Creak!
After Inarizaki lost the point, the serve went to Karasuno's side!
Hinata in the back row held his breath and focused. As he walked to the service line, he heard the shouts of the Inarizaki cheerleaders from across the court.
"Out of bounds!"
"Definitely out of bounds!!"
...
"Is this…"
"Is this how they cheer for the opposing server?"
Takeda stood outside the court, slightly stunned.
At the same time, several uninformed spectators in the stands began to murmur.
"These kids from Inarizaki really don't know the spirit of sportsmanship!"
"Yeah… this kind of behavior seems to go against the spirit of fair play, doesn't it?"
"Cheering to mess with the opposing server? I've never seen cheerleading like this before!"
...
"Man…"
Watching the situation unfold, Ukai couldn't help but sigh.
"They use silence to keep their own servers calm…"
"And they greet their opponents with noise and deliberate interference!"
"Inarizaki's infamous demon cheer squad—definitely living up to their name!"
"What?"
"Have they always had this kind of reputation?"
Takeda couldn't help but turn to ask.
"Yes!"
Ukai nodded firmly.
"Almost every team that plays against them gets targeted by their cheer squad."
"And what's even more bizarre..."
He rubbed his chin, wearing a strange expression.
"When Inarizaki's own players underperform, their cheerleaders even yell at them!"
"But when the opposing team plays really well... sometimes they switch sides and start cheering for the other team!"
"In one of their previous matches, Inarizaki was leading by six points and had match point, but their opponents came back and won!"
"At that point, their own players were nearly booed off the court by their own fans!"
"That's…"
Takeda looked dumbfounded. He'd never heard of such bizarre cheering tactics before.
"And…"
Ukai glanced at the densely packed musical instruments in the Inarizaki cheering section and said with a serious expression:
"I'm afraid this isn't even the full extent of their methods!"
...
Inarizaki's cheer squad tried to throw off Hinata's serve with their disruptive chants.
But Hinata, who had nerves of steel, didn't react in the slightest!
For him, even if the world was collapsing around him, he would still focus on hitting the ball in front of him!
Smack!
A clean serve flew straight to Inarizaki's back row!
Akagi, the libero, received the ball with ease!
Atsumu Miya quickly moved into position beneath the falling ball!
As he set up, the three front-row players also sprang into action!
This time, Atsumu chose the main attacker—Osamu Miya!
Seeing that, Akira and the other blockers across the net quickly tracked the movement!
Faced with the high blocking wall that Karasuno formed instantly, Osamu was momentarily stunned!
But Atsumu's set had already been launched—he didn't have time to hesitate!
Boom!
Osamu's spike crashed against Akira's arms at the net!
No matter if the hit went cross or straight, it was completely shut down!
Inarizaki's first attack failed!
Karasuno scored again!!
Now the score was Karasuno 2:1 Inarizaki!
After losing the first point to Atsumu's serve, Karasuno had reclaimed the lead!
The momentum on the court had clearly shifted to their side!
"Sorry!"
Osamu's voice was a little low. That last ball really shouldn't have been blocked!
"It's fine!"
Atsumu came over and patted his shoulder in reassurance.
"Didn't we already talk about it before the match?"
"That Akira isn't just an offensive threat—his blocking and defense are top tier too!"
"Let's focus on the next point!"
As they spoke, the referee's whistle sounded—Karasuno to serve again!
"Out of bounds! Out of bounds!"
"Definitely out of bounds!!"
...
As Hinata stepped up to serve again, the Inarizaki cheer squad's shouting resumed!
Hearing that noise, everyone on Karasuno's side couldn't help but frown at the same time.
Even though they weren't the ones serving this time, that buzzing, fly-like noise…
Was really grating!!
But thankfully, Hinata was completely unaffected!
Smack!
His serve shot straight, but was safely received by Inarizaki's back row!
At the same moment, the entire Inarizaki team moved!
This time, Atsumu passed the ball right alongside his brother Osamu!
The two looked nearly identical, causing a moment of confusion among the defenders across the net!
"Watch out!"
Just as the blockers were thrown off, Atsumu's set was already in the air!
And Osamu leapt into the attack!!
Smack!
A clean spike—point scored!!
Inarizaki tied it back up!!
"There it is!"
"The famous Miya twins of high school volleyball! One's the team's starting setter, the other's the receiver!"
"Their synergy is second to none!"
"That was their signature time-difference attack!"
"Even after falling slightly behind early on, Inarizaki is showing no signs of backing down!"
"With the score tight, who will take the next point?"
...
"So this is what a top-level setter can do?"
The combination play had clearly stunned Karasuno's players.
"The Miya twins really do live up to their reputation!"
Creak!
The referee's whistle blew again!
Osamu rotated to Inarizaki's back row to serve!
At the same time, their ace, Aran Ojiro, rotated to the front row!!
Boom!
Osamu's jump serve was explosive, but Karasuno had been anticipating it and managed to receive it smoothly!
Crunch!
Kageyama took off diagonally!
With a dragonfly-light back set, the ball that initially looked like it was headed for Akira was instead sent to Tsukishima behind him!
Inarizaki's blockers were completely thrown off by the unexpected switch!
All their focus had been locked onto Akira!
Kageyama's set took them entirely by surprise!!
But at that critical moment, Suna—deployed near the sideline—reacted!
He jumped and rushed toward the path of Tsukishima's spike!
'Crap!'
Seeing this, the hearts of the Karasuno players clenched!
Just when it seemed the ball would be blocked, Tsukishima suddenly adjusted his timing!
Smack!
He gently tapped the ball off Suna's arm, and it dropped cleanly outside the sideline!
Tool out of bounds!!
Karasuno scores!!