[34] Grade 11: IH National Tournament
After playing against Shiratorizawa, the intensity of the semi-finals seemed rather ordinary.
The school's mentality was even worse than Inarizaki's when they faced Tsurumeikan in the semifinals. Imadegawa collapsed completely as soon as he put pressure on them.
By the third set, the opposing third-year main attacker was almost driven to despair by the Tsurumeikan's inability to break through their defense.
When the referee announced that Heming Pavilion had advanced to the finals, Xiaofeijiu felt a little unreal for a moment.
"They actually made it to the finals!"
The little chubby bird had mixed feelings.
"Did you think we couldn't get here?"
Jin Chuchuan responded to it while slowly turning on the tap.
The golden-eyed boy bent down, scooped up a handful of water, and splashed it on his face.
The water flowed onto his face, rolling down his cheeks to his chin, splashing into the pool as tiny droplets.
However, some water droplets remained on Imadegawa's snow-white eyelashes.
When he opened his eyes, his eyelashes, which were like white, shimmering butterfly wings, fluttered slightly, and the water droplets merged into a single, shimmering silver droplet, which slid down his cheek.
"No, not really—"
The chubby little bird nuzzled Imadegawa's ear affectionately.
"It's true that some hosts have won three consecutive IH championships before, but those were incredibly lucky. They managed to collect four or five SSR cards before the first year's IH tournament qualifiers, and they also had a volleyball background, so they were able to push through with brute force—"
"And you're the first host to have played both libero and middle blocker positions all the way up, so it feels really amazing..."
This sounds like a subtle way of implying that Imadegawa is having bad luck.
The chubby little bird cleverly changed the subject: "Besides, you're a genius who skipped grades to get into Tokyo University, I've never doubted your brain..."
"It's just a little strange—"
Crane Cry Pavilion has actually come this far!
The glutinous rice dumpling sighed deeply.
"These three months seem to have gone by a little too fast."
For the three months since it became a bonded partner with Imadegawa, the little chubby bird has been almost inseparable from him, accompanying him through every sleepless night in the Tsurumeikan volleyball hall.
When Imadegawa was practicing setting the ball against the wall alone, when he was repeatedly adjusting his serving posture, when he was squatting in the video room late at night analyzing his movements frame by frame on the screen...
Little Chubby Bird is always by my side; it is the most loyal witness to the journey I've taken over the past three months.
"Soon?"
Jin Chuchuan wiped the water off his face with a towel.
"I find it very long."
The setter with golden eyes smoothed out the wet towel, folded it inwards while pressing down the damp part, and carefully put it away.
"Besides, it's only been three months now, and there are still three years to go."
After tidying up his appearance in front of the mirror, Imadegawa pushed open the bathroom door and came out.
Looking up, Izukawa met the eyes of the short, blue-green-haired boy standing at the door.
Two pairs of golden eyes looked at each other, one above the other.
The boy in the yellow-green banana team uniform took two steps to the right first, politely making way for them.
Imaichi nodded politely in response and then left at a leisurely pace.
Neither of them made a move to strike up a conversation with the other.
Iitsuzu, the first-year setter from Itayama, turned to look at Imadegawa's back.
—This guy is the setter from our opponent's school in tomorrow's final set.
Once you leave Sichuan, there's no turning back.
—Ah, they're tomorrow's rivals.
......
The IH national finals are clearly not on the same level as any of the competitions that the Hemingguan team members have participated in before.
Even yesterday's semi-final wasn't as big as today's.
The television broadcast was larger than any previous match.
A dozen cameras were lined up along the edge, their telephoto lenses gleaming coldly under the overhead light, ready to capture every fleeting detail.
The density of the audience seats has also increased dramatically.
During the semi-finals, many spectators were diverted to the Jingtashan venue – after all, compared to the established powerhouse Jingtashan, Hemingguan was just a newcomer volleyball school that had just made it into the national top four.
In sports competitions, the powerful spikes of the strong school, Jingtashan, are obviously more entertaining and visually impactful than the steady and gentle defense of Hemingguan.
But today is the final match of the IH National Tournament, and regardless of which school they favor, the entire main stadium was packed with volleyball enthusiasts.
Jiao Ming finally managed to squeeze into the crowded stands, struggling through the throng of spectators before finally finding his seat.
"It feels like a hallucination."
The players' feelings after following each game were profound.
He looked at the group of boys in white team uniforms in the center of the field.
...That's really impressive.
From a sparse crowd in the stands during the group stage to a stadium filled with flashing lights now.
The fledgling team from Heming Hall actually made it all the way to the finals of the national competition.
......
The players in the arena were warming up, while the Hemingguan support team in the stands were distributing support items for the finals to the audience in the surrounding stands and to those wearing Hemingguan support badges.
Yes, in addition to the support group that Heming Hall brought with them, there were also many ordinary audience members who spontaneously cheered for Heming Hall in today's final.
As a school making its first appearance in the national tournament, Tsurumeikan didn't have many dedicated supporters in this IH national tournament, apart from a few Kyoto students in Aichi Prefecture.
During the first few days of the IH tournament, most of the spectators sitting near the halfway support seats in the Heming Hall were casual spectators.
But after watching one match after another at the Heming Hall, these casual spectators gradually turned into supporters of the Heming Hall.
They watched as Heming Hall fought their way from the group stage to the round of 16, then from the round of 16 to the quarterfinals, and then from the quarterfinals to the semifinals.
Whenever casual viewers thought that even reaching the quarterfinals or semifinals would be good enough, Heming Hall would always be able to push the limits and keep exceeding their expectations.
In just a few days, this school, which was not well-known in the country, miraculously made it to the finals.
