[84] Grade 11: Spring National High School Competition
"Xiaogu is doomed."
The third-year free agent from Jingtashan looked at the field and suddenly said something.
"How so?" The second-year ace from Jingtashan immediately adopted a listening posture, his eyes shining, revealing a serious and inquisitive expression.
He took the analysis of this senior who would officially embark on his professional volleyball career after graduating from high school very seriously.
Although Iizuna, who was sitting on the other side, didn't say anything, he also subtly pricked up his ears.
He leaned forward slightly, clearly paying close attention to his senior's analysis.
This spring's high school competition saw three schools from the Tokyo region qualify for the national tournament: two representative schools and one opening school. These schools are Itayama, Furutani, and Tomi.
The tournament groupings placed Tomi and Tsurumeikan in the same half of the draw.
As expected, Tomi faced Tsurumeikan in the round of 16 and was eliminated early on with a clean and decisive defeat, failing to cause any further commotion.
Meanwhile, the two Tokyo powerhouse teams, Fukutani and Itayama, were placed in the other half of the bracket.
This means that they will not be able to face the fledgling Hemingguan team before the finals.
The grouping of Xiaogu and Jingtashan in the bracket meant that these two schools would not meet until the semifinals.
In the semi-final match between Jingtashan and Xiaogu, Jingtashan lost by a narrow margin. Xiaogu won the match with a score of 3:1, followed by close scores of 25:21, 25:27, 25:23, and 29:27, securing his place in the final.
Even though they lost the semifinals, the members of the Jingshan Volleyball Club did not miss the final.
—The battle for third place between Itayama and his team and Inarisaki High School, a powerhouse in Hyogo Prefecture, was concluded on the morning of the final day.
Now all the students on the list of participating schools in the Spring High School are sitting in the audience, waiting for the final to end so they can go through the usual process of awarding prizes and lining up to close the competition.
The free spirits of Jingtashan leaned back in their chairs, their calm demeanor completely out of place with the lively atmosphere.
He gestured with his chin toward the rest area of the Owl Valley team, signaling his teammates to pay attention.
"Have you seen the status of Ace of the Owl Valley?"
Following instructions, Izuna looked toward the Owl Valley rest area.
The wooden rabbit, who had been dominating the field just moments before, now seemed to have lost all its energy and sat listlessly on the bench.
He was so listless that he almost faded into a black and white paper doll, a stark contrast to his teammates who were trying to cheer him up.
The voice of the free agent from Jingta Mountain rang out calmly, with an air of indifference: "In Xiaogu's entire offensive system, their ace is practically half a core."
"When Mokuto is in good form and his touch is on fire, Xiaogu can compete with any strong team in the country; but once Mokuto's form declines or he is targeted by the opponent, Xiaogu's offensive firepower will be halved."
He thought of yesterday's defeat, his tone still calm: "The reason they were able to snatch the final spot from us yesterday was largely due to Mutu's unreasonable and extraordinary performance at the crucial moment."
"To some extent, the core of their offensive tactics is very similar to the tactics of Shiratorizawa in Miyagi Prefecture, which relied on Ushijima Wakatoshi. Both are built around an absolutely powerful ace."
"But Fukutani is smarter than Shiratorizawa, and overall more difficult to deal with," he said, changing the subject. "Their defensive resilience and offensive-defensive coordination are stronger than Shiratorizawa's, and their setter is also more composed and better at coordinating teammates than Shiratorizawa's first-year rookie. It is because of these factors that Fukutani went further than Shiratorizawa, making it all the way to the semifinals and defeating us. Shiratorizawa, on the other hand, could only stop at the round of 16."
"but--"
"Their current opponent is the Crane Cry Hall."
At this point in his analysis, Jingtashan, the free agent, seemed to recall his duel with Hemingguan during IH, and clicked his tongue slightly in displeasure.
"That Imadegawa from Tsurumeikan is not someone to be trifled with."
Having already been recruited by a professional team and had prior contact with professional players, Itayama Freeman has gained a deeper understanding of Imadegawa's skill level.
Whether it's his professional-level ball control or his mastery of the game's rhythm, these are skills that ordinary high school players cannot completely master.
Before they came into contact with professional teams, the Itayama liberos were actually more afraid of Tsurumikan's impeccable defense than Imadegawa, and they also had some envy and jealousy towards Tsurumikan libero—first-year student Saotome Chihaya.
To play such a good defense for the school team in his first year and win the national best libero award—
This kind of volleyball career experience is something that only appears in novels.
Moreover, this junior free agent has a striking feature similar to that of a Jump protagonist—his height is less than 1.6 meters.
While liberos are typically the shortest players on a volleyball team, surely they shouldn't be this short?
And how on earth does this guy manage to cover such a large defensive area with such a short frame?
There was no spot in the nine-square-foot court of Tsurumeikan that Saotome couldn't defend.
Sometimes, even in areas that should have been defended by number 10 or 12 of the Tsurumyoukan (I can't remember the exact number), Saotome would calmly hold her breath and shout, "I'll take it!" and then rush up to receive a solid pass.
Until the national spring high school entrance exam, in order to prepare in advance, Itayama collected the videotapes of Tsurumekan's spring high school entrance exam preliminaries again because there was a possibility of facing Tsurumekan again.
