[35] Grade 11: IH National Tournament
With both Aoyagi and Saotome present, Tsurumeikan secured the first victory in the final match.
The starting lineup and substitutes of Jingtashan were not particularly flustered.
"Was that drop shot just now a gift to the opponent?"
"The power of the smash was too soft."
During the halftime break, several senior starters who came on as substitutes at the end of the set were even giving pointers to the first-year starters who were on the field in the first set.
At the end of the first set, Coach Jingtashan used all the remaining substitution opportunities, bringing in senior starters for his starting team.
This is to avoid using up the substitution opportunity in the second game when making substitutions between games.
This was also to allow the Jingtashan main players, who had observed the game for almost a set, to experience the style of volleyball at Hemingguan firsthand, so that they could have a more in-depth discussion of temporary tactics for this match during the break between sets.
If they can also turn the tide and win the first game, that would be an extra bonus.
However, the early mistakes of the first-year students from Jingtashan and the steady scoring by Hemingguan created a point difference that could not be eliminated even with the substitution of second- and third-year main players.
The first game ended with Hemingguan leading in points.
Coach Jingtashan and his players formed a circle to conduct inter-set tactical analysis.
"The captain of the setter team at Tsurumeikan didn't play in the first set," Iizuna said, frowning as he wiped his sweaty hands with a towel. "We can only analyze based on the performance of number 4 and number 5."
"Hemingguan's defense is indeed very difficult to deal with," commented the second-year ace from Jingtashan, who came on at the end of the game.
"Number 4's blocking anticipation is very accurate," the outside hitter added, "especially his defensive range against cross-court balls is very wide."
The libero nodded: "Number 5's first pass accuracy is quite stable, and there have been almost no direct errors."
"But the most crucial thing is the setter's ball control at Tsurumeikan..." Iizuna stroked his chin thoughtfully.
When it came to Imadegawa's ball-handling, the entire Itayama team fell silent for two seconds.
—Anyone who sees the volleyball suspended in mid-air in the Tsurumeikan videotape will be amazed.
Previously, the setter from Hemingguan was not well-known during his junior high school years, and this IH National Tournament was his debut battle.
Putting aside Imadegawa's almost earth-shattering drop shot, logically speaking, someone with such a grasp of the game's rhythm couldn't have been unknown during junior high.
However, the earliest record they can trace of Imadegawa's connection to volleyball is at most his "miracle serve" in the Kyoto preliminary final.
Yes, media reports after the Kyoto qualifiers focused most on Imadegawa's serves, while there was very little analysis of his primary role as a setter.
The setter from Heming Hall, who is capable of delivering professional-level set balls, was never considered a threat in terms of his passing skills before the national competition.
The middle blocker next to him flipped through the video recordings on his touchscreen phone from yesterday and said with frustration, "The video quality of the recordings I could find was too blurry. I couldn't see the details of his movements when he tipped the ball like that at all."
They had studied it several times yesterday, but after watching the videotape over and over again, they still couldn't find anything special about it.
"According to information provided by schools that have played against them before, the setter from Tsurumeikan has excellent wrist and finger flexibility. When serving and passing, he controls the range of wrist movements very small, which is difficult to observe on the court."
Coach Iitayama closed the tactical board and scanned the players with a sharp gaze: "So we must keep a close eye on his ball-handling motion when passing the ball in the next inning, especially the angle of his wrist fold and the way his fingers exert force."
"Iizuna, you need to keep a close eye on his passing habits."
"Understood!" the Jingtashan team members replied in unison.
At the first referee's whistle, the players from both sides of the final returned to the field.
There's something I've never understood—
"It's Jingtashan's ace," he whispered.
"It's impressive that Heming Hall made it to the finals, but I'd never heard of this school before, not even in the national competition."
“Tsurumeikan was featured in national newspapers during the Kyoto qualifiers.” Iitsuna rotated his wrist to relax his muscles. “It’s probably because you don’t like reading newspapers, so you didn’t pay attention to them.”
"The term 'miracle serve' that the audience chanted in the videotape came from newspapers."
