[90] Grade 11: Spring National High School Competition
The subsequent ceremony procedures were largely the same as those for the IH National Championship.
First came a long speech from the organizers, which was nothing more than platitudes such as "promoting the spirit of sports" and "thanking all parties for their support".
The audience listened patiently until the awards ceremony finally began.
When the individual awards for best outside hitter and best setter were presented, the atmosphere in the stands became noticeably more lively.
As each award and name was read out, cheers erupted.
Until the host read out that name:
"Best setter - Hemingguan, Imadekawa Yuzuru!"
Thunderous applause erupted from the audience.
But beneath the applause, there were also some minor objections.
"...No way?"
A boy with a buzz cut couldn't help but mutter to himself.
"Why was it awarded to him again???"
His companion beside him looked equally puzzled. "He's the best setter in IH, he's the best setter in the National Sports Festival, and now he's the best setter in the Spring High School... Is this appropriate?"
A girl in the front row holding a support fan for the Heming Pavilion suddenly turned around, her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed: "If not for Jin Chuchuan, then who should it be for?"
With a flick of her wrist, the three characters "Now Leaving Sichuan" on the fan stood out prominently under the light.
Her friend immediately chimed in, "Exactly! The data speaks for itself. What's there to argue about with Chuan's passing skills now?"
The buzz-cut guy retorted defiantly:
"But the setter from Xiaogu still managed to organize an effective attack despite being at a disadvantage, and his performance today wasn't bad at all..."
"Besides him, there are many other talented but soon-to-graduate contestants who haven't won any awards yet."
"If we let Imadegawa, a first-year student, monopolize all the awards, what will happen to the other setters?"
"What kind of twisted logic is that?" The girl holding the support fan was so angry she laughed. "Just because he's too good, does that mean he has to give up the award to someone else? According to you, we shouldn't take competitions seriously anymore, since we'll just have to give up the award anyway, right?"
The short-haired girl next to the cheering girl also joined in: "Individual awards are based on the overall statistics of the tournament! Imadegawa's total statistics, success rate, and tactical organization points are the highest in the entire tournament, so what's wrong with winning Best Setter?"
“They just have the ability,” the girl’s friend retorted, seizing on the point that the boy with the buzz cut was most upset about: “If we’re going to give up prizes to third-year students for future national competitions, we might as well just base it on seniority, why bother with the competitions!”
The short-haired guy immediately retorted: "He didn't even play in the entire IH National Tournament, so why should he win Best Setter?"
"You—" The girl cheering him on paused, took a deep breath, and asked, "Did you really watch all of this year's IH?"
She pulled her phone from her small bag, tapping the screen heavily with her fingertip, pointing to the statistics she had saved long ago: "He didn't play much, but the percentage of crucial points he brought in each appearance was the highest of the entire tournament! That's the value the judges valued!"
The boy with the buzz cut looked away sullenly.
He didn't actually watch all of this year's IH matches—the IH Heming Hall match at the beginning of the year consisted of too many long defensive games, which were far less entertaining and exciting than matches from other offensive schools.
Therefore, he only watched a few key matches at the Heming Hall tournament.
But the short-haired guy quickly changed the subject, continuing to harp on one point: "So, isn't it a monopoly for him to keep occupying the best setter position? Shouldn't we give other players a chance?"
"Opportunities are earned through strength, not given by others!" the cheering girl retorted, "Do you think this is child's play? Competitive sports are all about the survival of the fittest!"
At this moment, a middle-aged man who had been quietly listening to their argument suddenly spoke up: "Young man, you're wrong about that."
"Do you know why the judges unanimously chose Jin Chuchuan? It's not just because his stats are impressive."
The middle-aged man gave several examples: "In the quarterfinals of the Spring High School tournament, at the crucial moment of the third set, it was Imadegawa who scored directly with three consecutive variations of his serve. In the semifinals of the International High School tournament, he made a last-minute tactical adjustment and opened up the game with a second attack..."
With each word he spoke, the buzz-cut man's face stiffened a little more.
"...the contributions made at these crucial moments cannot be fully reflected in the statistics."
The middle-aged man looked at the buzz-cut boy meaningfully, "Besides, do you think the judges are all blind?"
The boy with the buzz cut opened his mouth, but found himself speechless.
He only watched a few exciting matches and had no idea that Imadegawa had made so many crucial contributions in previous games.
The cheering girl pressed her advantage: "Now you understand? It's not that he (FIlf) is hogging the spot, it's that nobody can challenge him!"
The boy with the buzz cut turned his face away and didn't say anything more.
The minor disputes in the audience were like ripples on the water, drowned out by the huge cheers, and did not affect the steady progress of the awards ceremony.
Jin Chuchuan calmly and gracefully stepped onto the steps leading to the award stage.
The spotlight followed his figure, casting a faint halo over his white team uniform.
"Well deserved." The award presenter said, handing him the certificate with undisguised praise.
Jin Chuchuan bowed slightly and accepted the certificate with both hands: "Thank you."
Meanwhile, the discussion in the audience continued, but the topic had quietly shifted—
"However, Imadegawa did organize the attack on Tsurumeikan very well."
"And he's only in first grade... It's really rare to have such a broad perspective at such a young age."
"If no new figure emerges next year, he will probably continue to monopolize this award."
Not far away, several volleyball school supervisors who knew each other were also whispering among themselves:
"What's most admirable about this child is his composure," commented one of the elderly men with gray hair. "Look at his expression when he accepted the award; there was absolutely no arrogance typical of young people who achieve success at a young age."
"Indeed," the woman beside him nodded in agreement.
She is the head coach of the women's volleyball team at a top volleyball school in Tokyo, and is related to the previous elderly woman.
