Seeing that Komori looked ready to crawl into a hole and disappear, Iizuna rubbed his forehead helplessly. He stepped forward to stop the two unruly guys, giving each of them a hard smack on the shoulder.
"What are you two doing? Is that any way to talk to your senpai? Pay attention to the whistle and the commentators. Both of you, get back to your positions!"
Nishio and Kishimoto grimaced as they clutched their shoulders and returned to their positions. Meanwhile, the commentators continued their analysis.
"Judging from Komori's expression and the trajectory of the ball after his receive, the serve must have looked extremely powerful. But when Komori actually received it, he didn't realize the force behind it was much lighter than expected, so he put too much strength into his pass."
"After the receive, both teams began fighting for control at the net. Tsutomu Goshiki and Iizuna contested the ball above the net. Tsutomu Goshiki may have had the advantage in strength, but he was still lacking in experience. Iizuna used a deft touch to spin the ball off his hand and send it onto Shiratorizawa's side."
"Then Reon, who was positioned behind Tsutomu Goshiki, managed to save the ball. After that, Tsutomu Goshiki started to move as though he was preparing to spike, but for some reason he stopped. Ushijima attacked instead, only for Iizuna to save the ball on the other side. Sakusa then jumped from the back row to attack."
"Ryosuke moved toward Sakusa's path, but Tsutomu Goshiki blocked his route. The two eventually went up to block together, but Tsutomu Goshiki failed to stop Sakusa's deep cross-court shot. Because Ryosuke lost time when his path was obstructed, he couldn't reach the ball in time, and that brought the rally to an end."
After hearing the commentators break it down like that, most of the audience finally understood what had happened during that dizzyingly fast rally.
So many exchanges had taken place in just a few seconds.
Hirugami listened to the commentary and smiled.
Tsutomu Goshiki's name had come up more than anyone else's, yet he hadn't scored a single point.
That kid was going to have a rough time.
Hoshiumi, sitting beside him, was focused on something completely different. He thought the IH commentators were incredible. They could speak that quickly while still pronouncing every word so clearly.
That was seriously impressive.
Hirugami wasn't the only one who thought Tsutomu Goshiki was about to get scolded.
Tsutomu Goshiki himself thought so too.
He had made far too many mistakes in that last rally. He was certain he was about to get an earful.
So he trudged over to Reon under a cloud of gloom, waiting obediently for his punishment.
The other Shiratorizawa players also turned their attention toward him.
Yamagata wore a complicated expression as he seriously considered whether he would be able to calm Reon down if he got angry.
Ushijima, on the other hand, remained perfectly calm.
He wasn't worried at all.
Reon definitely wouldn't scold Tsutomu Goshiki. At least, not right now.
Back when Shirabu had first become a starter, he'd done plenty of ridiculous things too. He frequently made sets that put Reon in awkward situations, yet Reon had never seemed particularly angry about them.
Compared to what Shirabu used to do, Tsutomu Goshiki's mistakes were practically nothing.
Sure enough, under Tsutomu Goshiki's anxious gaze, Reon reached out and ruffled his hair.
"Getting distracted during a match isn't good. Next time you're attacking, make sure you pay attention to where your teammates are too. I'll let it go this time, but if it happens again, just wait and see what Coach Washijō does to you."
Hearing Reon's gentle tone, Tsutomu Goshiki finally relaxed a little.
As long as Reon-senpai wasn't angry with him, that was enough.
He could worry about everything else after the match. If Coach Washijō decided to punish him afterward, Tsutomu Goshiki would accept it. After all, he really had been partly responsible for losing that rally.
Far away in a conference room, Coach Washijō was sitting among a group of older men exchanging pleasantries while secretly watching the match on his phone.
When he saw the play Tsutomu Goshiki had failed to block, he became so irritated that he slammed his glass onto the table.
"Bang!"
The water inside the glass rippled violently.
Everyone who had been chatting around the room was startled by the noise and turned toward Coach Washijō.
His already sour expression had grown even darker, his brows drawn together so tightly that he looked thoroughly unapproachable.
Most of the people attending the meeting had experienced Coach Washijō's temper at least once.
After exchanging glances, they simply lowered their voices and continued their discussions.
The people gathered here were coaches and shareholders from the Volleyball Association.
None of them understood why the Association had chosen to hold a meeting right in the middle of the IH tournament.
It looked as though something important was about to happen.