Jingtashan's star student, whose Chinese language grades have consistently hovered on the precarious edge and who reads no newspapers, magazines, or novels other than textbooks: ...
The setter from Tsurumeikan, who was described in the newspapers as having delivered a "miracle serve" and had broken the IH's consecutive serve record a few days earlier, was unsurprisingly substituted by Coach Tsurumeikan in the second set.
He was still standing in position number one.
—This game was served by the Heming Hall team.
Under the watchful eyes of the starting lineup from Jingtashan, Imadegawa grasped the volleyball and stepped towards the service line.
"Beep—"
"Smack—"
As soon as the referee blew his whistle, the volleyball was tossed up and slapped away cleanly by Imadegawa.
Jingtashan's starting lineup's receiving formation instantly fell into disarray.
In the videotapes I've watched over the past few days, the setter at Heming Hall always seems to be serving the ball at the very last second of the eight-second time limit, without rushing.
—Hemingguan loves to use various tactics to put psychological pressure on their opponents, and the last-second serve is one of their tactical methods.
This shot caught Jingtashan off guard, securing a point for Hemingguan.
The Crane Cry Pavilion support group cheered enthusiastically once again.
"Crane Cry Pavilion!! One-hit kill!!!"
"The crane's cry pierces the sky—"
Amidst the deep, resonant sounds of taiko drums and the crisp, clear sounds of gongs, Imadegawa raised his hand to catch the volleyball tossed to him by a player on the sidelines.
"Smack—"
The second serve had almost no spin.
—It's a float ball!
The experienced players from Jingtashan made their judgment.
The volleyball, its trajectory uncertain, flew over the net.
Is it a ball that dips sharply off the net?
—The fast-falling float serve close to the net is a specialty of Heming Hall. The team's setter captain and number 4 middle blocker are both very good at serving this type of float serve.
The starting lineup from Jingtashan had already studied the videotapes.
The players in the front row of Jingtashan slightly bent their knees, ready to sprint and save the ball.
The volleyball whizzed past the eyes of Jingtashan's middle blocker at position three.
Then it lightly swayed past the rice dish in seat number four.
Izuna: ?
etc……
Is this correct?
The yellow and blue sphere bounced merrily to the sideline of position four.
A light, cheerful "tap".
……ah?
Is it reasonable for a float ball to float like this?
That turning angle is almost 60 degrees, isn't it?
The pupils of the three starting players in the front row at Jingtashan trembled violently.
"—A beautiful ace!!!"
The narrator's voice rang out with great enthusiasm.
"—Isn't this a bit too much?"
The Inarizaki players, who hadn't missed a single qualifying match at Tsurumeikan since the Round of 16, voiced the sentiments of the Itayama starters on the field.
"...Theoretically, the probability of a pure float shot producing such a bizarre change of direction is extremely low!"
"The key to this serve lies in Imadegawa's unparalleled control over power and hitting point—making the float serve appear to fly straight in the initial stage, but miraculously deflect to the right in the latter half with irregular swings. You can see it before the volleyball crosses the net; the volleyball clearly has a rightward 'nodding' motion..."
Amidst the detailed explanations and analyses, the Inarizaki group huddled together, discussing animatedly.
Big Ears: "That arc is comparable to a banana kick..."
Ooshiro: "I'd like to ask him how he managed to serve that ball."
Akagi: "The way the float ball spins and creates a trajectory similar to a banana kick is terrifying."
Ace: "I'm sitting too far away, I can't see the volleyball's spin at all."
Setter: "The final has a replay, let's go back and study the spin of this ball."
"Could Coach Kurosu contact Tsurumeikan and arrange a few practice matches?" Ooshiro pondered, stroking his chin. "I really want to play a few more matches against Tsurumeikan. They didn't even show their full strength against us the other day..."
"What if we can't get a match?" Big Ears said. "Isn't Tsurumyoukan supposed to be one of those feudal aristocratic schools in Kyoto? Even the local Kyoto powerhouse schools have never managed to book a practice match with Tsurumyoukan. It'll be even harder for out-of-town schools like ours, right?"
