Shiratorizawa clearly could not accept this outcome.
Although Aoba Johsai had managed to take one set in their previous practice match, a practice match was still just a practice match. In official competitions, matches between the two teams usually ended 2–0 or 3–0 in Shiratorizawa’s favor.
Yet now, Aoba Johsai had actually won the first set.
This alone was enough to make Coach Tanji Washijō furious.
“You bunch of idiots! You actually let Aoba Johsai take the first set! Were you all sleepwalking out there? Once this match is over, every single one of you is doing an extra hundred receiving drills!”
After fiercely berating the team, Washijō sat back down in his chair, breathing heavily.
Only then did the assistant coach dare to speak up.
“Coach Washijō, now isn’t the time to scold the kids. No matter what, we need to find a way to contain Asuto. If we let him and Oikawa take turns to score directly from their serves, they pose too great a threat to us.”
After taking several deep breaths, Washijō gradually calmed down.
Although his outburst had sounded severe, such reprimands were practically routine for Shiratorizawa’s players. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have remained so calm throughout the entire lecture.
Shiratorizawa wasn’t Karasuno.
Although Shiratorizawa’s overall strength was currently far above Karasuno’s, if you compared only their liberos, Shiratorizawa’s libero wouldn’t be able to compete with Karasuno’s.
This was why the consecutive serves of Oikawa and Asuto had only caused trouble for Karasuno in previous matches.
For Shiratorizawa, however, those serves represented a potentially fatal threat.
“Expand the number of defenders in the backcourt and focus on getting the ball up first. As for what to do afterwards, I shouldn’t need to remind you.”
Washijō didn’t hesitate before presenting a solution.
The moment he spoke, everyone, including the assistant coach, immediately understood.
Shiratorizawa’s style of volleyball has always been characterised by extreme individualism.
In other words, every receive and every set ultimately existed for one purpose: to pave the way for their absolute ace, Ushijima Wakatoshi.
Now, they intended to take that philosophy even further.
Five players would focus on receiving Oikawa’s and Asuto’s serves.
As long as one of them managed to keep the ball in play, the only remaining task would be to send it to Ushijima.
As long as the ball reached his hands, Shiratorizawa would score.
This wasn’t merely Washijō’s belief.
It was the consensus of every player on the team.
No matter how powerful the opponent or how formidable the block, points could still be won through sheer force of will.
That was Shiratorizawa’s philosophy.
Upon hearing Washijō’s instructions, everyone instinctively turned to look at Ushijima Wakatoshi.
Facing the gaze of the entire team, Ushijima simply replied,
“Just get the ball to me.”
…
The second set began.
The Aoba Johsai players shook off their excitement at winning the opening set and returned to the court.
As soon as they stepped onto the court, they noticed a change in Shiratorizawa’s formation.
Aside from Ushijima Wakatoshi, the other five players had positioned themselves as far back as possible.
It looked as though they had practically abandoned front-row blocking altogether.
“A five-man serve-receive formation, huh? That’s a very Shiratorizawa-style solution.”
Oikawa didn’t seem surprised in the slightest.
After all, Shiratorizawa had never relied on elaborate tactics to win. A simple and straightforward setup like this was exactly their style.
Meanwhile, Aoba Johsai made no changes to their own formation.
At the start of the second set, Shiratorizawa had the opening serve, yet Aoba Johsai still deployed Oikawa as their primary receiver.
If Karasuno were to use a five-man receiving formation, it likely wouldn’t achieve much.
The skill levels of Karasuno’s players varied greatly, so when facing the serves of Oikawa and Asuto, their best option was usually to maximize the defensive coverage of Nishinoya Yuu and Sawamura Daichi, relying on their individual abilities.
However, for Shiratorizawa, whose players generally possess excellent fundamentals, this multi-player serve-receive formation could produce remarkable results.
Bang!
Oikawa launched the opening serve of the second set with a crisp impact.
It was aimed directly at the space between Shiratorizawa’s libero and their back-row middle blocker.
With a five-man serve-receive formation, there were very few openings on the court, so Oikawa had to exploit weaknesses in Shiratorizawa’s coordination.
His choice proved correct.
The Shiratorizawa players were not particularly skilled at cooperative defensive coverage, and Oikawa’s first serve earned Aoba Johsai another point.
Their first point had come from Shiratorizawa’s opening attack, which Asuto had successfully shut down.
2:0
However, by the second serve, Shiratorizawa had adjusted.
Using shouted commands to determine who would take the ball, they finally managed to return Oikawa’s serve.
The player who received it was Shiratorizawa’s setter, Shirabu Kenjirō.
Unsurprisingly… This was clearly Oikawa’s intention.
That was the terrifying aspect of Oikawa’s serving.
In terms of direct scoring ability alone, his super-high-speed serve might not be superior to those of Asuto or Ushijima Wakatoshi.
But his pinpoint control allowed him to create a huge number of indirect scoring opportunities.
This rally was a perfect example.
With their regular setter unable to receive the serve, Shiratorizawa had no choice but to temporarily assign wing spiker Goshiki Tsutomu to the role.
The quality of the resulting set was exactly what you would expect.
Timing, placement, angle, coordination… not a single aspect could be considered excellent.
Even the height of the set was less than ideal.
Anticipating the trajectory of the ball, Aoba Johsai’s three front-row players… Asuto, Kindaichi, and Iwaizumi Hajime, established a triple block before Ushijima Wakatoshi could arrive.
Aoba Johsai’s blocking unit was undoubtedly strong.
However, by the time Ushijima got into position and jumped, his vertical leap was still higher than all three blockers’.
But it didn’t matter.
The ball had already begun descending from its peak.
If anyone else had been facing such a set, the result would have been obvious.
The triple block would have shut them down completely.
Yet Ushijima Wakatoshi was not just anyone.
Confronted with Aoba Johsai’s triple block, he somehow transformed this subpar set into a shot that went straight through the only available opening, the space above Iwaizumi Hajime’s hands.
The volleyball skimmed past Iwaizumi’s fingertips by the narrowest of margins.
As the three blockers descended from the air, they heard the referee’s whistle signalling the point.
2:1.
The ball had landed directly on the sideline.
Shiratorizawa scored.
“Damn it!”
Iwaizumi Hajime clenched his fist, his eyes full of frustration.
Asuto exchanged a glance with Ushijima Wakatoshi, who was standing on the opposite side of the net.
The long-forgotten feeling of pressure came surging back once again…
(End of Chapter)