[Day Three of the Inter-High Preliminaries]
M Matches—Aoba Johsai vs. Johzenji, and Wakutani Minami vs. Shiratorizawa.
After yesterday's post-matterview, Taichi offehree teams with just two sentences.
First, Coach Irihata smiled as he watched Manager Mizoguchi scold him for half an hour. Then, Tōru Oikawa grinned while Iwaizumi Hajime gave him another half-hour lecture.
To them, Taichi Kaedehara was already sidered as problematic as Tōru Oikawa.
However, as they left the gymnasium, the coach, manager, and Iwaizumi all wore happy smiles.
That's just the way it is—oeam always has to win, so why not Aoba Johsai?
"I always thought Aoba Johsai was a very friendly team, but I didn't expect them to look down on us," said Johzenji's setter, Takeshita Futamata.
"It might not be Aoba Johsai as a whole. I suspect it was that first-year brat talking on his own," replied the ace spiker, Higashiyama Katsumichi.
His reasoning was sound. Johzenji currently had a team full of sed-year pyers; all the third-years had retired after st year's Spring High, and they even had a new coach.
Johzenji, known for their pin and steadfast style, underwent a drastic ge with the arrival of Terushima Yūji and his group.
Perhaps it was the new coach's style meshing well with the new pyers' personalities, but Johzenji, oeam with average performance, was now making an impressive run in this year's IH qualifiers, having reached the final four.
"Fet about all that. oal is—to have more fun than anyone else here!" Terushima Yūji led the eclectic Johzenji team onto the court.
"Hoorah—!"
"Yeah—!"
"Hee-yah—!"
…
"Hahaha, here es the 'festival team'!" The audience, many of whom were Johzenji fans, felt the festive atmosphere and joined in the fun.
"What a straeam," Kunimi Akira mused, feeling a strange dissoh the team.
"Ah, I think Oikawa would fit right in with them," said Matsukawa Issei suddenly.
"I get it, I get it. They all have a simir light-hearted vibe," Hanamaki Takahiro chuckled beside him.
Tōru Oikawa: "No way, I'm totally reliable, right, Iwa-?"
Iwaizumi Hajime rolled his eyes and stayed silent.
Aoba Johsai's most responsible pyer, Taichi Kaedehara, was also not joining the versation. He was focused on each Johzenji pyer.
[Terushima Yūji, WIng spiker(Ace); Overall ability Score: 86, Height: 177.2 cm, Strength: 88, Jump: 89, Stamina: 82, Speed: 88. Teique: Receive: 84, Spike: 86.]
Johzenji's ad captain had a det overall ability, but the numbers were too average to reveal much.
[Takeshita Futamata, Setter; Overall ability Score: 80, Height: 178.5 cm, Strength: 72, Jump: 88, Stamina: 78, Speed: 80. Teique: Receive: 84, Set: 84.]
As a setter, his best attribute was his jump?
[Numajiri Rintarō, Wing spiker; Overall ability Score: 80, Height: 176.8cm, Strength: 72, Jump: 80, Stamina: 75, Speed: 89. Teique: Receive: 80, Spike: 84.]
Another pyer with a funny oddly adds a bit of humour.
[Higashiyama Katsumichi, Wing spiker; Overall ability Score: 84, Height: 175.5 cm, Strength: 82, Jump: 84, Stamina: 88, Speed: 82. Teique: Receive: 82, Spike: 82.]
Taioticed something crucial: all of Johzenji's wing spikers were under 180 cm, even shorter than Iwaizumi's 179.3 cm!
[īzaka Nobuyoshi, Middle blocker; Overall ability Score: 80, Height: 186.2cm, Strength: 75, Jump: 68, Stamina: 88, Speed: 83. Teique: Receive: 82, Spike: 86.]
[Bobata Kazuma, Middle blocker; Overall ability Score: 79, Height: 185.9 cm, Strength: 70, Jump: 82, Stamina: 72, Speed: 88. Teique: Receive: 78, Spike: 82.]
Orange er another!
[Tsuchiyu Arata, Libero; Overall ability Score: 76, Height: 185.9 cm, Strength: 68, Jump: 83, Stamina: 70, Speed: 84. Teique: Receive: 75.]
As a libero, his receiving ability is the weakest oeam!
However, after closely Johzenji, Taichi Kaedehara noticed that perhaps because all the starters were sed-year pyers, their fuals were strong but none of them stood out particurly.
heless, most of them seemed quite agile.
With the blow of the whistle, the two teams, having had no prior enters, lined up and bowed to each other.
"Please take care of us!!"
Aoba Johsai's lineup:
Front row—Middle Blocker Kaedehara Taichi, Outside Hitter Iwaizumi Hajime, Wing Spiker Kunimi AkiraBaiddle Blocker Kyōtaarō (Libero: Watari Shinji), Wing Spiker Hanamaki Takahiro aer Oikawa Tōru.
Johzenji's lineup was:
Front row—Wing Spiker Terushima Yūji, Setter Takeshita Futamata, and Middle Blocker Kazuma BobataBaiddle Blocker Nobuyoshi īzaka (Libero Tsuchiyu Arata), Wing Spiker Rintarō Numajiri, and Outside Hitter Higashiyama Katsumichi.
The match began with Aoba Johsai serving.
"Let's give them a tough start with the first ball!"
Oikawa Tōru was deliberately pced in position 1 to gain an early advantage.
"Alright—here we go!"
Smack!
"Wow, that owerful!"
Although it was the first serve and Oikawa Tōru hadn't used his full strength, Johzenji's back row pyer Numajiri Rintarō mao receive it.
But the ball flew out of bounds, it seemed like it was going to be out—
Smack!
"Terushima, it's yours!"
Tsuchiyu Arata dived backwards and hit the ball high into the air, keeping it from hitting the ground.
But how were they going to return it? The spectators thought it was a lost cause.
Terushima Yūji dashed from the front row to the baseline, jumped, turned mid-air, and spiked the ball.
It was like a serve, the volleyball arg straight to Aoba Johsai's baseline, nding heavily at Kyōtaarō's feet.
"Seriously?" Kunimi Akira looked back.
"A baseliack...and with his back to the ," Iwaizumi Hajime was equally astonished. "Normally, you'd just safely bump the ball back."
Terushima Yūji scored with his spike!
[Aoba Johsai 0 - 1 Johzenj
"Yeah—!!"
Even with just one point, Johzenji's pyers jumped and celebrated enthusiastically.
Breaking Aoba Johsai's stro serve round in one py, with such agility and ball trol during the receive and spike, Taichi Kaedehara now uood how they made it to the final four.
Johzenji served , with Bobota Kazuma simply standing and hitting the ball without a jump.
"ce ball!"
Hanamaki Takahiro received it, Oikawa Tōru set it to the left, and Taichi spiked it down with lightning speed.
Boom!
No matter how fast, there was no time to react to a ball like that on the first enter.
Taichi Kaedehara scored with his spike.
[Aoba Johsai 1 - 1 Johzenj
"Wow! So cool! Is that the quick attack we saw on TV?"
Terushima Yūji wasn't intimidated by Aoba Johsai's momentum at all; instead, he looked at Taichi Kaedehara with great i.
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