"This mentality is more commendable than his skill on the court."
Amidst the cacophony of sounds, Imadegawa, carrying the award that symbolized the highest personal honor, returned steadily to the Tsurumeikan group.
In the individual awards segment, to Imadegawa's slight surprise, Aoyagi also won the Best Middle Blocker award, in addition to him.
This was completely unexpected by Imadegawa and Little Fat Bird.
The national competition's data statistics have always been known for their fairness and impartiality.
Each award is based on detailed and objective match data—from passing success rate and tactical execution efficiency to contribution value in key moments, every indicator has undergone rigorous quantitative analysis.
The judging panel consists of retired athletes, senior coaches, and professional analysts to ensure that each award truly reflects the athlete's overall performance throughout the competition.
Principal Bird had already entered these selection criteria into the system's data model library before the semi-finals.
After comprehensively considering the historical data and current competitive state of all players at Tsurumyoukan, as well as the strength distribution of their opponents, Principal Kotori ultimately deduced that only Imadegawa from Tsurumyoukan could consistently win the Best Setter award for the third time.
The other SSR players also have a chance to win individual awards, but as the performance data of each player gradually stabilizes after each match, their prospects for winning awards become clearer.
For example, Akiyama's wildly fluctuating serve success rate severely dragged down his overall evaluation.
While Koizumi performed well on the defensive end, his offensive intensity was never particularly outstanding.
Saotome and Aoyagi, on the other hand, performed quite well.
Saotome's first pass accuracy rate is consistently among the top in the country, and his defense creates numerous counter-attack opportunities for the team.
Aoyagi's blocking efficiency and number of effective blocks have jumped into the top three among middle blockers.
However, whether they can win individual awards is secondary to Xiaofeijiu; what matters most is whether Imadegawa can win an individual award.
Imadegawa won three Best Individual awards, which was part of their plan to increase their visibility.
In fact, the tactical arrangements for the Spring High School also emphasized the idea of "going out of Sichuan today".
Before the end of the second set of the final, Little Chubby had already estimated that Imadegawa was almost certain to win the Best Setter award, so it started paying attention to the real-time increase in popularity during the live broadcast.
So, after the last game, Principal Bird, busy checking the increase in popularity, neglected to enter the statistics of the last game into the database for analysis.
Ironically, in the final set, Aoyagi's blocking points and effective support statistics surpassed the original leader by a narrow margin.
As a result, Aoyagi unexpectedly won the award.
"This is a pleasant surprise." Imadegawa nodded slightly, revealing an approving expression.
Aoyagi was still in a daze of winning the award, her hands trembling slightly as she held the medal.
He opened his mouth, as if to say something to Imadegawa.
A pitiful voice interrupted what he was about to say.
"Let me touch it..."
Akiyama, filled with envy, moved closer to Aoyagi, staring longingly at the gleaming medal.
Aoyagi didn't say anything, but silently handed the medal forward.
Akiyama understood what he meant, so he extended his index finger and carefully stroked the edge of the medal.
After touching it a couple of times, he recoiled as if he'd been electrocuted.
Seeing this, Imadegawa's eyes flashed with a smile: "Next time it will be your turn."
Akiyama looked up abruptly, his eyes lighting up: "Really?"
"If you could improve your serve success rate further," Imadegawa gestured at him from a distance.
Akiyama was instantly filled with fighting spirit. He clenched his fist and said, "I'll go back and practice a thousand more serves!"
"Minato!!! Go back and keep practicing with me—"
Koizumi turned his head away, utterly dejected.
Aoyagi finally snapped out of his daze.
He took a deep breath, carefully put away the medal, and then turned to Imadegawa.
“Xihe,” his voice still trembled slightly, “Next year… next year we’ll win an award together again.”
Imadegawa gazed at Aoyagi's slightly flushed cheeks and nodded gently: "Of course."
"—It's not just about individual awards."
His gaze swept across the crowd and landed on the podium where the team award would be presented.
"Next year, we will continue to win the team championship trophy."
Aoyagi nodded emphatically.
"Um!!!"
The presentation of the group awards and the interviews were unremarkable.
Finally, it was time for the usual group photo.
Imaizumi held the base of the trophy in the center, while Saotome, Aoyagi, Akiyama Koizumi, and others also reached out to support the trophy.
The group of teenagers raised the trophy high.
The golden championship trophy gleamed under the lights.
The first year of high school at Heming Hall has thus come to a perfect end.
————————!!————————
(Sucking claws——————)
Xiaohe's first year of high school is over—I will start writing about her daily life from her second year of high school.
The next chapter will directly pick up where we left off in the second year of high school, hehe—
However, I still don't have any clue about daily routines.
But the new SSR junior already has an idea.
————The following are random thoughts unrelated to the article content————
I originally planned to finish the update I missed during my period during the National Day holiday, but I'm not sure if I can write it during the holiday. If I can't, I'll save it for later and make it up on a day in October.
There's been so much going on since I went home for National Day. Talking to my parents is exhausting; we even had a fight a few days after I got back. I hope we won't fight again tomorrow, the Mid-Autumn Festival.
I feel like I've been saving up comments for ages. I'll reply to them one of the next day or two. These three comments in the last few days have really drained me (depressed).
Finally, I'll probably have to take one day off each month to not update, because it's really hard for me to write on the first day of my period. I'm in so much pain that I feel dizzy and lightheaded. But it depends on the situation. If I can write something, I will try my best.
The reason I missed writing the September update was because of this situation, and I also forgot to ask for leave because I overslept after taking medication (bowing deeply).
If I really can't write this due to my period, I will ask for leave in advance to avoid wasting my time.
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