[4] Grade 11: Kyoto Preliminaries
Asahi-cho ended Tsurumeikan's No. 4 middle blocker's serve on the sixth point.
It was another round of passing, saving, and spiking.
Even though Asahi Town tried their best to catch up, the score difference in the early stages was too large, and the new middle blocker at Tsurumeikan was quite capable.
The final score was 25-18, and Hemingguan won the match 2-1 to advance.
Due to the tight schedule, all schools had to play two matches a day during the group stage of the Kyoto qualifiers in the first few days. Only in the single-match format after entering the quarterfinals would the players get sufficient rest.
During the group stage, school supervisors typically rotate substitute players to cope with the packed schedule.
Like a regular school, the players at Heming Hall rotate in every game.
One game, two games, three games...
Through the trials and tribulations of each match, the players are growing rapidly.
Tsurumeikan also made it step by step to the quarterfinals, semifinals, and the final round of the Kyoto qualifiers.
The night before the final.
The members of the Yamazaki Tachibana volleyball team sat in a circle.
"We're playing against Heming Hall tomorrow, everyone should know that, right?"
Although it was phrased as an inquiry, Coach Yamazaki Tachibana knew that his team couldn't possibly ignore tomorrow's opponent.
As a powerhouse school in Kyoto Prefecture that consistently ranks among the national tournament participants, the Yamazaki Tachibana Volleyball Club is highly regarded by the school and popular among students.
Despite the rigorous training of the volleyball club, many students are still willing to go through fire and water to participate in the volleyball club, which has resulted in the formation of Team One, Team Two, and Team Three.
The increased number of members in clubs has intensified the competition, and coupled with the "merit-based" selection criteria, the regular players feel a strong sense of crisis.
Before each year's national tournament, Coach Yamazaki Tachibana selects the top 15 players from rigorous training to qualify for the preliminary rounds. After qualifying for the national tournament, the three weakest players are eliminated, and the remaining 12 players form a team to participate in the national tournament.
If any of these 15 players make a major mistake during the competition, they will be removed from the starting lineup immediately after the end of this round of the competition and will be ineligible for the next round of the national competition.
"learn!"
"Very clear."
The players responded sparsely.
"The match at Heming Hall ended earlier than ours today, so you probably haven't seen their playing style yet."
"Their playing style is quite interesting. Their attack is not particularly aggressive, but they have a well-developed defensive system with a very stable backline. No matter how strong the opponent is, they can wear them down with their stable backline."
"During the group stage, the attackers of a few schools were worn down by Tsurumeikan on the court. The four Kyoto schools that played against them today called them 'the ultimate defense that can't be dunked on'."
Director Tachibana Yamazaki tapped the screen.
"Before this, Hemingguan had never participated in any major tournaments or practice matches, so it was difficult to find information about the players. I used my connections to get videotapes of Hemingguan's previous matches, so you should take a good look at them."
......
"It's a bit tough, but it seems like we can break through."
The supervisor was called away by the club teacher and left temporarily. The volleyball team members, who will participate in the finals tomorrow, continued to discuss while watching the videotape.
The fierce competition within the team did not affect the camaraderie among the starters. Coach Tachibana Yamazaki did a perfect balance in managing the sense of crisis, providing ample incentives in addition to the excessive pressure.
"Of these matches, only the semi-final is worth watching again. The group stage matches were not worth watching at all. I couldn't see any tactical arrangements at all. They won only because their libero kept the ball from hitting the ground."
"Yamazaki Tachibana's mind, the third-year starting setter, is quite blunt," he said.
"The game was very chaotic. It was obvious that the players at Heming Hall lacked teamwork, like a group of freshmen who had only been playing together for a short time."
The second-year starting middle blocker added, "The outside hitters aren't very noticeable. The scoring relies entirely on the setter and the middle blockers' quick attacks and blocks. Once the front row middle blockers rotate to the back, Heming Hall is more likely to lose points."
The free agent added quietly, "It seems like the free agent from Heming Hall doesn't have enough stamina. He always plays in the second game during the group stage, and in the best-of-five knockout stage, he only plays a maximum of three games. The video doesn't show his specific condition, but I feel that his strength is more than that."
"Both the quarterfinals and the semifinals at Heming Hall went to five sets, and we advanced to the group stage with a score of 2-1 in both. Although they looked like they were very tough, I don't know why, but something just feels off." The second-year ace attacker frowned.
"The setter at Heming Hall isn't good enough," the setter paused, "not that he's incompetent, his passing ability is quite decent, but he can't control the entire Heming Hall—"
He stopped.
Faced with questioning looks from his teammates, the setter thought for a moment and then said, "What I mean is, he's not doing enough in terms of moving the players around at Heming Hall. He's being too slow... The libero could actually control him."
