[15] Grade 11: IH National Tournament
On the fourth day, the IH National Top 16 Tournament officially began.
The list for the Round of 16 was released last night, and the player who will face Inarizaki today at Tsurumeikan is someone who watched the video recording yesterday.
Not only did Tsurumeikan study their opponents in advance, but Inarizaki's head coach, Norimune Kurosu, also urgently gathered information on Tsurumeikan before the roster was confirmed.
As the Kansai powerhouse of Hyogo Prefecture in the volleyball world, Inarizaki's national qualification rate is much higher than that of Yamazaki Tachibana. The two prefectures are adjacent to each other and have held training camps and practice matches with each other all year round.
After Tachibana Yamazaki failed to qualify for the national tournament, Coach Kurosu approached Tachibana's head coach in advance to request a videotape of the Kyoto preliminary final.
Therefore, before the start of the IH National Tournament, the members of the Inarizaki men's volleyball team had already studied Tsurumeikan.
In response to the combined spin serve of the number one captain of the Crane Pavilion, Coach Kurosu has given several special training sessions to the libero and several back row outside hitters over the past month.
After confirming the roster last night, Coach Blackbeard arranged the tactics and then gave them another round of intensive training.
"The spin of a volleyball at low speed is not difficult to see. If you also pay attention to the wrist and palm movements of their setter, the trajectory of the volleyball is also easy to judge. At that time, all that is left is to find the landing point."
Coach Kurosu said to the Fox Boys after a simple training session: "Coach Yamazaki Tachibana shared with me that Tsurumeikan's captain was never a starter during the Kyoto qualifiers, perhaps only existing as a key server. In the group stage the past two days, Tsurumeikan's captain was also on the bench the whole time, so you don't need to be too worried about his historical record of consecutive service points."
"Supervisor!" First-year student Daimiya raised his hand: "You still haven't told me why Yamazaki Tachibana couldn't receive Tsurumeikan's serve."
"If you anticipate the serve properly, it shouldn't be too difficult to receive, right? Besides, the setter from Heming Hall clearly lacked wrist strength, and the ball speed wasn't fast either."
Akagi Jisei, who was also a first-year student, picked up where Da-er left off, saying, "The score of the third game by Yamazaki Tachibana is hard to understand."
Coach Kurosu bluntly stated, "Yamazaki Tachibana is the type of player who is good at attacking but not good at defending. It's normal for him to be pressured by serves with a bit of skill. In addition, the captain of Tsurumeikan hit several reverse sidespin serves, which put psychological pressure on them. Although they successfully broke serve later, the libero's form couldn't recover so quickly, and Tsurumeikan's receiving ability was strong, so they kept the score close."
"Kyoto hasn't produced a strong defensive team in a long time, which is why they suffered such a heavy defeat this time."
Coach Blackbeard offered no criticism.
"What about the setter skills of the captain of the Crane Sound Hall?" asked Ooshiro Aran.
"Very solid," Coach Blackbeard said objectively. "You can't analyze too much from one game; you can only see that he and the other members of the Hemingguan team have excellent teamwork."
Ooshiro asked again, "Why did Tsurumeikan always manage a 2-1 score in the preliminaries? It looked like they were having a tough time in the video."
Before confirming that they might face Tsurumeikan, Coach Kurosu urgently called Coach Yamazaki Tachibana and asked for recordings of Tsurumeikan's matches before the final.
Coach Blackbeard patted his head in exasperation: "It's obvious that those few games were just for them to practice their teamwork."
"Before advancing to the national tournament, the Kyoto qualifiers were the first official competition for the Tsurumeikan men's volleyball team. It is said that they had not even scheduled any practice matches before that. So their coach tried out all the combinations during the qualifiers."
"You can see from the video recordings of the group stage matches that the Heming Hall team members have already gelled quite well and don't feel much psychological pressure facing a national-level competition."
Ooshiro touched his head, which had been caressed by his coach's large hand, and awkwardly said "Oh".
"So what if Heming Hall makes it into the top 16 in the nation for the first time?"
"No matter what, no matter who the opponent is..."
Coach Blackbeard looked around at the boys sitting cross-legged in a circle.
"I believe in you all, and I'm sure you can achieve another victory for Inarizaki!"
"We are Inarizaki!!"
The surrounding scenery shifts and changes...
"...I believe in you all, and I'm sure you can achieve another victory for Inarisaki!"
Coach Blackbeard stood by the field and spoke to the fox cubs who had finished warming up.
A group of figures stood shoulder to shoulder, forming a circle, with hands stacked together inside.
The stacked pile of hands pressed down with immense force, and the Inarizaki team members shouted in unison.
"We are Inarizaki!!!"
With the referee's whistle, the Round of 16 of the IH National Tournament officially began! (Tsurumeikan High School vs. Inarizaki High School)
The trumpet from the Inarisaki cheerleading band's brass section rang out first, followed closely by the tuba, their intense and uplifting sounds resounding throughout the venue, drowning out the chattering noise from the audience in the second half of the hall.
Not to be outdone, the cheering squad of Tsurumeikan started with a deep and powerful Kyoto taiko drum. The cheerleaders, dressed in white haori and black hakama, sang along with the sounds of the Gagaku (traditional Japanese music) ensemble, including kodak, ryūbi, and gong, and then began their crane-like dance, ringing bronze bells.
After the captains of both teams drew lots before the match, Inarizaki will start in the first game!
Inarizaki's third-year ace tossed the yellow and blue volleyball high into the air.
One step, two steps, three steps, four steps, five steps...
Inarizaki Ace leaps high—
Imadegawa sat on the bench, watching intently.
Inari Saki's imposing presence, like a sharp sword being drawn, surged straight into Tsurumeikan's half of the field with the ball.
......ah.