"How about we help Coach Blackbeard and recruit that guy with the wavy hair who knows Captain Tsurumeikan to Inarisaki? With him around, we'll definitely be able to book a practice match with Tsurumeikan next year," Akagi encouraged the Inarisaki team.
“We’ll graduate next year from third grade!” Inarizaki Ace stretched out his arm and wrapped it around Akagi’s shoulder over several people.
He lowered his voice and said in a sinister tone, "Akagi, have you completely forgotten about me, your captain, and your dear senior setter?!"
Akagi:……
"Private Marseille—"
"Then let's force Coach Blackbeard to make Coach Tsurumeikan beg them to play a practice match with us." Akagi blurted out a long string of words without thinking.
Ooshiro and Ooji looked at Akagi with astonishment, their eyes filled with "You're so brave."
“(JGMj) The important task of relaying the message to Director Blackbeard is now entrusted to you.” Ace patted Akagi on the shoulder.
Akagi:?
......
In the field.
Under the increasingly wary gazes of the starting lineup from Jingtashan, Imadegawa spun the volleyball twice in his hands.
Another light, short, floating serve that barely touches the frontcourt sideline.
...This float ball is so obedient!
Besides the float serve, Imadegawa also has seven or eight different compound spin serves.
Imaizuchi can even combine floater and spin ball techniques, making them impossible to defend against.
It is extremely difficult to receive his serve completely and make a proper first pass.
Even if you manage to touch the ball, it will only lightly brush against your arm before flying off in an unpredictable direction.
To have honed an ordinary serve to such an extent, unleashing extraordinary power...
--monster.
The free man from Jingtashan tensed up.
Coach Jingtashan's gaze slanted through the net railing, fixing on the first-year captain behind the Heming Hall's service line.
For the starting players of the volleyball powerhouse Jingtashan, predicting the trajectory of a stationary serve is not difficult—after all, this type of serve can never compare to a powerful jump serve in terms of ball speed.
What's truly challenging is Imadegawa's absolute mastery of volleyball.
The volleyball that slipped from his grasp may seem ordinary, but it actually holds a hidden secret.
The trajectory of the volleyball is precisely calculated, and the landing point is always stuck in the most difficult receiving position for the starting lineup of Jingtashan;
The volleyball's spin was precisely controlled, making it difficult for Jingtashan's starting lineup to control the direction of the bounce even when he touched the ball.
His serve was also just the right amount of power, neither too strong and prone to errors, nor too weak and difficult for the starting players of Jingtashan to use.
Monster rookie...
Supervisor Jingtashan rested his elbows on his knees and sighed heavily.
Another serve came rushing in.
"Floating ball... no!"
The volleyball traced an arc through the air.
This serve was completely different from the previous ones, with a strong spin.
Is it another compound sidespin shot?
What type of compound lateral spin is it?
Jingtashan started by maintaining their receiving formation and making full preparations.
————————
(Rubbing the little ones' paws) (A particularly sleepy day) (I almost fell asleep while writing this at night)
"Crane's Cry Pierces the Sky"*: After much deliberation, the translation of the Crane Sound Hall volleyball club's slogan has been tentatively settled on the four characters "Crane's Cry Pierces the Sky," which sounds concise and powerful (the original phrase also has a nice rhythm when read in Japanese).
Next spring, our Xiaohe will be evolving new techniques—after all, he's aiming to become the strongest setter and server at the level of a "Great Demon King" (although he only scored nine consecutive points from serves in this IH tournament, that's not Xiaohe's ceiling yet). (Of course, the historical record he set is meant to be used to break through his own limits). (Hands on hips)
While browsing videos related to the Men's Volleyball World League, some comments mentioned that many male volleyball players have recently adopted the standing float serve, and its scoring rate is quite high. Indeed, powerful jump serves and jump float serves are the most threatening, especially powerful jump serves which look the most satisfying (smashing down the opposing libero, etc.). However, standing float serves are also very threatening, especially those with unpredictable spin and landing points (yay!).
In my opinion, there's no inherent hierarchy in volleyball technique; with good tactics, even a simple serve or spike can score points. (Hands clasped together)
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