For the people of an island nation who inherently admire the strong, this kind of underdog story and the emergence of a genius has always been highly sought after.
(OIPt) The casual viewers who admired the strength naturally flocked to the temporary support team of Heming Hall and became supporters of Heming Hall to cheer them on.
In addition to volleyball enthusiasts, many teams from previously defeated volleyball schools also came to watch the finals.
—Shiratorizawa is one of them.
In the audience seats of both the Tsurumeikan support group and the Itayama support group, Coach Washi Takumi unhesitatingly chose to lead Shiratorizawa's students deep into enemy territory.
The Shiratorizawa students who arrived early managed to snag the closest spot to the Tsurumeikan support group.
The former rival school volleyball team members, dressed in their everyday clothes, were showered with Tsurumyoukan support items by enthusiastic students from the Tsurumyoukan support group.
Tendo curiously twirled the support fan distributed by Tsurumeikan.
"Are these fans of this material being distributed for free?" Tenkawa held up the round fan and examined its texture against the overhead light.
Da Ping touched the lifelike crane embroidery on the silk fan: "It feels like a cultural product from some scenic spot, or even the premium version."
“Even more extravagant than our Shiratorizawa, Tsurumeikan must be a private academy for the nobility.” Yamagata gripped the sandalwood fan handle and fanned himself.
Tenkawa: "Definitely. Judging from the size of the support group, you can tell that this school is a long-established school in Kyoto with a rich history."
Yamagata suddenly had a whimsical thought: "Then wouldn't all the volleyball team members who played against us the day before yesterday be rich young masters?"
Tenkawa: "...That doesn't seem wrong."
Ohira: "Our Shiratorizawa isn't bad either."
Shiratorizawa Academy, as the premier private school in Miyagi Prefecture, consistently ranks first in the prefecture for entrance exam deviation scores and is among the top private schools in the Tohoku region.
Besides its top-tier deviation score that surpasses Miyagi's, Shiratorizawa Academy is also renowned for its comprehensive elite education.
Beyond the basic curriculum, Shiratorizawa also spares no effort in cultivating its sports clubs. The facilities and equipment of Shiratorizawa's sports clubs, from which they have achieved notable results, are among the best in Miyagi Prefecture.
In addition, the campus environment of Shiratorizawa is equally impressive in the entire Miyagi Prefecture.
Yamagata waved the support fan in his hand.
Taihei looked speechless: "...Okay."
Although Shiratorizawa is a prestigious school in the Tohoku region that produces many athletes, it is unlikely that it would be so generous in allocating funds for supporting its sports clubs.
"They're rich and talented, what door did God close for them?!"
......
In the first game of the finals, Jingtashan fielded an all-first-year starting lineup, omitting all the third- and second-year main players.
—It's not just about perfecting the probing tactics, but also about a comprehensive assessment of the strength of the Crane Cry Hall.
There's another interesting point—
Crane Cry Pavilion was also targeted by the opposing team using the "Tian Ji's Horse Racing" strategy.
In the knockout stage matches, Imadegawa's most effective tactic has been to use his own substitutes to wear down the opponent's starters.
Imadegawa doesn't believe that the coach of Itayama would fail to see through his superficial tactics after watching the videotape of Tsurumyoukan—after all, Itayama is a strong volleyball school that supplies talent to the national team every year.
However, Imaichi found Itayama's method of fighting poison with poison quite interesting.
His left hand gently rubbed the little chubby bird's round head.
He used SR cards and Saotome to wear down the opponent's main force's stamina, while Itayama was also using first-year students to probe and deplete the stamina of Tsurumyoukan's main force.
Crane Pavilion, which has always been known for its "subordinates overthrowing superiors," has this time become the "top horse" in Tian Ji's horse race.
—Or did Jingtashan see that the defenses of Hemingguan had their limits?
Even though Itayama fielded only first-year players in the first set, this Tokyo volleyball powerhouse still has many excellent first-year players.
For example, I ran into Izuna yesterday outside the restroom.
The setter from Jingtashan, who was selected as the best setter in the JOC Junior Olympic Cup during his junior high school years, is currently positioned in Jingtashan's half of the court.
The setter with short blue-green hair focused intently on the opponents in the opposite half of the court.
Now, leaving Sichuan, I think about it casually.
Being able to stand out in fierce national competition and win the best setter position shows that Izuna's average strength is far superior to that of his peers.
The golden-eyed setter from the Crane Cry Hall once again patted the little chubby bird's head with his left hand.
but,
Even if it's outstanding...
He's only a first-grader.
————————
(Quickly stretch out your paws so I can suck them hard—)
Today marks the first month since I met our little crane!!! (Sprinkling flowers) It's amazing how much I've written without even realizing it—(Exclamation) Tonight we celebrated our one-month anniversary with a little cake, yay! (Hands on hips) This chapter was inspired by our little crane, the meeting of the century outside the bathroom, where two golden-eyed messengers met.
(The following are personal opinions) (Random thoughts) The setter is the core of a team. The attackers need to rely on the setter, and the first pass also needs to be transferred through the setter. Therefore, the setter must cooperate well with everyone on the court. The better the cooperation, the smoother the team will operate. So it will take a long time to get used to each other.
However, I've never played volleyball, and my knowledge of volleyball matches has only included a few full games watched; most of my viewing has come from watching clips and videos. I've also filled in the gaps in my understanding through video commentary and live stream explanations, without any in-depth study of this subject. If you guys have any disagreements about volleyball tactics or other content, feel free to read this as a lighthearted, illogical read!
(Suddenly realizes he's a big chatterbox) (Lies down)
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