[20] Grade 11: IH National Tournament
"Crane Cry Pavilion! Let's play another game!!"
The thunderous drumbeats of the Crane Pavilion support group resounded once again.
The thumping sound made Akagi hallucinate the "thump" of the volleyball hitting the ground repeatedly in front of him during the fourth set.
The first-year free agent's narrow, long, vertical pupils slightly constricted.
The hardworking coach, Kurosu, circled around the Inarisaki players who were resting on the bench, offering them psychological support one by one.
In particular, Inarizaki, the third-year setter, was once again specifically targeted by Coach Kurosu, who kept nagging him about suppressing the rhythm and simplifying tactics.
Director Kurobe walked around to stand in front of Akagi.
He offered a few words of comfort to this usually reliable and meticulous libero, but didn't say anything more. Instead, he pointed out a few mistakes Akagi made in the previous game.
After giving his instructions, Director Kurosu patted Akagi Jisei on the shoulder, his tone full of trust.
"I believe you can stay calm."
The referee blew his whistle, and the starting players for both sides returned to their positions for the fifth inning.
This is Inarizaki's turn to serve.
—And the setter from Heming Hall was standing in position number two on the opposite side.
......
The volleyball whizzed through the air, accompanied by a faint hissing sound.
Now, as Chuan listens intently to the sound, his mind simultaneously races through a series of calculations—
The height is half an inch lower than before, the force is reduced by nearly 70%, and the rotation angle is very stable...
Inarizaki Ace is also nearing exhaustion.
Saotome couldn't possibly miss that ball.
so......
Now, leaving Sichuan, I turn around.
The volleyball landed in his palm as usual.
It flew into Qingliu's hands as he wished.
Like the Inarizaki starters, Tsurumeikan's No. 4 middle blocker played all five sets and was only occasionally substituted off the court during the sets, scoring a point with little expression.
Aside from his sweaty body, he showed no signs of fatigue. His movements were clean and efficient, and his coordination with the setter from Hemingguan remained excellent, maintaining a smooth fast-attack rhythm.
Imaichi Kawa once again stood at the service line behind the half of the court at the Tsurumeikan Stadium.
One ball, two balls, three balls...
Inarizaki's starters were forced to run all over the court by Imadegawa's unpredictable serves with all sorts of unpredictable landing points and strange spins.
Their breath burned their throats, and their lungs felt like they were filled with coarse sand, but the serve from the captain of the setter team at Heming Hall kept bouncing in the air, as if deliberately toying with their predicament.
On the first ball, Akagi barely managed to touch it with his fingertips, but could only watch helplessly as it bounced out of bounds.
On the second ball, Ooshiro's knee slammed heavily onto the floor, his shoes screeching against the floor, but the ball still landed mockingly in the corner of the sideline, out of his reach.
On the third ball, Inarizaki Ace's vision began to darken as he chased the volleyball that had been received. It was as if a darkening curtain had been drawn over his eyes.
In the deciding set, three consecutive points were scored with serves, and the cheers from the Heming Hall half of the court grew louder and louder.
"Xihe, that's beautifully done!!"
"One more ball—"
Accompanied by the taiko drumming of the Crane Sound Hall cheering squad, the voices of the Crane Sound Hall audience gradually became unified.
"One more!! One more!!!"
The fourth goal...
Inari-saki called a timeout, attempting to disrupt Imadegawa's rhythm.
However, the timeout actually gave Imadegawa time to adjust, making his serves more targeted after the timeout.
Five balls, six balls, seven balls...
Out of the corner of his eye, Da'er, who was at the net, saw Hemingguan No. 4, who had won the right to serve for the setter, hunching over and absentmindedly adjusting his knee pads.
"Beep—"
The referee's whistle could almost pierce the eardrums of the Inarizaki players.
The numbers on the scoreboard pierced the eyes of the Inarisaki players like knives—Tsurumeikan: Inarisaki/8:0.
The commentator's voice seemed to come closer and then further away from their ears: "This is the art of serving! It's not about brute force, but about using variations in spin to create traps!! The last serve was an inside spin to the upper right, curving in an S-shape towards the outside of the court! This serve is a pure sidespin straight down the sideline!!"
"—It's like playing shogi! Every move was calculated perfectly to anticipate the opponent's psychology! They successfully shut out the opponent in the deciding game, bringing the score to the technical timeout!!!"
"Unbelievable!!!"
Everything in the second half of the Crane Cry Hall was shrouded in mist, making it difficult to see clearly.
"Hold on!!!"
Coach Blackbeard's voice was a little hoarse, but it drowned out the noise from outside the arena.
He slapped the somewhat withdrawn Inarizaki Ace hard, his voice muffled.
"We'll chase after it point by point!!!"
Akagi gripped his team uniform tightly with both hands.
......
The scoreboard on one side of the volleyball court was changed again by the assistant referee.
——
Tsurumeikan: Inarizaki
10:0
——
Heming Hall scores nine consecutive points with their serve!!! (GWIZ)
The second half of the performance at the Crane Cry Hall was completely electrified.
The cheers and shouts of excitement from the support group and the audience were like tangible heat waves, crashing against the ceiling one after another, causing the floor to tremble slightly.
In contrast to the opposite half, the Inarizaki half and even the stands were completely silent.
An inexplicable pressure weighed heavily on everyone, and during the serve at the Tsurumeikan Stadium, a few spectators originally from Hyogo Prefecture shook their heads and sighed.
The Inarisaki support group hadn't started their campaign yet; the support flags were hanging down, and the occasional rustling of the fabric was jarring to the members of the Inarisaki support group.