...
Back on the court, after receiving Reon's mild reprimand, Tsutomu Goshiki returned to his position at the referee's signal.
Reon watched his dejected figure and shook his head with an amused smile.
Tsutomu Goshiki really did take everything seriously.
Hopefully he'd pull himself together soon.
Reon would never tear into one of his teammates in the middle of a match.
That was the captain's job, not his.
Besides, even if Reon were genuinely furious, he still wouldn't do something like that.
They were his own teammates. During a match, there was no reason to let outsiders watch them argue and laugh at Shiratorizawa.
Whatever problems they had could be discussed behind closed doors once they returned to school.
Reon cared a great deal about Shiratorizawa's image.
The referee looked from one side to the other.
Once everyone was in position, he blew the whistle.
"Fweeeeeet!"
Itachiyama had the serve this time.
The Shiratorizawa players immediately became wary when they saw Kishimoto walk toward the service line.
None of them had seen Kishimoto serve before.
As far as they were concerned, he was a complete unknown.
"Give us a good one, Kishimoto!"
Nishio shouted.
Kishimoto waved casually.
"Don't worry. I'll definitely score more points than you did."
Nishio immediately rolled his eyes and snorted.
He'd been trying to encourage him, and that was the response he got?
Fine.
Nishio decided that if Kishimoto failed to score at least two points, he was going to mock him mercilessly afterward.
Kishimoto leisurely made his way toward the service line, casually tossing the volleyball from hand to hand as he walked.
The referee grew impatient with how slowly he was moving and shot him a glare, silently telling him to hurry up.
Catching the referee's look, Kishimoto immediately broke into a quick jog and hurried into position.
Then he flashed the referee an "OK" gesture.
The referee nodded and blew the whistle.
"Fweeeeeet!"
Kishimoto bent down and bounced the volleyball, then straightened and tossed it into the air.
He followed the ball into his approach, jumped, and swung his right hand hard into it.
"Bang!"
The volleyball shot from Kishimoto's hand and raced toward Shiratorizawa's court.
Yamagata raised an eyebrow.
So far, this serve looked a little better than Tsutomu Goshiki's.
It had power, and Kishimoto could control both its landing point and trajectory.
Wasn't this basically an upgraded Tsutomu Goshiki?
This was exactly the direction everyone hoped Tsutomu Goshiki would develop in. Someone capable of both defending and attacking.
Watching the ball come toward him, Yamagata muttered inwardly that Itachiyama really was full of hidden talent.
The volleyball crossed the net and quickly closed in on him.
Yamagata shuffled forward in small steps to prepare for the receive.
When the ball reached the point where it was about to descend, he lowered into a half-crouch and extended both arms.
The volleyball slammed violently into his platform.
"Bang!"
With the heavy impact, Yamagata forcefully lifted his arms and sent the ball upward.
The whole exchange took less than five seconds.
He had gotten the ball up, but something was wrong.
Instead of flying toward Shirabu, it veered off to the side.
Shirabu was puzzled.
Normally, Yamagata-senpai wouldn't make a mistake on a ball like this.
Was there something unusual about the serve?
Still thinking about it, Shirabu ran after the drifting volleyball.
Just as Shirabu suspected, Yamagata really had made a mistake.
He simply hadn't expected the serve to carry that much power.
When he saw Kishimoto serving, Yamagata had already realized there was something different about it.
But he genuinely hadn't expected an unassuming first-year to possess that much raw strength.
It was almost comparable to Reon's.
Reon was already a third-year, so that kind of strength made sense for him.
But seeing it from a first-year was another matter.
Either Kishimoto had been training in volleyball and strength exercises from an early age, or he was simply naturally gifted.
Whichever it was, it wasn't good news for Shiratorizawa.
"Sorry, Shirabu! You'll have to save that one!"
Yamagata called toward Shirabu, who was chasing the ball.
Shirabu didn't turn around, but Yamagata knew he'd heard him.
As Shirabu raced after the volleyball, everyone else began moving too.
Ryosuke had learned from the previous rally.
This time, before moving to block, he deliberately checked the positions and routes of the teammates around him, determined not to have his path blocked again.
Ushijima led the charge toward the net.
When Doichiro and Nishio saw him move forward, they immediately ran to take up positions opposite him.
At this point in the match, Ushijima and Ryosuke had truly become Itachiyama's two biggest concerns.
