Boom!
Ushijima Wakatoshi unleashed yet another powerful overhand spike, the reverberating sound eg across the court as Shiratorizawa became the first to reach 20 points.
[Karasuno 16 – 20 Shiratorizawa]
Hinata Shōyō, faced with Tendō Satori's relentless blog, had no choice but to rely on his speed to evade him.
By the time Tendō barely caught up to his movements, Hinata was already airborne, smming the ball into Shiratorizawa's court.
[Karasuno 17 – 20 Shiratorizawa]
"That little guy is amazing!" someone in the audience excimed.
"Karasuno is actually this strong? They're keeping up with Shiratorizawa?!"
"I watched their Inter-High qualifiers earlier this year. They beat Date Tech back then, but they were crushed by the champions, Aoba Johsai," another added, recalling Karasuno's earlier matches.
"Still, beating Shiratorizawa seems like a long shot. They 't stop Ushijima!"
"True, but Shiratorizawa isly shutting down Karasuno's offence, either."
"Yeah, and their setter…he's almost as good as Aoba Johsai's Oikawa!"
The serve rotated back to Karasuno.
Azumane Asahi stepped to the service line, determination flickering in his gaze alongside a faint, almost imperceptible ay.
So far, Karasuno had mao prevent Shiratorizawa from widening the gap rgely thanks to the exceptional performance of Tanaka Ryuunosuke and Hinata Shōyō's tireless attacks.
As Karasuno's ace, however, Asahi had struggled to make a breakthrough in this pivotal match.
Sugawara Kōshi had once joked, "Asahi has the heart of a delicate gss sculpture—tile!"
But Asahi knew better. On the court, this fragility wasn't delicacy—it was cowardice.
Perhaps the biggest ot in Karasuno's lineup…was him, the ace.
Taking a deep breath, Asahi steadied himself, trying te all unnecessary thoughts. At this critical moment, it was the third-years who had no way out.
How could he let the burden fall entirely on the younger pyers?
He tossed the ball into the air, ran forward, jumped, and swung his arm.
Full power!
The ball deformed under Asahi's strike, spinning violently as it shot toward Shiratorizawa's back row.
Boom!
The ued power serve left Shiratorizarepared.
The ball nded squarely between Shirabu Kenjirō and Yamagata Hayato, boung high into the air.
Asahi scored directly off his serve!
[Karasuno 18 – 20 Shiratorizawa]
"Yesss!!" Asahi ched his fist a out a triumphant shout.
"That was so cool!!!" Hinata's eyes sparkled with admiration.
"Nice serve, Asahi-senpai!" cheered Nishinoya Yū and Tanaka in unison.
"Beautifully done, Azumane-senpai," Kageyama Tobio praised, a rare pliment from him.
Sawamura Daichi and Sugawara Kōshi exged a gnce, pride evident in their eyes. It was as if they were watg their child grow up, and their hearts swelled with relief and joy.
"If that guy could serve like this sistently, Karasuno would be a nightmare to face…" ented Iwaizumi Hajime from the stands, his expression heavy with thought.
Not only was he picturing himself receiving that serve, but he was also w if he could match it.
Asahi's serve was no weaker than the first.
This time, Yamagata Hayato, having braced himself, mao pnt his feet and receive the ball, albeit with difficulty.
The ball soared high, giving Shirabu Kenjirō ample time to reposition and decide.
"Give it to me," Ushijima's calm voice cut through the air.
He interpreted Asahi's serve as a challenge from Karasuno's ace. As Shiratorizawa's ace, it was only right for him to respond.
Shirabu obeyed without hesitatioing the ball high.
"Three-man block!"
Karasuno's front row jumped in unison to intercept him.
—Boom!
Ushijima's unstoppable overhand spike cut through their defence like a sword, showg his undeniable strength.
[Karasuno 18 – 21 Shiratorizawa]
"Does this guy never get tired?" Tanaka grumbled, frustrated.
Despite pying nearly aire set, Ushijima's jumps showed no signs of weakening.
Shirabu g Karasuno's blockers and smirked. Even if they pyed all three sets, Ushijima would undoubtedly remain the most physically dominant pyer on the court.
If Karasuno thought they could wear him down to limit his effectiveness, they were bound to lose even more miserably.
