Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty-Chapter 336: Fulfilling Their Roles
As the teams returned from the timeout, the match stabilized, with both sides exchanging points.
Sakusa Kiyoomi made several aggressive plays, disregarding his stamina in an attempt to close the score gap. However, Aoba Johsai countered each of his attacks with Kaedehara Taichi and Kyōtani Kentarō's powerful spikes.
Aoba Johsai was the first to break the 20-point mark.
[Aoba Johsai 20 – 16 Itachiyama]
Aoba Johsai's turn to serve—Kunimi Akira stepped onto the service line.
"No need to be so nervous, guys. I'm clearly just a background character," Kunimi thought to himself.
Even the players on the sidelines could tell that Itachiyama's team was overly tense.
"Tweet!—"
The whistle blew for the serve.
Kunimi stood at the service line, locking eyes with the Itachiyama players.
"It's about time…"
He tossed the ball up, took a steady approach, jumped, and struck.
Bang!
Right at the eight-second mark after the whistle, Kunimi sent the ball over.
"This guy! Even in a practice match, he's playing mind games!"
Takeuchi Eiji felt stiffness creeping into his arms and legs. Just as he was about to loosen up, the serve came straight at him.
A jump float—aimed at the frontcourt.
The ball dropped sharply over the net. Takeuchi stepped forward but had already missed the optimal receiving position.
Smack!
Takeuchi awkwardly bumped the ball, and it ricocheted off his arms, heading toward the net.
"Idiot!"
Nishimura Hiroyuki lunged from the left to save it, but he was a step too late.
The ball hit the floor.
Kunimi Akira had scored directly off his serve.
[Aoba Johsai 21 – 16 Itachiyama]
"Nice serve, Kunimi!"
"One more!"
Yahaba Shigeru smirked slyly. Rather than saying Kunimi's serve was great, it was more accurate to say he exploited Itachiyama's nerves to force an error.
"Hmm, I should try this too."
"Tweet!—"
The moment the whistle blew, Kunimi launched his second serve.
Bang!—
A seemingly ordinary serve—but placed at a deadly angle.
"Damn it, this guy keeps targeting the edges!"
Shibata Yōsuke, as a middle blocker, wasn't the best at receiving. The ball landed near the right sideline in the front row, leaving him completely unsure how to deliver a clean pass.
"Shibata-senpai, just bump it up!"
Shirakawa Kaito had already rushed toward the right sideline. Following the call from behind, Shibata simply popped the ball straight up.
"Senpai, move!"
Shirakawa swiftly took position and jumped to set.
Whoosh—!
A long cross-court set—perfectly placed above the left wing.
At this critical moment, Shirakawa Kaito had surpassed his usual level.
Boom!
Nishimura Hiroyuki spiked the ball against Yahaba's block.
Smack!
The ball deflected off Nakamori Daiki's arm and went out of bounds.
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Nishimura Hiroyuki had scored.
[Aoba Johsai 21 – 17 Itachiyama]
"Ugh…I can match the spike's speed, but my receiving form is still a mess…" Nakamori Daiki stood in place, lost in thought.
"You've watched Nishinoya-senpai and Komori-senpai receive. Don't you have any takeaways?" Kaedehara Taichi hinted from the side.
Nakamori rolled his eyes. "And you've seen them too, yet your skills were garbage. I had to teach you, remember?"
"...Fair point," Taichi admitted.
Nakamori Daiki turned his gaze toward Komori Motoya on the other side of the net, carefully recalling his movements.
"Tweet!—"
No time to think further—the whistle blew.
Itachiyama's serve. Nishimura Hiroyuki sent a jump float back at Aoba Johsai.
Yahaba received the ball. Kunimi rotated in to set it to the right.
Kyōtani Kentarō jumped.
"Triple block!"
Takeuchi Eiji, Shibata Yōsuke, and Shirakawa Kaito all leapt.
Boom!!!—
The ball slipped past Shirakawa's left side.
Smack!
Sakusa Kiyoomi received it.
"Huh?"
Kyōtani's straight-line spikes were usually tricky to handle, but Sakusa had received it effortlessly.
Nakamori Daiki felt like he was on the verge of figuring something out.
Komori rotated in and sent a precise set to the right side.
Shirakawa Kaito jumped to spike.
"I knew it!"
Smack!
Kunimi received the ball.