Blackbeard, the supervisor, pinched his thigh and took a deep breath.
My mindset... it's still not right...
It would be great if there were players on the field who acted like tranquilizers...
Is there anyone on the bench who can step up first?
Coach Kurosu looked around the Inarizaki bench.
On the Inarizaki bench, the substitute players were pale, their eyes filled with worry for the players on the field and an involuntary shrinking back.
...No, they were even more hesitant than the starters who were facing this pressure on the field.
When I get back, I'll add stress-resistance training to the training schedule for all the Inarisaki members.
Blackbeard, the supervisor, thought with deep sorrow.
Who would have thought that the pressure from Captain Tsurumeikan's spin serve would be even greater than that of a powerful jump serve...?
If the trajectory and landing point are predicted incorrectly, the pass will not be received. Even if all predictions are correct, the pass may not be received. There is a high probability that the pass will go astray or that the first pass will not be fully in place.
The captain of the Heming Hall serves with very small movements, and it is difficult to observe what type of ball he is preparing to serve from the opposite side of the court—it looks like an ordinary overhand serve from the front!
Repeatedly catching the ball is too mentally challenging for the player...
It's only been a month since the Kyoto qualifiers!!!
The videotape still clearly shows his wrist movements, and after a month, he trained his movements to the point that they were almost indistinguishable.
If you don't get close, it's difficult to tell what kind of ball he's going to serve even from a distance of more than ten meters.
...Did he go to another dimension for further studies?
Is it because their time flow is different from ordinary people that they evolved like they were riding a rocket?
Blackbeard, the supervisor, was deeply saddened.
Inarizaki's only hope, libero Akagi, finally managed a barely accurate first pass to the second pass when Tsurumikan served their tenth serve. Akagi then hit Tsurumikan's other middle blocker out of bounds, breaking Tsurumikan's serve.
But the score difference was too large. Even though Inarizaki, who was nearly exhausted, tried his best to save the ball and spike it, he couldn't catch up with the huge score difference.
Hemingguan has reached match point in the decisive game.
Imadegawa and Aoyagi launched their first quick attack, dribbling past Inarisaki's block.
After the volleyball dribbled past Inarizaki's block, the Tsurumeikan cheering squad briefly struck two drumbeats on their taiko drums, which echoed in the ears of all the spectators in the annex.
The audience was on tenterhooks—whether they were in the Tsurumeikan half of the performance or the Inarizaki half.
They were all waiting to see if the ball would land.
The initial fast break that came at the end of the game put immense pressure on everyone.
Just as the ball was about to hit the ground, someone suddenly rushed out from behind Inarizaki—
The libero, who had already made countless saves in Inarizaki's half of the court, leaped out again, flying sideways to catch the ball before it hit the ground.
A deafening roar erupted from the stands in Inarizaki.
"Road is safe—it's easy to save you—" the audience supporting Inarizaki shouted at the top of their lungs.
At match point in Heming Stadium, such a successful save, achieved with all his might, was a great inspiration to both the players and the spectators.
Akagi rolled off the ground, trying to get up on his hands and feet, but his arms couldn't support his body—even though he had briefly taken a break from the game with the back row players, he was too exhausted to stand up.
Sweat dripped from Akagi's hair onto the court with his rapid breathing.
"Save the ball!!!"
Setter Inarisaki took a running start, lowered his knees, and jumped up, barely managing to catch the volleyball that was about to go out of bounds.
"Tail White—" the setter shouted at the top of his lungs.
Tail White takes a running start, jumps, and raises his arms—
The volleyball passed behind Oshiro's head, and Inarizaki, the ace who had leaped high into the air behind him, swung his arm fiercely—
Inarizaki launched another tiered attack, dribbling past Tsurumeikan's block.
Saotome's crimson eyes were fixed on the volleyball hurtling towards her.
Lift your arm forcefully as the volleyball lands on your forearm—
He smoothly passed the volleyball to Imadegawa.
The golden-eyed setter sent the volleyball to the high-flying No. 4 middle blocker.
The three people in the front row of Inarizaki straightened their stiff legs and leaped upwards!
Green Willow gazed at them from the air.
Saotome looked up at the volleyball from the backcourt.
Imadegawa watched from below the net as Inarisaki and the other two blocked the net with their fingertips.
As if by telepathy, Aoyagi received Imadegawa's signal, and instead of spiking the ball, he neutralized the force with his right arm, gently flicking the ball with his fingers—
"Thump—"
It was the soft sound of a volleyball hitting the ground.
"Thump—"
It was the heavy thud of the three Inarisaki defenders landing after their block.
—A lob shot that hits the match point.
The scoreboard was turned to its last page.
...The exceptionally long fifth inning has come to an end.
Big Ears stared intently at the setter at Crane Cry Hall.
Sweat seemed to be trickling down his forehead and into his eyes.
My vision was completely blurred.
He knew better than anyone that the lob shot that brought them to match point was executed under the direction of Captain Golden Eyes.
The black-haired middle blocker from Hemingguan, who delivered the decisive blow that sealed the match, was his sharpest weapon.
...The fifth game is over.
The nationwide Inarizaki era has also come to an end.
Big Ears realized this belatedly.
—So, we've reached the finish line.
————————
It's over. Inarisaki was actually a very good opponent. I sincerely admire Akagi. As I wrote the ending, it felt like I wasn't creating the plot, but rather that he himself rushed out to save that ball.
I almost didn't finish before 9 o'clock, my period is here and my head is splitting with headaches.
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