began to rise inside him.
“Why didn’t you jump?”
Kageyama rushed forward, grabbed Kindaichi by the collar, and angrily demanded:
“You should have been able to hit a set like that easily! Why didn’t you push yourself to jump? If you want to win, you need to work harder to match my sets!”
“That’s enough, Kageyama. Kindaichi’s already exhausted.” The captain of Kitagawa Daiichi stepped forward and pulled Kageyama’s hand away as he spoke.
“Hah? Exhausted? At a time like this, who isn’t exhausted? But even if we’re tired, we still have to keep scoring! We can only win if we score points. If we can’t beat the team in front of us, we’ll never make it to the Nationals.”
…
······
“Uh… They’re fighting again? Seriously, is that really okay?”
Omae Masato scratched his head as he looked at the argument happening on the opposite side of the court.
“Probably… fine, I guess? We’re still in the middle of the match, and nothing really happened the last few times they argued, did it?” Kazama Jujirō replied casually.
Honestly, it was a little absurd.
Sengoku Junior High had only played against Kitagawa Daiichi twice, yet they were already gradually becoming accustomed to their internal arguments.
The frequency of their arguments was simply too high.
Compared to previous times, however, today’s conflict was clearly much more intense.
“Maybe this is just their way of bonding with each other. Besides, if they do start fighting, that’s not necessarily bad news for us.”
“Hm? That actually makes sense!”
Omae Masato’s eyes lit up immediately in agreement.
“But speaking of which, do all ‘geniuses’ have weird quirks? Kageyama’s sets are incredibly accurate, but his teammates always fail to connect with them. And on our side, the serves are insanely powerful, but they also…”
Asuto: “Hm? Do you have a problem with my serves?”
Omae Masato: “…Absolutely not.”
“All right, stop worrying about the other side for now. Their mistake this time is a great opportunity for us to turn the score around. Let’s finish the match first.”
As Kitagawa Daiichi’s argument seemed on the verge of escalating further, the referee finally blew a warning whistle.
Seeing this, Kitagawa Daiichi’s players temporarily quietened down.
The match resumed.
This time, Kageyama’s setting error had shifted Sengoku Junior High from the disadvantaged side into the advantaged one.
This change was reflected not only in the score but also in the players’ morale.
It also affected morale.
The clearest evidence of this was the obvious rise in Sengoku Junior High’s fighting spirit.
Omae Masato served the ball.
After Kitagawa Daiichi’s libero received it from the back court, the ball was smoothly passed to Kageyama.
Kageyama glanced at Sengoku Junior High’s formation out of the corner of his eye and decisively set up another front row middle blocker.
Bang!
The middle blocker swung down with a spike. Before Sengoku Junior High’s block could arrive, the volleyball had pierced the front row defenSe.
But at the very instant the volleyball was about to hit the floor, a figure suddenly lunged out.
Bang!
A hand shot forward and slammed the volleyball back up into the air once again…
(End of Chapter)
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