"He could definitely be a starter in a regular school, but in a top team he would at most be a substitute."
"A good setter is a huge boost to the team. As the hub connecting the team, Hemingguan's starting setter did not perform well enough. That's why I said earlier that they won because of their libero. Without the libero, Hemingguan would never have made it to the finals."
As the discussion progressed, the topic suddenly veered off course.
"Their libero is really amazing. He had no experience in major tournaments before, yet he made it to the finals of the qualifiers in his first year. He's not to be underestimated," exclaimed a first-year substitute middle blocker.
"Making it to the finals on their first major tournament experience, what a classic underdog school!" another substitute middle blocker chimed in.
The starting libero, now in his third year, said with some envy: "Maybe the libero from Tsurumeikan can become the strongest libero in Kyoto this year."
"Will our school arrange a practice match with this school later?" the setter suddenly asked.
"That's Heming Hall!" The setter said, resting her chin on her hand with longing. "If I could arrange a practice match with their school, I would definitely want to explore their campus thoroughly."
"Why are you so excited, senior?" The two first-year vice attackers looked at each other, puzzled.
When we arranged practice matches with the top four schools in the country, their senior setters didn't react this strongly.
“You two aren’t locals, so you wouldn’t know.” The ace attacker, biting the straw of his water glass, explained vaguely, “Tsurumeikan is the ‘University of Tokyo’ in the hearts of us Kyoto people. The students there are all ‘geniuses,’ not only good at studying, but also proficient in all kinds of elegant talents. Moreover, Tsurumeikan is very ‘aloof’ towards schools like ours, never approving any joint school activity applications, and not even allowing outsiders to visit the school festival. We locals are quite curious about this school.”
"In addition, they never recruit students from the public, only by invitation, which makes them seem very mysterious." The senior setter added with a smile, "Like Hoeze from Kyoto Prefecture, we Muggles all want to go there, but they only give admission tickets to 'geniuses'."
"So I really want to see the cradle of 'geniuses'..."
——————
The Heming volleyball hall was still brightly lit tonight.
After completing today's training plan and arranging tomorrow's tactics, Imadegawa Yuzuru prepared to buy a bottle of hot milk from the vending machine.
“Yuzu”.
A clear voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Chihaya?"
Now, Chu Chuan looks in the direction from which the sound came out.
The pink-haired free agent crossed his arms and leaned half his body against the wall. After stopping Imadegawa, he didn't say anything more.
Imaizuchi patiently inquired, "Is there something you need?"
"......"
Saotome Chihaya didn't speak. He tilted his head, his lotus-colored pupils looking at me inquiringly, and then staring directly at Imadegawa Yuzuru.
The atmosphere was somewhat tense (jdDC).
Jin Chuchuan sighed.
"If there's nothing else, I'll be going now."
After he turned around, a low voice came from behind him.
"...I don't understand."
We stopped our journey out of Sichuan.
"I don't understand!!!"
The libero's voice suddenly rose: "Why aren't you playing?"
"If you didn't play before to give those useless players experience, then why didn't you play in the quarterfinals, semifinals, and tomorrow's final?!"
"Why!!!"
The golden-eyed captain said coldly, "There's no need."
Saotome Chihaya stared intently at Imadegawa's back.
The volleyball court's temperature and humidity control system was excellent, but the libero shivered at that moment.
“In every previous practice session, we worked together very well.”
The free man's voice was choked with emotion.
"You know perfectly well..."
"I want to play a match with you too!!!"
"...not as a tool in your hands."
The captain, who had his back to him, slowly turned around. The ends of his white hair, which gradually turned crimson, swayed gently, stinging the eyes of the free agent.
His indifferent gaze fell once more on the free man, his tone flat and straightforward:
"Chihaya."
What are you afraid of?
————————
Oops, I made a mistake. I'll only be able to write about the final match against Yamazaki Tachibana in the next chapter.
Aside from the name, everything else about Yamazaki Tachibana is a personal creation. The name comes from the Kyoto school that qualified for the 2012 Spring National High School Championship in Haikyuu!!
Information unlocked:
Imadegawa Yūzuru (Imadegawa Yūzuru)
Taken from the Noh play "Evening Crane," the crane soars in the twilight sky, a metaphor for the fleeting and the eternal.
Nickname: Yuzu, a shortened form of the pronunciation of Yuzu (柚子).
Saotome Chihaya (さおとめちはや/ Saotome Chihaya)
Taken from "Ogura Hyakunin Isshu": "Senhō fūru kamidai mo kikazu..." (in praise of the miracles of the age of gods), "Senhō" means sacred and swift.
Nickname: Haya, the latter half of the pronunciation of 千早, which can be associated with the Romanization of 速い (hayai, meaning 'fast').
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