Heming Pavilion cannot receive the call.
Imadegawa Yuzuru calmly made a judgment.
It's not that I can't catch it, it's that I can't catch it.
"Bang----"
Carrying enormous kinetic energy, the volleyball landed heavily like a cannonball.
"Beep—"
The referee raised his hand and blew his whistle.
Inarizaki Katayoshi, serve and score!
The little chubby bird nestled obediently atop Imadegawa's head, its beady eyes mirroring Imadegawa's gaze as the volleyball rolled away on the court.
...This is Inarizaki, the overlord of Kansai.
Imadegawa rested his chin on his hand and turned to look at the Inarizaki half of the field.
Inari Saki, who scored the opening point without touching the ball, was even more emboldened, and the players' momentum became even sharper.
...The first three games went too smoothly.
My thoughts upon leaving Sichuan.
Although it is a national-level competition, the first three matches were almost minor compared to Inarizaki's match.
—It's not that the opponents in the previous rounds were too weak. As a school that was able to break through the encirclement in its own prefecture and enter the national competition, it also has its own unique advantages.
However, their overall strength and mental state are completely incomparable to Inarisaki's.
This is just the beginning.
Imadegawa seemed to have a vague idea of what was going to happen next.
The score of the first game against Inarizaki was 16-25.
Saotome silently wiped her sweat-dampened hair.
This was the first time they had been beaten by such a large margin since entering the national competition.
There were also times when they lost in the group stage, but those were all under control and within the Heming Hall's grasp.
"Mio's Thoughts".
Imaizumi's clear pupils reflected the image of the middle blocker beside him, who was clutching the corner of his coat.
As if questioning, or as if repeating a statement after seeing through the black-haired middle blocker's mind, the golden-eyed captain asked, "Why didn't you block that ball just now?"
He was referring to the point that led to match point.
That ball was a straight shot from Inarisaki's Oshiro towards Tsurumeikan.
At that time, Aoyagi was in the front row, and with his speed, he could have completely blocked Oshiro's spike route.
The black-haired middle blocker hung his head, speechless.
Imaichi Kawa gazed at him silently.
Instead of pressing him for answers, the golden-eyed captain gave him an order—
"In the next set, no matter what the ball is, we must block it with all our might."
"Yes," the black-haired vice-attacker replied sullenly.
The setter captain supported his shoulder with one hand.
He said slowly:
"Can you show me?"
Aoyu looked into his eyes and nodded obediently.
The whistle blew for the second set, and the starting players from both sides returned to the court.
The chubby little bird landed on Imadegawa's lap. "How strange, why didn't Aoyagi stop it?"
“He slacked off.” Imadegawa turned his wrist.
"He knew I would definitely play all three sets, so he wanted to conserve my energy."
"He knew I would figure it out."
Imaichi's gaze fell on Aoyagi's tall, slender back.
"He just wanted 'orders'."
In a best-of-five format, most schools field their strongest lineups to win the first two games, which greatly boosts their morale.
However, Imadegawa follows the strategy of Tian Ji's horse racing, giving up the score in the first or even the first two rounds and using his "inferior horse" to take the lead against the opponent's "superior horse".
He focused his efforts on the defensive first pass of the Heming Hall volleyball team, which honed the team's first pass skills and stamina. The back-and-forth battles they initiated could greatly deplete the stamina of the opposing team's starting lineup.
If this tactic fails, it is extremely easy to suffer the bitter consequences of defeat.
But Izukawa Yuzuru had no choice but to do so.
Lacking strong offensive capabilities, Heming Hall can only rely on the principle of "overcoming strength with gentleness" at present.
In the previous group stage matches, this tactic effectively brought Kawama Imadegawa a series of victories.
...Inarizaki was no exception.
The second game ended at Tsurumeikan: Inarizaki won by a small margin of 28-30.
Although the Inarizaki players, who won the first two sets, were exhausted by Tsurumeikan, they are still in high spirits.
After all, the score was already 2-0.
If they win one more game, they will advance to the quarterfinals.
The whistle blew for the third set.
The Inarizaki starters, preparing to return to the field, discovered—
The first-year captain of the Crane Cry Hall stood in the starting lineup of the Crane Cry Hall.
The golden-eyed setter stood among the team members, surrounded by them, and looked at them calmly.
Unbeknownst to them, the Heming Hall support group had already hung up the men's volleyball team's banner high.
The banner swayed gently in the half of the field behind the players at the Crane Sound Arena, yet it seemed to stir up a fierce wind—
"Crane's croaking sky is empty"
————————
Let's attack the Foxes!!!
Aoyagi is a highly sensitive person who needs specific instructions, and she's also very good at observation and thinking.
"鹤鸣きて空に残るや" translates to "The crane's cry lingers in the sky" or "The crane's cry echoes far into the sky," taken from a previously quoted haiku: "鹤鸣きて空に残るや云の峰" (The crane's cry lingers in the sky, its echoes reaching the cloud-capped peaks).
Intelligence Update:
List of members of the Hemingguan Volleyball Club (as of the IH National Tournament)
Member: Aoyagi Mio
Position in the team: Middle Blocker
Height: 184.6 cm, Weight: 81.6 kg
Birthday: March 21
Favorite food: Matcha daifuku
Recent troubles: ......
Overall ability (out of 5): Strength 3; Stamina 4; Speed 3; Jumping 4; Skill 3; Intelligence 4.
Aoyagi Mioo (あおやぎみおお/Aoyagi Mioo)
The nickname is "Mion". The name "Xiaoxu" has no origin; I searched for a long time and hesitated for a long time. The other names I considered, which did have origins, never felt quite right for him. So, I finally settled on this one. "Mion" means waterway or navigational marker, and "Mion" means emotion or thread; feel free to make any connections.
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