Shiratorizawa recimed the serve.
-----
[Karasuno 19 – 21 Shiratorizawa]
Tanaka Ryūnosuke's sharp line shot stabilized the situation for Karasuno, but Kawanishi Taichi's quick attack immediately helped Shiratorizawa recim another point.
[Karasuno 19 – 22 Shiratorizawa]
Ushijima Wakatoshi returo the service line. With no timeouts left, every single point carried moal weight for Karasuno.
Ushijima's expression remained calm as he sent the ball flying.
Bam!
The volleyball streaked toward the space between Sawamura Daichi and Nishinoya Yū.
"I've got it!!!"
Nishinoya stepped forward with a shout, perfectly reading the serve's trajectory.
Smack!
For the first time in this critical set, Nishinoya mao fwlessly receive Ushijima's serve. The ball soared toward the left wing, where Kageyama Tobio leapt into position for the set.
Hinata Shōyō was already airbor the tre, while Tanaka Ryūnosuke poised himself for an atta the far-right side.
Who would it go to?!
Kawanishi had no time to overthink. Trusting his teammates to haanaka, he itted himself to blog Hinata.
Bang!
The volleyball nded in Shiratorizawa's court.
Hinata and Tanaka nded with surprised looks on their faces.
The ball hadn't goo either of them.
It was a setter dump from Kageyama Tobio, pletely fooling everyone on the court!
[Karasuno 20 – 22 Shiratorizawa]
Shirabu Kenjirō gritted his teeth, gring at Kageyama.
Ever since Shiratorizawa's loss to Aoba Johsai, anythied to Oikawa Tōru irritated him endlessly.
"That timing was fwless," Oikawa remarked, stroking his as he watched the game from the stands.
"If it were you back then, you probably would've pulled the same move," Iwaizumi Hajime ented dryly.
"Well, if it were me now…" Oikawa trailed off, gng at Kaedehara Taichi seated two rows ahead, ser-focused on the game. "...he might just call for the ball, and I doubt I'd resist."
With the score tightening to just two points, Karasuno made a substitution.
"Tweet!—"
The referee sighe switch—Yamaguchi Tadashi IN, Hinata Shōyō OUT.
Karasuno introduced their pinch server at a critical moment—one whose abilities were still rgely unknown to Shiratorizawa.
Shiratorizayers immediately sharpeheir focus, unwilling to uimate anyone.
Yamaguchi, visibly nervous, took a deep breath. He had repyed this exact sario in his head thousands of times.
"Yamaguchi, serve a good one!"
The team cheered him on, though Tsukishima Kei remained nont as usual.
"No pressure. Just like practice."
Thwack!
The serve wasn't particurly fast or powerful, but it floated uably toward Ushijima.
"I got it!"
ōhira Reon moved in to assist Ushijima, reag calmly to the seemingly manageable serve.
The moment, however, the ball suddenly dipped, dropping sharply.
Ushijima tensed and lunged forward, just managing to receive the ball with a quick dive.
ōhira's positioning iently interfered with Ushijima's movement, plig their follow-up.
"He eve to that?!"
Yamaguchi marvelled at Ushijima's capabilities, only to see Kawanishi already leaping for a quick attack.
What now?!
Panic gripped Yamaguchi as his body stiffened.
We're doomed!
Bang!
Smack!
Kawanishi's spike was blocked by Tsukishima Kei, the ball defleg ly bato Shiratorizawa's court.
[Karasuno 21 – 22 Shiratorizawa]
"Karasuno's blocker's improved way too fast," Oikawa muttered, narrowing his eyes.
ōhira's earlier attempt to assist Ushijima had iently obstructed their offence, redug Shiratorizawa's attag options.
With no other decoys in pce, Shirabu's likelihood of pulling off a setter dump was slim.
Kawanishi became the sole avaible hitter at the .
Shirabu tried to disguise the setup with a coordinated quick attack, but Tsukishima saw through the py.
Karasuno was closing in.
Just one more point to tie the game!
_________
[T/N] - If you guys want to read 50 Chapters in advance of the current story, you support me on my Patreon. Trust me, it's awesome!
Link - (P)atreon./Iseebck [Remove the brackets]