Smack!
The ball was picked up by the libero, Akagi!
"Damn it!"
Kageyama gritted his teeth tightly.
Just that one ball—he had meant to send it straight across the net.
But the feel of the toss had been off, and the ball veered off course!
Still, this wasn't the time for regret.
Across the net, Inarizaki had already begun organizing their attack!
Now, Kageyama had to focus on forming the block up front!
"Right wing!!"
This time, Atsumu Miya went for a direct set to the front!
The ball arced perfectly through the air toward Aran Ojiro!
On the other side, Karasuno's block was already in position!
Crunch!
Aran Ojiro's jumping power was leagues above average—
But right beside him, Akira's vertical was even more explosive!
Smack!
"Touched it!"
Though he couldn't block it cleanly, Akira managed to get a touch on Aran's spike, turning what could have been a point into a chance ball for Karasuno!
Nishinoya rushed in from the back row to dig the ball!
"Let's go!"
Kageyama sprinted to the landing point, setting up beneath the ball!
Jump set!
There were other options, but given the situation, Kageyama chose the safest route.
Swish!
He set it again to Akira!
"Right wing!!"
Seeing this, Inarizaki's blockers closed in quickly!
Akagi, deep in the back row, zeroed in on the gap left by the front-row blockers.
He knew stopping Akira's spike outright was impossible.
Even getting a touch would be hard.
So, he couldn't leave it to chance—he had to give it his all to dig the ball!
Boom!
An unrestrained attack!
Same trajectory as the last spike!
Seeing that, a flicker of anger crossed Akagi's face.
So what if your attacks are powerful?
You really think you can go the exact same route again?
Do you look down on our back-row defense that much?
Akagi gritted his teeth, eyes locked on the spinning ball.
Too bad…
I'm already here!
This time, I'll dig it!!
Boom!!
As the ball slammed into his arms, Akagi instantly felt the overwhelming power behind it!
"Aghhh—"
Even though he was prepared, the sheer force nearly drove his arms to the ground!
And before he could fully absorb the impact, the ball ricocheted off and flew far toward the sideline!
"How was it?"
"How did it feel, Akagi?"
...
The rest of Inarizaki gathered around, communicating with concerned expressions.
Even Kurosu and Coach, watching from the bench, stared intently, waiting for a sign from their libero.
That last spike—it was exactly like the powerful, unpredictable hit they had studied from the Karasuno vs. Shiratorizawa footage!
They had made a plan before the match.
Once they fully understood the mechanics of Akira's spike, they'd use a timeout to formulate a counter strategy.
But now, the look on Akagi's face was grim.
He hesitated, then forced the words through gritted teeth:
"That spike was really strong... I didn't feel much else."
"We need to try receiving a few more."
"It's okay!"
The others seemed to notice his frustration.
Aran Ojiro patted his shoulder encouragingly.
"No need to stress. It's not life or death."
"I know."
Akagi nodded solemnly, his eyes fixed on Akira across the net.
So it wasn't that Akira underestimated their defense.
He just had the sheer power to overpower it.
...
"Inarizaki really did their homework before this match."
In the stands, Kuroo frowned.
"Their libero didn't even look surprised by Akira's spike."
"They must've analyzed the match against Shiratorizawa."
"Still, even knowing in advance doesn't help much."
Bokuto leaned in, animated.
"If you can't receive it, you can't receive it!"
"That Spinning force is totally unpredictable. If you can't handle it the first time, your odds don't get better."
"You can't adapt to a ball like that!"
"But… it's not totally impossible to dig."
Yaku scratched his head.
"If you're lucky and the spin direction works in your favor, you might get under it."
"But that takes serious luck. In a match like this, that's not something you can count on."
"Who wants to leave defense to chance at Nationals?"
...
Creak!
Kageyama returned to the endline with the ball.
Akira had just scored with his spike, and Karasuno was still serving!
Knock~~~Knock~~Knock ~Knock...
The accelerating beat of drums rose again from Inarizaki's cheer section!
Across the gym, the Karasuno supporters looked around at each other, hesitant.
They didn't know whether to cheer or stay silent.
In the past, during Karasuno's serves, they'd always stayed quiet out of respect—so as not to distract the players.
Inarizaki had done the same earlier.
So now, they were torn...
If they shouted loudly, would that play into the other side's hands?
Would it throw off their own server instead?
Faced with that dilemma, no one dared break the silence on Karasuno's side.