Chapter 84: Receive x Save
But before the first-year players could celebrate for long, their smiles stayed on their faces for less than a second. Karasuno's guardian deity, libero Nishinoya Yuu, used his lightning-fast reaction speed and his recent intensive practice on receiving blocked balls.
Between the volleyball and the ground, he erected a two-centimeter fortress, firmly protecting this point for the upperclassmen.
"Even balls blocked by high walls, I'll receive them for you to see!"
"So please call for sets once more! ACE!"
This ball truly startled everyone in the gymnasium.
"He—he got it up!"
Takeda-sensei was shocked by this incredible receive.
The other two graduates once again began marveling at Nishinoya Yuu's powerful receiving ability.
"No way! That didn't hit the ground!"
"Hey! This is incredible! Your libero can even receive balls like that!"
"Don't—don't be ridiculous. There's no way he can receive every single ball like that."
Ukai Keishin still didn't voice what he was thinking inside.
'That's national youth team level receiving.'
'Looking at all high school students nationwide, he's definitely a top-three level libero.'
'This is a super-strong defender who can single-handedly raise a team's defense by two levels.'
'If the overall offense continues to improve, they could challenge for the championship this year!'
'The Golden Week training camp will definitely bring quite a surprise to Nekoma.'
Although he was verbally dismissing his old friend's praise, Ukai Keishin's face showed an evil smile. In his heart, he was already planning how to show off properly in front of Nekoma's assistant coach.
Not just those off the court—the players on court were also shocked by Nishinoya Yuu's absolute defense.
Every upperclassman had just been mentally preparing to lose this point, but after Nishinoya Yuu's incredibly ridiculous play, the feeling that something they thought would happen 100% actually went completely contrary to reality...
For a moment, it cut off their reactions to external things for several dozen microseconds in their minds, leaving only amazement.
Among the first-year team, of the three responsible for blocking, Hyakuzawa Yudai and Tsukishima Kei were so surprised in mid-air that they didn't know what to say.
The offensive duo of Hinata Shoyo and Kageyama Tobio detested this kind of super-strong defense even more. Seeing this scene gave them a sense of powerlessness, wondering why their spikes couldn't hit the ground.
Yamaguchi Tadashi silently encouraged himself, vowing to achieve receives like Nishinoya-senpai someday. Far away in the waiting area, Hoshino Masaru had become numb to Nishinoya Yuu's receiving ability.
'I'm tired. Just end it all, quickly.'
Only Ichise Guren once again showed that innocent, Sonic-like smile he'd had when he first saw Nishinoya Yuu receive.
Only he, after Nishinoya Yuu received this blocked volleyball, immediately predicted that the volleyball's direction would be above their own net.
After landing, his feet didn't stop for even a moment. In a short time, he burst out with incredibly high movement frequency, already reaching the direction where the volleyball was flying.
Then, relying on the jumping speed granted by his quick net-front expertise, like having two explosive packs attached to his feet, he rose vertically at an unbelievable speed.
Then quickly delivered his strike.
Even to avoid being received by Nishinoya Yuu again, which would damage his team's morale, he deliberately didn't engage in a direct confrontation with Nishinoya Yuu, instead directing the volleyball toward the diagonal empty space where Nishinoya Yuu wasn't.
But this time, the volleyball still didn't hit the ground.
If Nishinoya Yuu was Karasuno's guardian deity, then Sawamura Daichi was Karasuno's foundational cornerstone.
His three years of practiced receiving technique had completely integrated into his body's instincts. After Nishinoya Yuu rushed forward, while his brain was still in shock, his body had already instinctively rushed to the other side to cover.
Eyes that had observed countless attackers' spiking postures in mid-air also accurately judged the direction of Ichise Guren's spike.
And the evasive action Ichise Guren made to avoid Nishinoya Yuu causing a second blow to morale became the final straw that allowed Sawamura Daichi to receive this ball.
Having made countless diving saves, this time he also successfully defended his team's court, firmly keeping the volleyball above the ground.
The upperclassmen team once again displayed a miraculous save. Ichise Guren's sure-kill cross-court spike was saved by Captain Daichi.
Ignoring the first-year team's already declining morale across from them, the upperclassmen team's experience told them they shouldn't pause at all at this moment.
Instead, they should seize the opening that had appeared on the other side and launch an even more ferocious attack, adding fuel to the fire of the opposition's formation that was about to collapse.
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