[29] Grade 11: IH National Tournament

It was another serve from an unknown outside hitter at Heming Hall.

When faced with Yamagata's first pass, Semi hesitated somewhat.

Setomi asked herself:

...Should we continue to give Ujima Island to them?

With Tsurumeikan blocking Ushijima, can Shiratorizawa still win the match relying on Ushijima?

Why can't priority be given to Ohira, Soegawa, and Tendo...?

He regretted tipping the ball that Ushijima had just blocked after it was blocked.

...Clearly, the best point of attack is the Tokito.

...If he had chosen to pass the point to Tendo back then, would he have been able to win that point?

As a setter, shouldn't the most important thing be to carefully assess the situation on the court and help the team win? Or should it be to exist to serve Ushijima?

Semi said to herself:

In the match against Tsurumeikan, if we can't overwhelm and break through with Ushijima as the core, then we need to mobilize multiple points for attack—

...So this ball can't be given to Ushijima.

"Jolly!"

Seti called Ushijima's name again.

But before releasing the ball, he quickly gave Tendo a look.

Udo started his run-up from the back row.

The moment Ushima leaped into the air, the three people blocking the net in front of Tsurumeikan also jumped.

—But Shiratorizawa's setter's pass went flat through the air, not landing in Shiratorizawa's ace attacker's best spiking zone, but instead being tossed towards the net.

Tendo jumped up with a hint of surprise, his raised hand touching the volleyball that the setter had delivered perfectly.

"Smack—"

The volleyball was spiked into the half of the court by Tendo.

Seti and Tendo launched a sudden, quick attack, successfully deceiving Tsurumeikan's block and scoring a point for Shiratorizawa.

Intense shouts erupted from the stands in Shiratorizawa.

"Semi! Nice!"

"Yingtai!! Great news!!"

"Jue!! That was a beautiful button!!"

The Shiratorizawa support group also rallied and shouted in unison—

"A powerful figure! Shiratorizawa!"

"Conqueror! Shiratorizawa!!"

"The winner is—Shiratorizawa!!!"

Shiratorizawa scored the point, but Coach Washi Takumi on the sidelines of the half-court looked grim.

The gray-haired head coach, Shiratorizawa, unconsciously rubbed his thumb and forefinger together.

...Eita Semi used Wakatoshi Ushijima as bait.

—The setter lost faith in the ace's powerful spikes.

Despite missing his target with his arm, Ushijima showed no sign of frustration or dissatisfaction. He simply calmly adjusted his position after landing.

Ushijima had no objection to his team's setter using him as bait.

His love for volleyball is absolute, and his focus on the game is also absolute.

Whether the other side of the net is an impenetrable wall or empty, whether the pass ends up to yourself or a teammate—none of that matters.

What matters is every point on the field, and he has no objections as long as he can ultimately win that point.

As Semi high-fived Tendo, she inadvertently met the scrutinizing gaze of the golden-eyed captain of Tsurumeikan.

Shiratorizawa, the setter, flashed a provocative, fiery smile at the opposing team.

——————

"Shiratorizawa's rhythm has gone awry."

The burly middle-aged man in a hoodie next to the middle-aged office worker sighed.

Shiratorizawa gradually took control of the game, closing the gap created by Tsurumeikan's serve at the start of the fourth game, but he commented on it in this way.

Akagi was somewhat bewildered by Shiratorizawa's three consecutive points.

However, the middle-aged man did not seem inclined to explain in detail.

The ordinary-looking middle-aged man, dressed simply and attracting no attention, actually has a rather unusual identity.

He is Ryunosuke Kaneyama, the selection coach in charge of this year's national youth intensive training camp.

The middle-aged man working alongside him was one of his assistants.

Prior to this, Coach Jinshan had visited various regional qualifiers and pre-selected a group of candidates for the training camp.

Wakatoshi Ushijima, who is currently in this match, is one of them.

—And Crane Cry Pavilion was not initially on his shortlist.

During the IH Kyoto qualifiers, Coach Kaneyama was watching the games in another strong volleyball prefecture, and he only watched the Kyoto qualifying school Tsurumeikan's game hastily after receiving the final videotape later.

Therefore, his impression of Heming Hall was only that it had a strong defensive school with a key server setter and a very strong libero.

Unfortunately, the freelancers at Heming Pavilion are too short.

Based on the video footage, Coach Jinshan deduced that the libero at Heming Hall was definitely not 1.6 meters tall. This height would be a disadvantage even in high school girls' volleyball, let alone in the national youth boys' volleyball scene.

Therefore, the freelancers at Tsurumeikan were not included in his list of candidates for the training camp.

Therefore, in today's quarterfinals, Coach Jinshan first watched the two matches between the neighboring Fukutani and Itayama before coming to the battlefield between Shiratorizawa and Tsurumeikan.

—Does he know that Tsurumeikan defeated Inarisaki and broke the IH serve consecutive scoring record?

Coach Jinshan certainly knew.

He also stayed up all night last night to watch the baseline video of the Tsurumeikan group stage match and the overall view video of the Tsurumeikan vs. Inarizaki match.

After watching several videos, Coach Jinshan wavered in his decision not to include the free agent from Hemingguan in the training camp roster.

—This short, pink-haired girl is really good at saving the ball and passing!

He takes every ball very seriously, and he will try his best to save it no matter how far off the ball is. His first pass accuracy is extremely high, and his stamina is also very good!

Coach Jinshan expressed his appreciation.

However, Coach Jinshan never considered including the setter from Heming Hall on the training camp roster.

Through the video of the match against Inarisaki, Coach Jinshan could see that this setter had excellent control over the rhythm of the game and executed the psychological pressure step by step with ease, making her a classic representative of the mentally strong setter.