A setter like Shirakawa, standing at nearly 1.85 meters, obviously had strong attacking ability.
Even though the block had been thrown off, Taichi and Kunimi had anticipated this first-year's attack from the start.
Yahaba stepped in, setting the ball back to the right wing.
Kyōtani Kentarō swung hard, aiming a sharp cross-court shot through the double block.
Point for Aoba Johsai.
[Aoba Johsai 22 – 17 Itachiyama]
As the serve rotated, Kindaichi Yūtarō executed a powerful jump serve. Komori Motoya received it cleanly, delivering a perfect first touch.
Shirakawa Kaito leapt on the right side to set the ball, while Sakusa Kiyoomi soared behind him for a back-row attack.
Boom!
Just as Kyōtani Kentarō focused on Sakusa in the back row, the ball landed right at his feet.
Shirakawa Kaito had scored with a surprise second attack!
[Aoba Johsai 22 – 18 Itachiyama]
"There it is again!"
"This guy looks mild-mannered, but he has an aggressive attacking mindset…"
"And he really loves using Sakusa as bait, huh?"
"How extravagant…"
Taichi, however, didn't think this was just a simple decoy play. At their current distance, if Kyōtani had jumped to block Shirakawa's attack, the ball would have instantly turned into a lightning-fast quick attack in the gap.
"This kid's decision-making is sharp!"
The serve rotated again. Takeuchi Eiji served, and Sakusa returned to the front row.
With Kaedehara Taichi moving to the back row, this was Itachiyama's final chance to close the gap.
Takeuchi delivered a powerful jump serve.
Nakamori Daiki received it, and Yahaba Shigeru set up the play.
Considering that Kyōtani was facing off against Sakusa, Yahaba opted to send the ball high to the left wing.
Yūki Yōji sprinted in and leapt for a spike.
"Double block!" Shibata Yōsuke and Shirakawa Kaito jumped up together.
So tall!
Throughout this set, Yūki hadn't had many chances to shine. Itachiyama's attackers either skillfully avoided blockers or, like Sakusa, didn't care about them at all. On top of that, Aoba Johsai hadn't relied on him too much for offence.
Even though he stood at 195 cm, this was his first attack of the set.
Boom!—
A spike over the blockers' hands!
Smack!
Komori, having positioned himself early, easily received the ball.
As soon as Shirakawa landed, he quickly set the ball to the right side—Sakusa sprinted in and took off!
"Triple block!" Yahaba, Yūki, and Kyōtani jumped up together.
Yūki and Yahaba swapped positions at the last second, ensuring that Yūki, the tallest, was at the centre to challenge Sakusa.
Boom!—
A spike over the block!
The ball sailed cleanly over Kyōtani's outstretched hands, dodging the straight-line defence of Nakamori Daiki, and dropped between him and Kunimi Akira.
"I got it!" Nakamori called out without hesitation.
What could be a better trial than receiving a spike from Sakusa Kiyoomi himself?
He took two quick strides to his left.
"Steady your stance as you take the final step—that's the key!"
Smack!
The ball struck his arms and shot high toward the sideline…
"I misread the spin!"
Kunimi immediately sprinted after it.
Smack!
He barely managed to save the ball, sending it back toward Aoba Johsai's front row.
"Chance ball!" Nishimura Hiroyuki shouted.
"Stay sharp!" Komori didn't let his guard down. He knew exactly who was waiting for this opportunity.
Yūki stared at the incoming ball, momentarily unsure how to handle it. If he were on the opposing team, he'd definitely try to block this.
"No choice—just get it over the net first…"
Just as Yūki made up his mind—
"Yūki, step aside!"
BAM!
Kaedehara Taichi launched himself from the back row.
"I've been waiting for this!"
"Triple block!"
Sakusa led a three-man wall, completely sealing off the path between Taichi and the ball.
The blockers' towering presence loomed over him.
Boom!—
Smack!—
Shibata Yōsuke braced himself, but the anticipated impact never came. Instead, the ball deflected off his forearm at a sharp angle.
They blocked it!!!
"Not quite."
As if reading Shibata's thoughts, Taichi's voice drifted through the air.
The ball had landed outside Aoba Johsai's boundary lines.
A block-out!
Kaedehara Taichi had scored.
[Aoba Johsai 23 – 18 Itachiyama]
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