[59] Grade 11: Spring National High School Competition
"Bang,"
Although the ball was attacked from the front row, it was still held up by the diving save of the third-year libero, Tomi.
However, the angle of the rescue was a bit out of control, and the volleyball drew a stiff straight line, flying directly towards the top of the net.
The first-year setter, Izumi Senjima, reacted extremely quickly at the net, immediately jumping forward to try and block the "tip ball" that was about to cross the net.
He stretched out his arm, trying to reach the ball in order to readjust.
—But it was still a step too slow.
Just like a few seconds ago when the volleyball grazed the air above Takachiho and Hiroo's fingertips, this time the volleyball grazed Sakishima's fingertips again.
This volleyball, which never hit the ground, once again became a scoring opportunity for Heming Hall.
The brown-haired middle blocker who had just spiked the ball started again. He took two steps to the right from his spiking position, then jumped into the air with his arms raised high.
"Smack!"
The sound of the volleyball hitting the palm is crisp and clear.
"Thump!"
The volleyball made a heavy sound as it hit the ground.
He slammed the ball into Tomi's front zone.
"yeah--!!!"
After successfully spiked the ball and landed steadily, Kenjiro Akiyama clenched his fist and jumped up and down excitedly, his face beaming with undisguised joy.
"Score!!"
Akiyama swayed back and forth happily in front of the net, his bright brown eyes sparkling as he looked at Aoyagi and Imadegawa: "How was it? Did I spike it beautifully?"
Aoyagi, who was already used to his harassment, didn't even turn her head, but simply replied, "Yes, it's very beautiful."
"Great, great~" Imadegawa affirmed with a smile.
"Yes~" Akiyama was satisfied with the response from his teammates and clenched his fist again, making a small wave.
After communicating with his teammates, Akiyama turned to look at Tomi, the libero, on the other side of the net.
The tall, imposing middle blocker said sincerely, "I almost made a mistake, but thankfully, my senior, Tomi, gave me a second chance!!! It would have been so embarrassing if I hadn't scored on the first ball Kozuru gave me—"
"Thank you so much, senior freelancer!!!"
Hu Mei, a freelancer: ...
Captain Tomi: ...
general:……
Sakishima: ...
The three people behind Tomi and the front row who were trying to save the tip shot both froze.
After Tomi was attacked by Akiyama's superb attack in the front row and failed to save Akiyama's spike, Takachiho and Hiroo's faces instantly fell down at a visible speed, and a low pressure almost materialized around them.
"...Is he provoking us?"
Hiroo still looked listless and dispirited, but his drooping eyelids couldn't hide the fierce glint in his dark pupils.
"..."
Sakishima hesitated for a moment.
He replied somewhat uncertainly, "Is that so?"
The expression on the middle blocker's face was so sincere that it seemed almost like a genuine and honest sincerity.
But the things he said were so vicious...
—This is definitely trash talk directed at them on purpose, right? It must be, right?
The incongruity created by Akiyama's sincere expression and his diametrically opposed words twisted into a sharp thorn that pierced the nerves of Tomi and the others.
—You know, it's always been their Tomi who, through their cunning on the fringes of the rules and their occasional trash talk, disrupts their opponents' mentality and throws off the rhythm of the game.
When will it be someone else's turn to use this seemingly innocent but actually infuriating method to return the same trick to them?
Hu Mei, who considered herself to have the best temper, stopped the freelancer, who was in the same grade, class, and department as her, and with whom she had known for nearly three years, from starting to spit fire.
"Get ready—" he said. "The next service game is the 'miracle serve'."
The libero, upon hearing the captain's words, suddenly turned his gaze to Imadegawa, who had become the number one player after the rotation.
The first-year captain of the Crane Sound Hall was walking towards the service line with his back to the net, catching the volleyball thrown by a player on the sidelines.
His back view was calm, and his action of catching the volleyball was also unhurried.
Like the calm and collected silhouette of the player before each serve to the opposing half of the court, as seen in the baseline videotapes of the Crane Sound Hall.
The libero could almost see what was about to happen—the setter from Heming Hall would twist his toes at the service line, face them, and casually serve a variety of complex sidespin and float balls with unpredictable trajectories and bizarre landing points, which he had studied in videotapes.
Seeing the terrifying expressions on her captain's and libero senior's faces that said, "If you can't break the 'miracle serve,' you might as well commit seppuku.", Takachiho shuddered.
——————
The Tsurumeikan support group, which traveled to Tokyo, has been completely transformed, just like the Tsurumeikan volleyball club, thanks to Imadegawa's tireless efforts in "card drawing" and management over the past six months.
Standing in the half of the support seats at the Crane Sound Hall is a truly magnificent team.
Among them are singers with a wide vocal range and clear, melodious voices, performers proficient in multiple instruments and skilled in fingering, and conductors with an excellent sense of rhythm and top-notch ability to create atmosphere...
—They are all a talented group carefully selected from a large pool of candidates by the Student Union's Support Department.
This lineup is more than capable of supporting sports clubs in high school competitions, and it could even help them achieve a top ranking in national competitions.
Even in the early rounds of the Spring High School Musical, some audience members who had experienced the support from the Tsurumeikan cheering squad joked that if this cheering squad were to go to the Tokyo Metropolitan Theater and perform, some knowledgeable audience members might be willing to pay for their tickets.
