Under the overwhelming disadvantage faced by Matsukawa Tech, Haruto Kyunai suddenly struck!
A bold second attack—completely unexpected—earned them a point back!!
"Phew!"
"You really dared to go for that!"
On the opposite side of the net, Tobio Kageyama looked at Kyunai's back and exhaled deeply.
He hadn't seen that coming at all!
"Well done, Kyunai!"
Hiroshi Nishikai laughed and clapped him on the shoulder.
"I knew you could pull it off!"
"Don't say that, Captain Nishikai."
Haruto Kyunai's previously tense expression shifted into a bitter smile.
"I thought I was going to die of nerves just now!"
"Karasuno's setter's eyes looked like he was about to devour me!"
"Luckily I'm rotating to the back row now! Otherwise, I'd really be in danger!"
"Hahaha!"
Seeing his dramatic reaction, the rest of Matsukawa Tech couldn't help but laugh.
However, as they glanced across the net, the mood quickly turned tense again.
Because this point also meant that with Karasuno's next score…
Number 7 would rotate into the front row!!
Tweet!
The referee's whistle blew!
Having returned to the back row, Haruto Kyunai launched a sharp jump serve!!
Boom!
In the back row, Yū Nishinoya twisted and received the difficult serve flawlessly!
Though short in stature, to everyone on Karasuno, his presence was solid and dependable.
"Kageyama!"
At that moment, in the front row stood Shōyō Hinata and Kei Tsukishima.
As soon as Hinata saw Kageyama in position, he sprinted forward at full speed!
And Tsukishima moved like a silent shadow, gliding toward the net!
On Matsukawa Tech's side, one blocker was already tailing Hinata closely!
Meanwhile, Hiroshi Nishikai and the others had their eyes locked on Tsukishima's position!
That tall attacker always seemed to strike from the most inconvenient places!
It felt like every attack was meticulously planned!
And then—
Kageyama suddenly shifted his setting form!
Smack!
He slapped the ball sideways!
And the ball, under the stunned gaze of the entire Matsukawa Tech team, dropped cleanly into their court!
Tweet!
Karasuno scored!
"Karasuno's setter!"
"He retaliates with a brilliant second attack of his own!"
"Both sides are trading blows, not giving an inch!"
The excited commentary echoed from outside the court!
That play was absolutely breathtaking!
Just after Matsukawa Tech's setter scored with a second attack, Karasuno's setter answered right back with one of his own!!
"This point is huge!"
"Karasuno now leads 20!"
"And their Strongest weapon—Number 7—is rotating to the front row with this point!"
"What will Matsukawa Tech do against his fearsome presence??"
On the court, Hiroshi Nishikai and the others looked somewhat helpless.
"Their setter…"
"He's seriously intense!"
"Yeah…"
Kyunai added with a strained smile:
"After all, he's the kind of guy who can pull off those insane quick attacks with Number 10!"
"People like that are usually pretty arrogant, right?"
"Ordinary guys like me…"
But halfway through his sentence, he shut his mouth when Nishikai shot him a sharp look.
"Don't get rattled, everyone. Even though our odds of winning are practically zero right now…"
"Still, like Kyunai said earlier!"
"Even if we lose this match!"
"With so many teams in the national tournament, we didn't exactly expect to win the whole thing!"
"So losing is only a matter of time!"
"But!"
Nishikai's voice grew heavy.
"Just because we know we might lose doesn't mean we give up!!"
"As long as the whistle hasn't blown, it's not over!"
"Until then, we keep fighting!!"
"And any pessimistic talk…"
"Save it for after the match!"
"Yes!!"
After that brief but fiery pep talk, the game resumed!
Even knowing the odds were stacked against them, they kept pushing forward!
Until the final whistle sounds—never give up!!
"Looks like Matsukawa Tech is ready to fight back!"
From the audience outside the court, voices of discussion buzzed.
"Hmph! It's just a last stand! The score is already 20:13!"
"With that kind of gap, there's no way Matsukawa Tech can come back!"
"Yeah, but they haven't thrown in the towel!"
"Ah, you mean…"
"Even when the odds are so bleak, they're still trying!"
"If it were me, I don't think I could do the same."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
It wasn't just the casual spectators—players watching from the stands were moved by the scene unfolding in front of them.
"I just hope we never end up in this kind of situation."
"It's really painful to lose a match knowing you just weren't strong enough."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"Matsukawa Tech's a really tenacious team!"
"If they hadn't run into Karasuno so early, they could've gone way farther!"
Tetsurō Kuroo let out a sigh.
"I bet a lot of the teams in Group C wouldn't have been able to beat them."
"Yeah, that's just how it is."
Keiji Akaashi scratched his head and said plainly:
"Luck is part of strength too."
"The national tournament is full of all kinds of surprises!"
"Haha!"
Morisuke Yaku laughed twice:
"Like that time your team got eliminated early in Spring High?"
"That was pure bad luck!"
"Mm-hmm."
Akinori Konoha nodded in agreement.
"And look at this year's grouping!"
"Both Mujinazaka and Itachiyama are final four-level teams!"
"But they're in the same group!"
"That means only one of them can reach the final four this year!"
"And for the other teams in that group, it's pure tragedy!"
"No matter how much they trained this year, how much they improved…"
"Once the groups were set—they were destined to become stepping stones!"
"That's the cruel reality of the national tournament!"
"No helping it."
Yaku scratched his head, then turned and said:
"If you don't eliminate the weaker teams, how else do you find the strongest?"
"Besides, volleyball isn't a winner-takes-all sport."
"Even if you lose, it's not meaningless!"
"For some teams, just getting the chance to face the strong ones is enough!"
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
While the spectators continued their conversation, the match on the court reached its climax!
Karasuno had reached match point!!