[24] Grade 11: IH National Tournament
...Tsk.
Saotome lowered her eyes.
Through the mesh of the net, Saotome gazed at Shiratorizawa Ace's face, which was divided into squares.
The network cables crisscrossed before his eyes, cutting his silent and solemn face into pieces, but unable to sever the overwhelming sense of oppression emanating from him.
"Heavy artillery." Saotome silently pondered these two words.
On the other side of the net, Shiratorizawa, the heavy hitter ace, slightly raised his chin, his neck forming a sharp arc, his solid muscles stretching his white and purple team uniform taut.
Despite being only a high school freshman, his physique was close to that of an adult male, and the shadow he cast at the net could almost completely engulf his opponents.
Saotome clenched her fingers so tightly that her knuckles cracked.
Imadegawa's clear, gentle voice echoed in his mind once more:
"...Shiratorizawa has a high percentage of players with powerful jump serves and explosive spikes. In previous matches, they have always disrupted the opponent's first pass stability, forcing the opponent to be unable to organize a fast attack system smoothly."
“And Ushijima Wakatoshi is Shiratorizawa’s ‘absolute ace.’ Shiratorizawa’s tactics are built around him, and most of Shiratorizawa’s points come from his spikes.”
"So Chihaya, you must thoroughly familiarize yourself with Ushijima Wakatoshi's spikes in the first set tomorrow."
...Can I do it?
—Another cannonball-like spike from Ushijima Wakatoshi.
The pink-haired libero in the half of the Heming Hall court had his eyes fixed on the yellow and blue volleyball.
The ball is here!
The noise from the stands gradually faded away in the ears of the liberos, turning into a distant hum.
At that moment, his world consisted only of the volleyball that was flying towards him at high speed.
How could I possibly not be able to do it?
"Smack!"
Aoyagi's palm brushed against the rapidly spinning volleyball in the front row, dissipating some of its momentum.
"One touch..." As if he hadn't spoken in a long time, Aoyagi somewhat awkwardly reminded his teammates in the back row.
“Well done!!” Saotome responded to his reminder.
The pink-haired free agent bent his knees, lowering his center of gravity.
Ushijima Wakatoshi...
The yellow-blue sphere was reflected in Saotome's purplish-red pupils as it drew ever closer.
He was before...
"Bang!!!" The volleyball hit his forearm.
Saotome, with a determined effort, unleashed a powerful reverse slam dunk!
He used to practice his powerful spikes and receiving skills day and night at the Heming volleyball hall!
He also managed to return unconventional spin shots hit by left-handed players—
After all, their captain's specialty is—a reverse-spin shot that can only be hit with a left-handed hand using only his right hand!
"Chihaya—that was a beautiful catch!!!"
Members of the Crane Sound Hall cheering squad's vocal corps delivered cheers that almost pierced the entire venue with their unique high notes.
The entire audience was shaken by the almost ear-piercing cheer, and not only the audience in the Shiratorizawa half of the show, but also the audience in the Tsurumeikan half of the show was in an uproar.
"That powerful spike from Ushijima was just caught like that???"
"This can actually be connected?!?!"
"How many goals is this?!"
"How can a libero at Heming Hall, with such a small build, withstand a spike of that power?"
"That's terrifying..."
The commentator's voice trembled slightly with excitement: "Incredible!!! Is this the formidable fortress of Tsurumeikan?! It withstood even this level of heavy artillery bombardment without a scratch?!"
Most of the starters and substitutes on the bench in Shiratorizawa's halftime game also widened their eyes.
As a free agent who was on the same team as heavy artilleryman Ushijima and often received artillery bombardment during team practice, Yamagata was so shocked that he was almost speechless.
...And this is only the first goal?!?!
He asked the same question as a spectator in the audience halfway through the match.
Even though they had collected information about Heming Hall before the game, watched the school's videotapes, and knew that the school was a rare defensive powerhouse that focused on receiving the ball.
But the scene was still far beyond Yamagata's imagination.
...That's a powerful spike from Ushijima!
This is only the first game, not even at the end of the first game.
The libero at Heming Hall just caught Ushijima's powerful spike like that?!
