‘Bang!’
‘Smack!’
Two sharp sounds rang out back-to-back, hitting everyone on Aoba Johsai like blows to the chest.
A blur flashed before their eyes, and the volleyball had already bounced into Aoba Johsai’s backcourt before they could even think of anything.
Everyone’s pupils shrank.
“They actually… blocked it?”
Still in midair, Asuto’s expression tightened.
It wasn’t as if none of his spikes had ever been stopped during the Nationals; that would be impossible.
But most teams relied on their blockers to slow him down, coordinating with their backcourt defenders to limit his attack angles before digging the ball. But Mujinazaka High was the first team to completely shut down one of his spikes head-on with a solid block.
[It’s blocked!]
[Aoba Johsai’s ace, first-year Akashi Asuto, has had his spike completely stuffed for the first time in this tournament! The player responsible is Mujinazaka’s No. 4 middle blocker, Keisuke Unnan, one half of the famous ‘Mujinazaka Twin Towers.’ Together with No. 2 middle blocker Nozomu Mami, they’ve formed Mujinazaka’s towering defensive wall at the net!]
The crowd erupted.
Having their very first spike of the match shut down was definitely a bad omen.
The Aoba Johsai players immediately gathered around Asuto, worried that the block might shake his confidence.
“Hey, Asuto. You okay?”
“I’m fine,” Asuto said, shaking his head. “It was just one blocked spike. I’ll get the point back on the next one.”
He really didn’t seem bothered. After all, he wasn’t a god. It was impossible to go forever without getting blocked. The play had caught him off guard, but it wasn’t enough to mess with his head.
Seeing that he genuinely wasn’t fazed, the others finally relaxed.
“Sorry,” Oikawa said. “That set was a little low.”
“No, the height wouldn’t have changed much.” Asuto shook his head lightly. “They’ve clearly studied how we play. That’s why they were able to read our attack so accurately right from the opening point. Besides, Mujinazaka’s two middle blockers are the real deal. They’ve got both the height and the reaction speed. Whether it’s a line shot or a cross-court spike, they have the ability to shut it down outright. If we want to win this match, we can’t just figure out how to stop Kiryu’s cannon-like spikes. We also have to find a way around those two middle blockers.”
Not all blocks were the same.
Everyone on Aoba Johsai was skilled at blocking, but most of them specialized in technical blocks, using positioning and technique to seal off a specific attack lane, making life difficult for the hitter while creating better digging opportunities for the backcourt.
Kindaichi and Asuto, however, specialized in kill blocks, blocks meant to stop the spike outright and score immediately.
That kind of blocking demanded far greater physical ability. Generally speaking, unless someone had jumping power on Asuto’s level, it was almost impossible for a player under 190 centimeters tall to consistently pull off a perfect kill block.
As soon as Asuto finished speaking, Oikawa’s face twisted into one of pure despair.
Just dealing with Kiryū Wakatsu was already hard enough. Now they also had to face two middle blockers who could even shut down Asuto’s spikes. No matter how you looked at it, this opponent was overwhelming.
The score was 2–0. Right from the start, Aoba Johsai had fallen behind by two points.
The match continued. Mujinazaka High served the third ball. This time, Oikawa used Asuto as a decoy and connected with Kindaichi on a quick first-tempo attack, earning Aoba Johsai their first point of the set.
2–1.
On the next rally, it was finally Aoba Johsai’s turn to serve, and Oikawa stepped into the service zone.
Mujinazaka’s backcourt wasn’t stacked with freak talents like Kiryū Wakatsu or the “Mujinazaka Twin Towers” at the net. Overall, their floor defense was on a level similar to Fukurodani’s. The difference was that Fukurodani didn’t have a true opposite hitter.
Mujinazaka did.
Perhaps because high school players weren’t particularly fond of playing opposite, Asuto had rarely seen teams field a dedicated opposite hitter from the prefectural qualifiers all the way through Nationals.
Most schools simply had a second ace fill that role instead. Mujinazaka High, however, ran a textbook lineup: one outside hitter, one setter, two middle blockers, one opposite hitter, and one libero.
It was a lineup with virtually no weak spots. That was why, from the very beginning of the match, Asuto had felt that Mujinazaka played with an unusually high level of professionalism.
As a complete team, they were fundamentally different even from a national powerhouse like Fukurodani.
Facing a lineup like that, Oikawa fired off two serves in a row, but failed to score directly with either one.
His first serve was received by Mujinazaka’s No. 7 opposite hitter, Ezota. Since it was his first time handling Oikawa’s blistering jump serve, the pass wasn’t clean, and the ball ricocheted back over to Aoba Johsai’s side. Asuto immediately slammed it back down.
2–2. Aoba Johsai had tied the score.
But when Oikawa served again, Ezota had already adjusted. He managed to receive it successfully. The pass still wasn’t perfect, so poor that even Mujinazaka’s setter couldn’t deliver a proper set to Kiryū Wakatsu. Even so, the ball barely floated over the net.
Faced with that awful set, Kiryū still jumped without hesitation and unleashed one of his trademark cannon spikes, forcing the point through with sheer power. The play drew waves of astonished cheers from the crowd.
[Amazing!]
[That’s Bad Ball Specialist Kiryū for you! No matter what kind of set he gets, he can still force the point. This is the power of one of the nation’s top three power aces, Kiryū Wakatsu!]
[Mr. Oda, what did you think of that play?]
[It was an incredibly smart attack. I don’t know if everyone noticed, but Kiryū only used a single approach step before jumping. That lowers his jump height, but it also let him sync perfectly with that poor set. Even from a lower contact point, he was still able to unleash that monster spike. Of course, we wouldn’t recommend other players try to copy Kiryū’s attacking style. If you really want to imitate him, you’d better build a body like his first.] (laughs)
“Oooooohhh!”
“Kiryū! Kiryū! Nice one!”
“Kiryū! Kiryū! One more!”
Mujinazaka High’s cheers shook the entire arena.
Amid the thunderous support from the stands, Kiryū Wakatsu took the ball and slowly walked to Position 1’s service zone. The moment they saw him step up, every player on Aoba Johsai raised their guard to the highest level.
Then, in the very next second…
A familiar, thunderous explosion rang in their ears.
A cannonball came hurtling straight toward them.
(End of Chapter)