[31] Grade 11: IH National Tournament
After the last two sets, Coach Jinshan has pretty much figured out the volleyball characteristics of the Heming Hall team.
In the men's volleyball team of Heming Hall, it's more accurate to say that the setter, who is responsible for setting and passing the ball, is the "spear" rather than the attackers.
The rest of the starting lineup are all "backing" to help him break through the blockade with his "spear".
The Tsurumeikan Men's Volleyball Club is entirely centered around Imadegawa.
Now, Chu Chuan has lived up to his responsibilities, perfectly linking the members of Heming Pavilion together on the field and guiding all their offensive and defensive operations.
"No wonder Imadegawa, a first-year student, is the captain of the Tsurumeikan boys' volleyball team." Coach Jinshan's eyes were full of praise and appreciation.
Given Jin Chuchuan's ability to control the pace of the game, he truly deserves the title of captain.
When he gets back tonight, he'll definitely search for and watch the baseline video of yesterday's round of 16 match at Heming Hall, because the full video he watched last night was too limited.
Such exquisite control of rhythm is too difficult to fully appreciate by just looking at the overall picture.
—The fact that Imadegawa was entrusted with such an important role as captain in his first year shows that the director of Tsurumeikan really has a keen eye for talent.
Coach Jinshan sighed again.
"I remember this was the first time Heming Hall had made it into the national tournament, right?" Coach Jinshan asked his assistant.
“Yes.” The assistant flipped through the notebook in his hand. “Previously, the schools from Kyoto Prefecture that qualified nationwide were usually Yamazaki Tachibana and xx school.”
Sitting next to them, Akagi couldn't help but explain, "Not only is this their first time making it into the national tournament, but it's also the first time the Tsurumeikan Men's Volleyball Club has participated in an official competition. Apparently, the Men's Volleyball Club had never even arranged practice matches with other schools before."
"Huh?" Coach Jinshan looked surprised.
This involves blind spots that he was unfamiliar with.
"You haven't even scheduled any practice matches?" The assistant coach also looked quite surprised.
"According to the top volleyball schools in Kyoto Prefecture, before the start of the Kyoto qualifiers, local schools in Kyoto had no idea that Tsurumeikan had a boys' volleyball club, let alone arrange practice matches."
The former free agent from the rival school of Hemingguan said dejectedly, "We've never arranged practice matches with local schools, let alone those from out of town."
"So they only practice on campus?!"
The assistant coach of the national youth team training camp widened his eyes and asked incredulously, "—A team that only trained within the school for the first year can make it into the national top eight?!"
Akagi seemed to have lost his soul, and became even more listless: "...Is that so?"
Coach Jinshan and his assistant looked at each other in bewilderment.
"I can't even imagine what level of supervision their school has..."
"Could he be a retired coach from a professional club?"
——————
After the second technical pause ended.
Tsurumeikan's defense naturally and smoothly entangled Shiratorizawa, and Tsurumeikan's score, driven by the golden-eyed setter, quietly rose like a rising tide.
—It can't be fastened.
The tall and strong middle blocker, number 9 from Heming Hall, skillfully leaped and scooped up a cross-court shot towards the sideline of Heming Hall.
A person who is over 1.9 meters tall can roll and save the ball on the ground with such agility... That doesn't make sense, does it?
With such physical attributes, why bother training floor moves so well? Shouldn't you be focusing on overcoming impenetrable blocks?
—I don't understand.
Da Ping's sneakers rubbed hard against the waxed floor. After the intense exercise, his body temperature rose, and his heart gradually became restless.
--bother.
Tsurumeikan's number 8 once again appeared mysteriously in Soekawa's spiking path, cupping the volleyball that had crossed the net with both hands and hitting it into the Shiratorizawa half of the court.
He caught the last ball, and he blocked this one too...
Is it appropriate for a main attacker to not use his power attacks to score, but instead act as both a middle blocker and a libero?
—It's even more annoying than not being able to receive a serve.
Tianchuan rubbed his fingers anxiously, his thick eyebrows and short, frizzy hair trembling wildly with the rise and fall of his chest.
—So tired.
Tendo, who had launched a series of attacks against Soegawa under Semi's command, was panting heavily.
His stamina was far less than that of his teammates, and even with substitutes, he couldn't keep going after a few rounds.
My vision started to blur.
Tendo's team uniform was almost completely soaked with sweat, clinging to his body like another piece of skin that he couldn't tear off or get rid of.
Exhausted to the extreme, Tian Tong's mind went blank, and he stopped thinking about anything else or considering any psychological tactics.
—This is really troublesome.
...So this is what Ushima is facing.
The starting attackers at Shiratorizawa all thought the same thing.
When the main attacking force is on Ushijima Wakatoshi, their occasional spikes are tightly defended by Tsurumeikan, which doesn't have a significant impact on their mentality.
However, once Ushijima became one of the attackers in the multi-pronged attack, the other attackers in Shiratorizawa successively experienced the emotional turmoil caused by Tsurumeikan's impenetrable defense.
This feeling of not being able to button it up no matter how hard I try...
—This is terrible.
"Yingtai, you've been led astray by the other side."
"Imaidegawa of Tsurumeikan is playing psychological warfare with us. He figured out that you were starting to doubt Shiratorizawa's tactics."
"He's been waiting for you to give up even a little bit of your offensive."
The voice of the hawk master echoed in my ears once again.
Eita Semi wavered once again.
His face gradually turned pale.
The heat from vigorous running and jumping couldn't mask the chill in my heart.
Seto asked inwardly, feeling a bit down.
...Was my decision wrong?
...But Shiratorizawa did get the points, didn't he?!
Seti once again surveyed the Shiratorizawa half of the field.
But now, the atmosphere in Shiratorizawa is even more tense than before they got the points.