In his astonishment, Yamagata glanced at the golden-eyed setter of Tsurumeikan and noticed a barely perceptible smile playing on his lips.
—I am very satisfied with my departure from Sichuan.
Despite the volleyball's somewhat erratic trajectory, he felt it suited his taste perfectly.
Now, leaving Sichuan, I think with tolerance—
That's already pretty good.
He caught the slightly misplaced volleyball with a hint of pleasure.
Saotome achieved his expectations ahead of schedule.
This is truly their Crane Cry Pavilion's strongest "backbone." <(doAK)br>
Using Aoyagi as bait, Imadegawa dribbled past Shiratorizawa's defense, and the former SR opposite hitter, now a main attacker, returned the cannonball launched by Shiratorizawa's heavy artillery to the floor of Shiratorizawa's half of the court.
—In fact, for Shiratorizawa, whose core tactics rely on the power of his "absolute ace," Tsurumeikan's usual defense-oriented strategy can actually counter him.
As long as the blocking routes and the first pass ground movements are perfectly coordinated, this kind of "one-point attack" is extremely easy to overcome.
However, all tactics are predicated on the fact that the Tsurumeikan side must be able to withstand the heavy spikes from Shiratorizawa.
—At this moment, Saotome accelerated the defensive progress of Tsurumei-kan.
After receiving Shiratorizawa's third powerful spike, the pink-haired libero from Tsurumeikan put one hand on his hip and nodded at Ushijima.
"Your spikes are way too easy to receive!"
Saotome's face broke into a wild and arrogant smile.
He used almost the exact same words that Tiantong had said to Qingliu not long ago to return the favor.
The libero's arm, stinging from the violent slam dunk, didn't tremble at all when he pointed at the two men.
As Seto Taiyo held up the ball, his blood vessels throbbed.
Tendo teased his ace player with a grin: "Wakari—you got provoked by that little guy!"
Ushijima looked at Saotome seriously and said, "Well, I'll spike the next ball even harder."
Saotome touched the roof of her mouth with the tip of her tongue.
Aren't you angry?
Could it be that "heavy artillery" isn't a person, but some kind of humanoid intelligent cannon made of steel shells?
She didn't even flinch at his blatant provocation?!
"Fine, let me see how heavy your so-called 'heavier' really is?"
Saotome twitched the corner of her mouth.
Then, Ushijima's "heavier" spike almost knocked Saotome to the ground.
Imadegawa was even somewhat pleased when Saotome made a rare first pass error and had to lob the ball high.
—The ball that Saotome just received was a spike that truly faced a powerful cannon head-on, a spike that didn't have the power to be neutralized by Aoyagi's block in the front row.
This signifies that in the upcoming matches, Shiratorizawa will undoubtedly continue to rely on Ushijima's powerful spikes to break through Tsurumeikan's front row block—
But behind the players in the front row of the Tsurumeikan stadium is Saotome, who is about to completely defeat their ace backhand smash.
The black-haired middle blocker in the front row and the pink-haired libero in the back row stood alternately in the half of the Heming Hall court.
Two pairs of eyes, one bluish-green and the other purplish-red, stared unblinkingly at Ushijima Wakatoshi.
...
After a powerful back-row attack from Tsurumeikan hit Shiratorizawa to the sideline, the score of the first set of the match was Tsurumeikan: Shiratorizawa/25:23.
Jin Chuchuan leaned against the substitute bench at the edge of the Heming Stadium.
The towel that hadn't been used to wipe his face and neck was draped over his head by Saotome, but he was too lazy to even lift his hand to pull it off.
In this game, Imadekawa's physical exertion was actually not that great.
Shiratorizawa was not very familiar with Tsurumeikan, and the first game was still in their probing phase. The starting players did not go all out to fight for the score.
—This is not much different from what he initially expected.
This round was not just a probing move by Shiratorizawa...
Jin Chuchuan lowered his eyelashes, concealing the smile in his eyes.
It was also a testing ground for Heming Pavilion and a training ground for their own team members...
