"Alas!"
Haruto Kyunai, who had just been blocked, looked dejected.
"Is the opponent really too strong?"
"It's not someone ordinary like me can go up against!"
From the back row, Hiroshi Nishikai looked like he wanted to run over and hit him.
"Hahaha!"
"Sorry, Captain Nishikai! I'll shut up!"
Seeing this, Kyunai quickly laughed and ran off.
"Keep going!"
"Don't give up so easily!"
Nishikai encouraged his teammates passionately.
"One point is nothing. We'll take the next one!"
"Yes!"
Creak!
The referee's whistle blew again!
Karasuno continued to serve!
Tanaka stepped up and served a tricky ball!
This was the result of his recent practice!
Smack!
However, the ball was directly received by Nishikai!
"Left wing!"
Facing the opponent's organized attack, Akira called out loudly.
Haruto Kyunai's passing intention was obvious!
It was going to the left-wing spiker!
Crunch!
Rishi Akikawa jumped, and the pass landed perfectly in his hands!
Spike!
Rishi Akikawa gritted his teeth hard!
In front of him, the high wall of a triple block had been formed!
But at this moment, he had no other choice!
He had to hit through the only straight-line gap in the corner!
Smack!
But...
Just as the ball looked like it would pass through—
It smacked straight into Tsukishima's blocking arm and was sent flying back onto Matsukawa Tech's court!
"Well done! Tsukishima!"
From the back row, a teammate ran up and patted him on the shoulder.
Although Tsukishima didn't always seem enthusiastic about volleyball...
During this training camp, he had learned blocking techniques from Kuroo and the others!
That straight-line blocking form just now—
It was something Kuroo had taught him!
Receiving everyone's approval, Tsukishima didn't say anything.
But a small flash of satisfaction crossed his eyes.
"Hmph!"
"What a tsundere," Kageyama muttered coldly as he walked by, stiffening Tsukishima instantly.
"You bastard!"
"What did you just say?!"
He glared at Kageyama, clearly agitated.
"Good game!"
Before they could escalate, Akira stepped between them with a helpless look.
Every time these two got together, it ended in some kind of squabble.
And on the other side—
Creak!
The match continued!
Today, Matsukawa Tech was performing even better than Sarukawa Tech had yesterday morning.
Although they still couldn't receive Akira's spikes, their offense was slightly stronger than Sarukawa's!
Facing Karasuno's block, they were occasionally able to find scoring gaps!
After all, they were a team that made it to Nationals and had already passed the first round!
They had the skill to seize scoring opportunities!!
Especially when facing a block, their attackers aimed for spots Akira couldn't cover!
It didn't matter if there were two other blockers at the net!
To them, if they tried to hit through Akira, the chance of getting blocked was almost 100%!
But going at the others—there was a slightly higher chance to score!
At least sometimes, there were more openings!
"Whoa!"
"Today's team is way better than yesterday's!"
"They're actually scoring a few points against Karasuno!"
Off-court, Fukurōdani's team had already arrived to watch the match.
Now, the score displayed on the big screen read: Karasuno 15 – Matsukawa Tech 9!
Although Karasuno still led by a good margin, it was clear—
Matsukawa Tech was not like yesterday's Sarukawa Tech, who had been crushed by Karasuno!
"The further into the tournament, the stronger the opponents get, huh?"
At that moment, a familiar voice sounded from behind the Fukurōdani players.
"Hey, Kuroo!"
"Why are you so late today?!"
"Did you oversleep?"
"Alas," Kuroo sighed softly.
"We didn't mean to."
"That's right!" Yaku chimed in.
"The bus we took this morning broke down halfway!"
"But it's fine!"
"Looks like the match hasn't been going for long!"
"Just like I thought yesterday—Karasuno has the upper hand!" Bokuto said with a grin.
"Haha, I bet they'll win this one easily!"
"By the way, who are you guys playing against today?" he asked.
Bokuto paused.
"Uh... let's see. Akaashi?"
"It's Nagiya High from Nagasaki Prefecture," Akaashi replied calmly.
"They're a seeded team. Just played today."
"Whoa! A seeded team? Sounds strong!" Yamamoto exclaimed, surprised.
"You ran into a seeded team in the second round?"
"Haha, seeded doesn't mean invincible!"
Kuroo laughed.
"Being strong in the past doesn't mean they're still strong now!"
"That's right!" Bokuto nodded.
"It's not like we haven't beaten seeded teams before!"
"Just play freely!"
"Is that so..." Yamamoto looked thoughtful.
"Yeah!"
"On our way here, we saw several seeded teams coming to spectate too!"
"Inarizaki, Ichibayashi, Inubushi..."
"Oh, really?" Bokuto was briefly stunned—then got excited again.
"Mujinazaka too?"
"So... Kiryu's here too?"
"I've been wanting to face him for a long time!"
"Too bad this year's draw wasn't lucky enough to put us in the same group!"
"They're grouped with Kamomedai, right? It'll be a tough path to qualify!"
"Our own qualification situation isn't exactly solid either..." Akaashi said, a bit sheepish.
"Don't tell me you think we won't qualify, Akaashi!" Bokuto said dramatically.
"Ah... haha!"
"Our goal isn't to win the championship this year!"
He scratched his head with a sheepish grin.
"But of course, we've got to have the determination to make it through!"
...
While they chatted, the booming voice of the announcer echoed through the arena once more!
Coincidentally, today's two commentators were the same ones from Karasuno's match yesterday!!
"Karasuno's No. 7 broke through the opponent's block!"
"Now, Karasuno leads 15 to 9!"
"Their opponent, Matsukawa Tech, needs to push back!"
"That's right!" the second commentator added.
"And Karasuno's No. 7 is still in top form today!"
"Despite being targeted by the opponent's entire defense, he's still scoring again and again!"
"I wonder..."
"After watching Karasuno's matches, will the audience lose interest in the rest of the games?!"
"Hahaha! That's why maybe the organizing committee made a mistake scheduling their match first!"
Their words immediately drew the attention of all the teams watching from the stands.