After scoring consecutive points, the players who were being countered by Hemingguan's defense showed obvious signs of anxiety.
Seti once again surveyed the half of the Tsurumeikan stadium.
Meanwhile, on the opposite half of the court, the libero from Heming Hall was smiling and high-fiving his teammates. That relaxed attitude was more lethal to the tightly guarded opponents than any trash talk.
...We must break this deadlock.
We must break this deadlock immediately!!!
Semi's heart tightened, suffocating all her chaotic thoughts.
He no longer insisted on attacking from multiple points, and following the instructions of the Eagle Craftsman, he repeatedly passed the ball to that most reliable figure.
Each of his set shots was delivered with a desperate, all-or-nothing resolve; the moment his fingers touched the volleyball seemed to scream silently.
Quickly tear through their defenses...
—This suffocating feeling of being completely suppressed is just too agonizing.
......
Imaizumi quietly concealed himself among the Tsurumyoukan team, silently scrutinizing every starting player in Shiratorizawa's half.
The setter captain's golden eyes, illuminated by the overhead light, were as clear as water, like shimmering gold dancing on the surface of the sea at sunset, stirred by a gentle breeze.
But beneath this shimmering surface lies a deeper, darker undercurrent.
...It's a do-or-die situation.
Jin Chuchuan's eyes flickered slightly.
Tsurumeikan's mind lightly glanced at Saotome and Aoyagi.
—Then let's not worry about anyone else and focus all our efforts on sealing off the cannons.
......
Ushijima's powerful spikes remained consistent, each spike carrying an overwhelming momentum, bombarding the half of the court at Hekmeikan like cannonballs.
However, whenever possession of the ball shifts from Semi to Ushijima, Tsurumeikan's number 4 (Aoyagi) and number 5 (Saotome) seem to anticipate this and always manage to set up a defensive net in the most appropriate position.
Their teamwork was seamless. Number 4 (Aoyagi)'s high-point blockade and Number 5 (Saotome)'s defensive anticipation neutralized almost every smash from Ushijima.
Left with no other choice, Seijian had to bring up the other attackers again to coordinate their attacks.
After Tsurumeikan's No. 4 (Aoyagi) and No. 5 (Saotome) focused all their attention on Ushijima, the spiking success rate of the remaining Shiratorizawa attackers rose again.
The score was slowly climbing back and forth, with each attack turning into a war of attrition.
The Eagle Craftsman supervisor crossed his arms under his nose, his large, bell-like eyes staring intently at the arena.
...Eita Semi is just too easily swayed.
As a setter who had only worked with Ushijima for three months, Semi was unable to fully trust Ushijima.
That's why Semi previously shifted his attack to other players when Ushijima was blocked. Now, he's handing possession back to Ushijima because the other attackers are once again being suppressed by Tsurumeikan and have nowhere to run.
However, the director of Washi Takumi advocated "absolute power crushing", and Shiratorizawa's tactics have revolved around the absolute strength of "Ushijima Wakatoshi" since junior high school.
...And Eita Semi is too opinionated.
The current setter in Shiratorizawa is quite excellent in terms of ball control, but this agile junior high school setter, who is also the best setter in Miyagi Prefecture, is equally agile and unpredictable.
His setter's mind, always searching for the optimal tactical solution, subtly clashed with Shiratorizawa's emphasis on the concept of "stable output heavy artillery."
—The overall tone of Eita Semi and Shiratorizawa is not well-matched.
Coach Washi, sitting on the coaching bench at Shiratorizawa, grew increasingly somber, while Coach Kinzan, sitting in the stands at Tsurumeikan, grew increasingly bright-eyed.
The volleyball style at Heming Hall is like a gentle stream, lacking the brute force of raging waves, but possessing the tenacity of water dripping on stone.
The starting players were like streams flowing together to form a calm lake in the Crane Cry Pavilion.
The captain of the Crane Cry Pavilion was a small boat that sailed into this lake.
The current embraces and lifts the small boat, while the boat itself creates ripples on the once calm surface. These ripples may seem ordinary, but they can kill silently and unexpectedly.
The opponent often falls into the intricate web they have woven without even realizing it.
This style of play, which uses softness to overcome hardness, makes each powerful slam dunk like a punch to water—it seems impressive, but leaves no trace after the ripples dissipate.
The feeling of defeat, where a powerful attack is silently neutralized, is far more despairing than direct confrontation.
Coach Jinshan couldn't help but rub his face.
That playing style is so beautiful.
Suddenly, Coach Jinshan's mind wandered: he wondered if this style of volleyball could be applied to major competitions.
In international competitions, people from their country are inherently at a disadvantage compared to people from Western countries. They are inferior in absolute strength and physical stature, and engaging in a pure strength contest with them is tantamount to throwing an egg against a rock.
But the Crane Cry Pavilion team presented him with another possibility: to offset the differences between individuals with perfect teamwork and to break through absolute power suppression with clever changes in rhythm.
Just as flowing water can wear away stone, this style, which emphasizes precision, rhythm, and tactical variation, may become a winning formula.
After all, volleyball is not just a contest of strength, but also a battle of wisdom and patience.
Coach Jinshan clenched his fist.
————————
(It was a particularly happy day, so I kept touching the little ones' paws.)
Shiratorizawa seems to be almost finished writing (touching chin). It feels like he's written so many chapters!
The last opponent for the first-year high school IH is Itayama... I have absolutely no inspiration... I already have a feeling I'm going to have writer's block... I do have a little inspiration for next year's Itayama, but it's still a long way from being written (collapses). Also, this year's spring high school will also involve describing three opponents. Currently, I've only tentatively decided on Furutani and Inarisaki, and there's one more I have absolutely no inspiration for. Any suggestions, guys?
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