His serves are also of a very high standard; his control over the volleyball spin and the landing point is exquisite.

However, the second set of the Crane Sound Hall also has a major shortcoming.

—His physical fitness is clearly below the average level of a normal high school volleyball player.

Thanks to her spatial awareness and excellent teamwork, the setter from Tsurumeikan did a very good job in passing the ball in this match in Inarizaki.

Each ball is delivered reliably to the most comfortable spiking area for the attackers at Heming Hall.

However, after playing three sets, including the final set where the score was only 15 points, the setter from Hemingguan trembled slightly and was drenched in sweat, showing obvious signs of exhaustion.

—The entire Heming Hall team showed great favoritism towards their captain in these three sets, and to avoid him running and jumping, most of their first passes were made to be quick and efficient.

Even after achieving this level of performance, the setter at Heming Hall still seemed to be lacking in stamina...

It can only be said that the setter at Heming Hall is more functional in serving than he is in his primary role as a setter.

However, the national youth team training camp is looking for outstanding players in each position, not key servers.

Therefore, Coach Jinshan quickly passed over the setter from Heming Hall.

However, he changed his mind after that drop shot at the end of the third game.

Coach Jinshan flexibly changed the baseline.

So what if you're not physically fit?! You can always improve with more practice.

Imaizuchi's instantaneous stop and drop shot is not something you can just snag anytime—you might not even be able to snag a ball like that in college!

With this instant stop move, how much better synergy can Imadegawa be with other attackers?!

What a beautiful jade cabbage!

Dig it up!!!

Once the training camp is over, I'll team up Imadegawa with all the attackers!

The middle blocker from Tsurumeikan is also very good. His blocking is excellent, his anticipation is always accurate, and he can use his skills to block Ushijima's spikes... Let's bring him back together with Imadegawa!

And the short libero, whom I had my eye on from the beginning and who had a standout performance in the Shiratorizawa match, was also taken away along with two others!

Jinshan Supervisor kept satisfactory records.

As the coach for the national youth team's intensive training camp selection, Ryunosuke Kaneyama can naturally deduce the future situation from the current matches.

Although Shiratorizawa's setter mobilized multiple points of attack, how could Tsurumeikan, who could block/lift Ushijima Wakatoshi's spike, not block Shiratorizawa's other starting attackers?

—The mentality of Shiratorizawa's other attackers is far inferior to that of Ushijima Wakatoshi.

——————

"Shiratorizawa's situation isn't good..."

Oikawa, who has a deep understanding of teamwork, also sees this very clearly.

"Didn't Shiratorizawa just take three points?" Iwaizumi asked in surprise.

Oikawa Tetsu nestled on the sofa, pressing his face between his knees, which were pressed together.

"Shiratorizawa's mind is in turmoil."

The camera on TV was focused on the triumphant Semi from the IH tournament, who had just won another point under his guidance.

"I didn't realize that," Iwazumi said bluntly.

Oikawa's cheeks were held together by her knees, revealing two mounds of white flesh.

He analyzed the situation with his childhood friend, who was also a key attacker—

"At this point, we must continue to trust Niu Ruo and let him spike the ball, rather than using him as bait."

Izumi held his water glass, listening intently.

“If Niu Ruo can consistently launch powerful attacks, Heming Hall’s blocking and first pass may not be able to consistently block and receive Niu Ruo’s spikes. Heming Hall’s No. 4 player, who is mainly responsible for blocking Niu Ruo’s spikes, also has to be responsible for scoring spike points. He can’t keep up with the stamina to keep blocking, and he is not always in the front row.”

"The libero at Heming Hall might be able to keep going, but his defensive range is limited, and there will always be areas he can't cover."

"But if other attackers are used to attack Hemingguan—and Hemingguan's other starting lineup is not to be underestimated, if they can't stop Niu Ruo, can't they stop Tian Tong?"

Hearing this, Iwaizumi couldn't help but ask, "But Tsurumeikan really couldn't defend those few shots, could they?"

"That's because they haven't gotten over their wariness of Niu Ruo yet. Whenever Niu Ruo makes a move, their eyes will always be drawn to him." The brown-haired setter nodded.

"In the short term, it seems that Hemingguan was caught off guard - but the setter from Hemingguan did not give any instructions at all."

"These few points... were completely fed to Shiratorizawa by Tsurumeikan—"

At this point in the analysis, Oikawa curled his lip.

"Although volleyball is never a one-man sport, you have to be flexible in the game. Using multiple attacks in the first set is very effective, but using it at this time actually weakens Ushiwaka's threat to Tsurumeikan."

Oikawa, resting his chin on his hand, said, "—It's like we've spun our own cocoon."

The setter from Qingcheng shifted her attention away from Ushijima and focused intently on the setter from Hemingguan who flashed across the screen.

The setter at Heming Hall not only delivers the ball with what commentators call a "divine touch," but also has an unparalleled grasp of the rhythm of the game.

Subtly disrupt the enemy's rhythm with a steady, gradual approach...

He can even fool his opponent's mind.

...Is this the level of the national competition?

————————

(The reserved author gently pats all of you little ones' paws today.)

Last night I shouldn't have stayed up late to finish the pre-order summary (collapsed). As a single-day office worker, I was exhausted all day. Fortunately, I had done my research beforehand and the best time to update on the day of the release was after 11 PM, otherwise I really wouldn't have been able to produce today's chapter.

So please take a look at the pre-order that the author worked so hard to produce—(served sincerely)

Why was Oikawa able to see this in this chapter? I personally think he's quite perceptive, and besides, those involved are often blinded, while bystanders see things more clearly. Furthermore, Oikawa is a setter who values ​​teamwork, which gives him a deeper understanding of human nature.