The chubby little bird nestled in the towel on Imadegawa's head, its round, beady eyes fixed on the scoreboard that hadn't been taken down yet, remembering what Imadegawa had said before the game started—
"Shiratorizawa won't let physical exertion affect his mentality. We might as well take advantage of their unfamiliarity with us and win the first game before their cannon is fully activated."
The little bird, not very quick-witted, had a deep, serious face.
...And that's how you get a game from the overlord Shiratorizawa.
—That's way too easy.
Sure enough, there's nothing that Imadegawa can't do if he sets his mind to it.
I guess I have good taste! I managed to bind myself to such a powerful host so easily!
The little chubby bird was lost in its own world.
——————
Shiratorizawa half-court sideline.
"Ruoli, and Shion, when you two spike, try to spike towards the setter at Heming Hall. He barely participated in the first pass in the first set, his speed and power are average, and his defensive range is small."
Through observation over the course of a set, Coach Heron keenly noticed that the setter at Heming Hall did not possess particularly outstanding physical attributes, relying solely on solid technique and a quick mind for both serving and passing.
Therefore, the supervisor changed his approach.
Instead of trying to break through the defenses of the Crane Cry Pavilion by brute force, it's better to focus on their weaknesses.
To his surprise, the setter from Hemingguan was substituted by the coach of Hemingguan after taking the serve in the second set.
The new setter who came on was the substitute setter from Heming Hall.
Coach Heron was unaware that a school had analyzed the poor performance of Crane Sound Hall's backup setter.
Even if he heard about it, he might still think it was fake news deliberately spread by Heming Pavilion.
Although the substitute setter at Heming Hall didn't have the same uncanny anticipation of the ball's trajectory as the captain, his chemistry with the other Heming Hall players was just as impressive.
Unlike when the captain of Tsurumyoukan is present, Tsurumyoukan is less aggressive, but its defensive system is more complete.
While intently tracking the yellow and blue volleyball, he also maintained a stable defensive positioning.
—This substitute setter's ability to receive first passes is comparable to that of the liberos from some of the top schools in Miyagi Prefecture.
In addition to this real setter, there is also a former opposite hitter and current outside hitter on the court at Heming Hall. Even if the setter is forced to receive the first pass, there is still an opposite hitter to make up for the stable setter position at Heming Hall.
Although this opposite hitter's skill level as a setter can only be described as average, and most of the time he can make stable passes by relying on accurate first passes, it is enough for the attackers of Hemingguan.
However, no matter how perfect the defense is, without enough complete offensive scoring options, it is extremely difficult for the score to rise.
The second set ended 25-19 with Ushijima Wakatoshi's increasingly effective smashes.
In the third set, the captain of the setter team from Heming Hall was substituted back onto the court.
————————
The reason why, despite having both SSR middle blockers and SSR liberos, and with a predominance of SR middle blockers, Tsurumyoukan focuses on receiving defense rather than blocking defense has been revealed.
Firstly, because the blocking SSR card arrived too late (Xiao Xu only appeared on the last day of the preliminaries), the initial focus was on Xiao Qian, specializing in receiving and passing, with the other SR cards filling in for Xiao Qian's defensive weaknesses. After Xiao Xu was released, the defensive focus wasn't changed, partly because Xiao Xu's personality wasn't suitable as the backbone of the Heming Hall besides Xiao He. Secondly, and most importantly, focusing on perfecting one aspect is more reliable than trying to do two things at once. Their training time was too short to be effective in multiple areas.
Xiaoqian is very responsible and, although she is easily irritable, she is very serious about volleyball. As a libero, she provides a stronger sense of security and spends more time with the SR cards. Therefore, she is the pillar of the Crane Pavilion when Xiaozuru is not playing.
Intelligence Update:
Volleyball team member details (as of the IH National Tournament)
Member: Chihaya Saotome
Position in the team: Libero
Height: 158.9 cm, Weight: 53.6 kg
Birthday: April 18
Favorite food: The most authentic Mapo Tofu in Kyoto's Chinatown
Recent troubles: Unidentified things keep disturbing his interactions with his companions.
Overall ability (out of 5): Strength 2; Stamina 4; Speed 3; Jumping 2; Skill 5; Intelligence 3.
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