Meanwhile, Itayama and a group of teammates sat in the video room, watching Saotome, who slid sideways and then used her shoulder blade to lift the volleyball, during the final of the Spring High School Volleyball Championship preliminaries.
The free man from Jingtashan gritted his teeth.
That save was absolutely absurd!
So he really does live in some Jump shonen manga based on this guy, right?!
......
A free man's eyes can only hold other free men in the same position.
For a long time, in the mind of the libero Itayama, Saotome was almost the benchmark for the younger generation of liberos, the most important reference point for him on the field, and the imaginary rival he couldn't let go of even when he tossed and turned at night.
However, this focused scrutiny was quietly shattered by an experience shortly before the start of the Spring High School National Tournament.
At that time, the Jingtashan free agent had already been recruited by a professional team and was given the opportunity to experience the first team's training for three days in advance.
That brief but impactful experience as a professional volleyball player opened another window for him. <(ZaMz)br>
Although he couldn't train with the starters of professional teams at the time, he only trained with the substitutes and some other "newcomers" who had also been recruited.
But he witnessed firsthand how those real monsters played, and it wasn't just a difference in technique, but also in their understanding of the game and their grasp of timing.
Looking back at the high school arena from that broader, higher perspective, he was shocked to realize that if he were really living in some kind of shonen manga, Saotome wouldn't even be considered the protagonist.
Although Saotome's defensive range was astonishingly large, although her reactions were as fast as if she had taken some kind of accelerator, although her first pass was as stable as a robot's...
Although Saotome Chihaya was someone even he had to admit was exceptionally talented—
but,
Saotome's defense seemed more like the "strongest shield" that existed to compensate for a certain tactical system; his accurate first pass seemed to be to perfectly execute someone's will; his never-give-up diving saves were to hand over the opportunity for a counterattack to that person without reservation.
If Tsurumeikan really is the "main character group" in this shonen manga.
Therefore, the true, unique, and undisputed protagonist will never be the libero guarding the backcourt, nor even the attackers who conquer the Crane Cry Pavilion.
It will only be the one standing at the net, calmly observing the entire battlefield with golden eyes that seem to see through everything, connecting everyone's talents like threads, guiding them to their most brilliant bloom—
The setter at Heming Hall is Imadegawa Yuzuru.
He is the absolute core who controls the team's rhythm, determines the team's ceiling, and makes all teammates revolve around him.
The free agent from Jingta Mountain couldn't help but glance at the golden-eyed boy who was directing the game with complicated emotions.
Then he looked away and continued his analysis to the younger generation.
"Also, pay attention to the expression of setter Xiaogu, and the expressions of the other team members."
Izuna's gaze immediately shifted to Fukutani, the third-year setter.
Even the usually composed Command Tower commander couldn't help but show a hint of disorientation on his face.
His brows were furrowed, and his eyes revealed struggle and helplessness.
Even the command tower was shaken, let alone the other team members on the field.
Their faces were filled with anxiety, as if they had lost their leader.
The Jingtashan members witnessed all of this.
Finally, the free spirit of Jingtashan concluded:
"The ace has gone out of action, the command tower is crumbling, and morale is shattered—"
"Therefore, it's unlikely they'll win this game."
......
"Therefore, it's estimated that it will be very difficult for Xiaogu to win this round."
"That's what the Eagle Artisan supervisor concluded."
Shiratorizawa's first-year ace, Ushijima Wakatoshi, went directly from Shiratorizawa's junior high school to the senior high school.
Because he led Shiratorizawa to great success across the country during junior high school, Coach Washi quickly transitioned the volleyball team's tactics to center around Wakatoshi Ushijima after he was promoted to high school.
As the sharpest spear in Shiratorizawa, Ushijima and Bokuto clashed several times across the country during their junior high school years.
Both were prominent and powerful outside hitters at the time, and they were quite familiar with each other's playing styles and characteristics.
Therefore, Shiratorizawa's understanding of Bokuto is far deeper than that of most of his opponents.
They were acutely aware of the wooden rabbit's strengths and weaknesses.
That offense that relies too much on feel and form, that unstable mentality that easily gets extremely excited when things are going well and falls into a brief period of confusion when things are going badly...
All of this was analyzed by the Washi-taku supervisor after communicating with the junior high school supervisor, based on the videotapes of Furutani.
Although Shiratorizawa and Fukutani have not yet met in the national high school competition, analyzing strong teams is something every school that wants to go further does.
Having analyzed Bokuto's personality flaws, Coach Washi once again praised his ace player, Ushijima Wakatoshi, to the head coach of his own volleyball team in private.
It's such a wonderful thing that such a calm and collected child is in Shiratorizawa!
Although Kotaro Bokuto's offensive capabilities are quite good, Coach Washi Takumi doesn't dare to imagine how twisted he would become if this kid were really under his command.
The stern-faced and somewhat fierce-looking supervisor, the Eagle Carver, was simply no match for the child.
Watching Owl Valley's Dark Road Supervisor repeatedly encourage Bokuto's movements, Washi Takumi's supervisor sighed sincerely.
Anro, he's really a great supervisor!
————————!!————————
(Patting the little ones' paws—) Lay down, Owl Valley is almost over—
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