Therefore, compared to the somewhat immature cheering style of the IH National Tournament, the current Tsurumeikan cheering squad, even in Tomi's home stadium of Tokyo, can hold their own against the clamor of cheering for their opponents at the start of the game.
As for completely overshadowing Tomi's support in terms of momentum...
With such a large audience of Tokyo locals in the stadium, it was a rather challenging task.
If the school playing against Tomi were from another prefecture, these local spectators might have offered polite cheers in response to the atmosphere created by the cheering squad.
Or, like the match between Tsurumeikan and schools from other prefectures a few days ago, the onlookers might cheer based on the real-time situation, or they might favor the stronger side—Tsurumeikan—and cheer for them.
But standing opposite Tokyo Tomi at this moment is Tsurumeikan from Kyoto.
Even though Tsurumeikan High School is this year's IH National Volleyball Championship champion, this team comes from Kyoto—
Between the old capital and the new capital, there is always a subtle, unspoken rivalry.
Therefore, when the Heming Hall team officially entered the stadium and the cheering squad played the Heming Hall school song again, most of the passersby (non-volleyball enthusiasts) behind the cheering seats remained silent.
This brief silence did not affect the dedication of the Crane Cry Pavilion support team members in the slightest.
They continued to play their unique school song with great enthusiasm.
—The origin of this school song can be traced back to the last IH competition.
Principal Xiao Niao suddenly realized that Crane Cry Hall did not yet have a school song, but he could not afford to spend money to hire a master of national level to compose lyrics and music for it in the world. In the eyes of outsiders, Crane Cry Hall was already a mature and profound school. How could it not have its own school song?
Therefore, the school song of Tsurumeikan was actually created after the IH competition. It was created by a group of people working together, including the "R-card volleyball coach" with SSR talent in classical music who was discovered by Imadegawa from the volleyball coach pool, the "SR-card volleyball coach" with SSR talent in lyrics, and several other "volleyball coaches" with SR talent.
These "volleyball coaches" have now officially taken up positions as music course instructors at Heming Hall, and also serve as instructors for several music-related departments.
The school song of Heming Hall, composed by several highly musically talented "volleyball coaches," is not rousing, but carries a unique ancient capital charm. It is solemn and elegant, like a calm river that slowly flows over the stadium, strangely suppressing the noise in the stands before the start of the game.
Even a general who has no particular preference for modern or classical music can hear the profound meaning and weight behind the school song of Heming Hall.
It's a pity that Tomi served first in the first game against Tsurumeikan, otherwise the Tsurumeikan cheering squad would have had more room to perform, just like in the previous days when they played against other schools—the rules of the tournament allow for more cheering time and fewer restrictions on the first serve.
The moment Imadegawa, holding a volleyball, slowly walked towards the service area, all the preparations made by the support team over the past six months erupted once again.
Suddenly, the sound of drums and gongs rang out from the cheering stands.
These sounds were not chaotic noises, but rather a few highly rhythmic ringing sounds.
Like a battle cry from ancient times, it resonated in the gaps between everyone's heartbeats, instantly pushing the atmosphere to a tense peak.
With his back to the support seats, Imadegawa took a half step forward with his left foot, his heel firmly planted on the floor.
Step back with your right foot to support your body weight.
It's a very standard starting position. Imadegawa has practiced it thousands of times at the Tsurumeikan, and his muscles have long since formed a memory for it.
Now, his left hand, now out of Sichuan, steadily holds the volleyball, his fingertips feeling the familiar texture of the ball—this touch is the only real anchor point.
His lowered gaze was focused on the yellow and blue sphere.
The world has shrunk, leaving only this.
— Serving, unlike spiking or setting the ball while on the court, cannot rely on teamwork and support to score points.
There are no teammates to rely on, and no second chances to make adjustments.
The focus is no longer on a specific player or position, but on an abstract, conceptual "gap" or "weakness" on the opponent's field.
That was an attack point that had to be discovered and resolutely executed independently.
All the techniques, all the training, all the tactical intentions must ultimately be condensed into this one and only swing of the arm.
All the technical groundwork laid over the past six months since leaving Sichuan has once again culminated in a spectacular performance on the national stage.
Throw the ball!!!
The wrist joint is slightly tensed backward.
He pushed his left hand upwards with a slow and deliberate motion.
The volleyball left my hand, flying vertically upwards, neither too high nor too low.
—That's exactly the perfect point it can reach.
Time seemed to stretch out at that moment; Imadegawa could clearly see the ball slowly spinning upwards, reaching the top of the arc, and then...
It began to fall.
Now!
The right arm, pulled back like a fully drawn bowstring, drives the shoulder and swings the arm forward!
The power bursts forth from the roots beneath the feet, travels through the twisting waist and abdomen, reaches the arms, and finally condenses in the outstretched, slightly concave, semi-circular palm.
"Smack!"
————————!!————————
(Patting the little ones' paws~) I've been too busy three times, so I'll probably only be able to check comments every few days from now on. (Lying down exhausted)
Regarding Xiao Xian in this chapter—our Xian Bao wasn't spouting trash talk, he's just a naturally naive and clueless idiot who doesn't understand social cues, but surprisingly, he's very restrained towards the fans and Minato (Minato-chan who's being tortured).
Although Xiaoxian has a jump of 5 and strength of 4, his intelligence is only 2. Although he has strong physical talent and can easily hit high balls, he is actually a very easy player to predict (so it's hard for our intelligence 2 Xiaoxian to block Kominato's spikes). (pointing and commenting)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