One kept hammering attacks down, while the other kept saving everything that came his way.
With both of them on the court, the match felt like it could go on forever.
Sakusa saw Doichiro and Nishio move toward Ushijima to block, so he stayed behind Iizuna, using him as cover.
Tsutomu Goshiki watched Ushijima move toward the right side of the net and put his little brain to work.
Shiratorizawa wasn't exactly short on attackers right now.
If anything, their defense looked a little thin.
Ryosuke was the only one consistently blocking, with Reon occasionally filling in.
That wasn't stable enough.
Then Tsutomu Goshiki had an idea.
If his spikes kept getting blocked anyway, then he could temporarily stop participating in the attack.
He would help Ryosuke block instead.
Ushijima and Reon were already available to attack, so they didn't really need Tsutomu Goshiki there.
If they needed him to spike later, he could always join in then.
He had originally planned to follow Ushijima and coordinate with Reon for a staggered attack.
But after thinking it through, Tsutomu Goshiki changed direction.
He ran toward Ryosuke instead, preparing to block alongside him and take some of the pressure off.
Shirabu raced across the court and managed to get beneath the volleyball just as it descended toward a usable setting point.
He looked up at the ball.
Once it reached the right height, Shirabu jumped lightly.
His hands met the volleyball, and he pushed it toward the net.
While chasing the ball, Shirabu had already taken note of everyone's positions.
After seeing Tsutomu Goshiki's attack in the previous rally, Shirabu had temporarily decided not to set to him.
He would give Tsutomu Goshiki some time to settle down first.
The volleyball left Shirabu's hands and flew toward Ushijima.
Reon had no intention of attacking.
Instead, he stayed half a step behind Ushijima to cover him in case the spike was blocked back.
Ushijima heard the ball coming.
It was moving fast.
He accelerated his approach and reached the net before the set arrived.
The moment Ushijima jumped, the ball reached the space directly above him.
He raised his left arm and swung.
Across the net, Doichiro and Kishimoto had also moved into position.
While running, Kishimoto briefly met Ushijima's gaze.
That single look was enough.
Kishimoto knew this ball was definitely going to Ushijima.
He and Doichiro immediately accelerated.
The moment Ushijima jumped, they jumped with him.
Both blockers raised their arms high.
Ushijima raised his as well.
For an instant, tension filled the air.
Well, perhaps only the two blockers were feeling tense.
Ushijima lifted his left hand and struck the volleyball with tremendous force.
"Bang!"
The ball tore through the air toward their arms.
Ushijima rarely chose cross-court shots or tips when he attacked.
As long as he was strong enough, he simply didn't need those techniques.
Of course, there was another reason too.
Ushijima preferred to keep things simple.
If he didn't need to think about something, he wouldn't.
The volleyball slammed directly between Doichiro and Kishimoto's arms.
The impact echoed heavily.
Pain and resistance shot through Kishimoto's arms, and his brows immediately knitted together.
Doichiro's arms absorbed part of the pressure as well.
Neither of them looked at the other or said a word.
Yet in the very next instant, they moved with perfect understanding, putting strength into their arms together in an attempt to press the volleyball down.
But Ushijima's spike wasn't something they could stop that easily.
The ball blasted through their block and spun toward the floor behind them.
Kishimoto's arms were knocked aside.
He landed off balance and staggered.
Before he could even steady himself, another heavy sound came from behind.
"Bang!"
Doichiro and Kishimoto both turned around.
Iizuna was sprawled on the floor behind them, supporting himself with one hand while the other remained extended in front of him.
He had saved the volleyball.
When necessary, even a setter could play libero.
The moment Iizuna got the ball up, Ryosuke locked onto it like a GPS.
His eyes followed the volleyball, and his feet immediately started moving.
He sprinted toward the right side of the net.
This time, nobody blocked his path.
As the volleyball rose, someone suddenly emerged from behind.
Sakusa came charging out from the back with his body lowered, sprinting all the way toward the net.
Tsutomu Goshiki saw Ryosuke move and immediately followed him, running behind Ryosuke to join the block.
By the time all three reached the net, Sakusa had already jumped.
The instant they saw him leave the floor, Ryosuke and Tsutomu Goshiki jumped after him without hesitation.
Sakusa raised his right hand high.
Ryosuke and Tsutomu Goshiki immediately tensed, ready for whatever came next.
...
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