The situation on the court had already tilted towards Aoba Johsai. The substitutions were quite effective, but Maple Field Taiichi, who was guarding Hinata Shoyo, was already on his last legs. Hinata Shoyo was just too good at running; his 99 stamina perfectly showcased itself at this moment.
Following Hinata Shoyo's constant running, from left to right, and continuous jumping, Maple Field Taiichi's body and mind were both extremely fatigued. He only hoped that Hinata Shoyo, who hadn't been able to score, would rest for a while.
Maple Field Taiichi looked at Hinata Shoyo, only to find him deeply focused. Noticing Maple Field Taiichi's gaze, Hinata looked back, and Maple Field Taiichi's heart instantly tensed, as if he had been stared down by a fierce beast.
It was in this moment of distraction that Hinata Shoyo had already run to the other side of the court and jumped. Maple Field Taiichi quickly caught up and jumped, but being just that one instant slower, Maple Field Taiichi could no longer reach Hinata Shoyo's height.
Just then, Kageyama Tobio's set landed perfectly in Hinata Shoyo's hands, not a single millimeter off!
Hinata Shoyo scored with a spike!
As a decoy, Hinata Shoyo could only attract the defense of Maple Field Taiichi alone, which was far from enough. If he kept avoiding, then Xiangyang would lose the meaning of standing on the court.
As expected of the Freak Quick Attack, it was so interesting. Maple Field Taiichi didn't realize that his face was beaming with a smile. This was how it should be; how could he be blocked so easily? Maple Field Taiichi's eyes were fixed on Hinata Shoyo, not relaxing at all.
The scores between the two sides were very close. Sawamura Daichi and Tanaka Ryunosuke's skills were already not weak, and with a genius setter, Karasuno's offense was already playing very smoothly. On Aoba Johsai's side, Oikawa Tooru had not yet entered the game, and the team's attack power was not on the same level as usual. They could only rely on balanced strength to steadily gain points one by one.
【Karasuno 16 VS 15 Aoba Johsai】
"Oh my, is the score really this close?" A lazy voice came.
Cheers from girls suddenly erupted among the spectators on the second floor: "Ah, it's Oikawa-senpai!"
"We've already stated that we want them to put Kageyama on the court, but our own team isn't putting on a regular player. We can't explain that, can we?" Coach Irihata looked at Oikawa with an annoyed expression.
"Hahaha... I'm sorry, Coach." Oikawa Tooru said with a forced smile.
"However, Karasuno is indeed a very interesting team." While Oikawa Tooru was warming up, Coach Irihata said from the side.
"Kageyama's sets and that Little Spiker's strange quick attack are very intimidating. Besides that, there's Tanaka Ryunosuke, who, though lacking composure, is full of power and spirit; Tsukishima Kei, who is a smart and witty blocker, though slightly lacking in spirit; and Captain Sawamura Daichi, who can cover multiple defensive gaps by himself. This is a team with uneven strength, but a flexible and varied offense."
Coach Irihata paused: "Fortunately, we also have excellent First Years. If Taiichi hadn't been able to keep up with that Little Spiker and limit his performance, we might have already lost the second set."
"Is that so?" To be evaluated like this by the coach, it seemed that the interesting First Years were not just Kageyama, whom he had been thinking about.
"An offensive team, no matter how high their attack power is..." Oikawa Tooru finished his warm-up movements, "If the attack doesn't continue, it's meaningless, isn't it?"
"Beep!" Aoba Johsai substitution: Oikawa Tooru in, Kunimi Akira out.
【Karasuno 24 VS 23 Aoba Johsai】
Aoba Johsai serves.
Oikawa Tooru pointed at Tsukishima Kei and Hinata Shoyo: "Even though I only started watching halfway through, that tall guy and the Little Spiker over there, neither of you are good at receiving, right?"
Oikawa Tooru's gaze was sharp, and he focused intently on Tsukishima Kei, flicking his wrist gently to toss the ball into the air. Then, he took a deep breath, took three steps to run up, and leaped fiercely. The volleyball, like an arrow released from a bowstring, flew with strong spin and precise angle straight towards Tsukishima Kei.
"Bang!" Clean and crisp! The ball hit Tsukishima Kei's arm and bounced away, Oikawa Tooru scored with a serve.
【Karasuno 24 VS 24 Aoba Johsai】
"We must defend!" Captain Sawamura Daichi shouted loudly, trying to stabilize his teammates' mentality.
"Second ball!" No sooner had Oikawa Tooru's words fallen than the ball flew towards Tsukishima Kei again. Tsukishima Kei took a step back and barely managed to receive the ball, which flew straight back over Aoba Johsai's side.
"Not receiving it well won't do." Oikawa Tooru looked at his eager middle blocker.
Maple Field Taiichi had already anticipated that Tsukishima Kei wouldn't receive the ball well, and had already aimed at the direction the ball would bounce back, leaping to spike it back.
【Karasuno 24 VS 25 Aoba Johsai】
Just one point away. They were just one point away from winning the match, but now the situation had reversed. Sawamura Daichi looked at Maple Field Taiichi and Oikawa Tooru on the opposite side. One had sealed off Hinata, and the other had greatly enhanced Aoba Johsai's attack power.
They absolutely could not lose this set to a serve!
"Tsukishima, move back, closer to the right sideline."
Oh? The captain, who was good at receiving, had expanded his defensive range. Oikawa Tooru instantly saw Karasuno's intention to move. Then he would test the captain's receive. Oikawa Tooru served the ball with great force. Sawamura Daichi's body sank slightly, and he released some of the force the moment he received the ball, making the volleyball bounce high.
"Good receive! Nice, Daichi." Sugawara Koushi shouted from the side.
Kageyama Tobio knew this receive was not easy, and his gaze became resolute: He must use this ball to end Oikawa-senpai's serve, he could only take a gamble!
"Hinata!" Kageyama Tobio set the ball in a direction where no one was.
A mistake? No, it wasn't!
Hinata Shoyo's beast-like intuition instantly activated. He chased the direction of the ball, instantly arriving below it and leaping. However, someone on the opposite side also followed him, blocking Hinata Shoyo.
Oikawa Tooru knew at this moment why Coach Irihata said that without Taiichi restricting Hinata Shoyo, Aoba Johsai would probably have lost the second set. It was too fast; that kind of spike covering half the volleyball court, no one could keep up.
Hinata Shoyo opened his eyes in the air. To score, just spiking it down wouldn't be enough. Seeing the defense that had already caught up on the opposite side, Hinata Shoyo found the right direction and swung his arm down.
"Thud."
The ball landed on the ground. Hinata Shoyo swung and missed; he didn't hit the ball.
【Karasuno 24 VS 26 Aoba Johsai】
"Beep, beep--" As the whistle sounded, the winner: Aoba Johsai.
Lost? The stark numbers on the scoreboard mercilessly declared Karasuno's defeat. Kageyama Tobio stood in the center of the court, staring blankly at the scoreboard. He slightly opened his mouth, as if wanting to say something, but couldn't find the right words to express the confusion in his heart.
"Again!" Hinata Shoyo's voice rang out on the court. Maple Field Taiichi looked back and saw Hinata's stubborn expression.
"Let's play another game." Hinata Shoyo's calm voice revealed a strong sense of unwillingness and defiance.
"Hinata, stop messing around, it's time to go back to school." Sawamura Daichi pushed Hinata Shoyo's head down.
"Little Spiker, we can fight again next time, after all, it's just a practice match." Oikawa Tooru waved to the Karasuno team.
Seeing Hinata just standing there, unmoving, Maple Field Taiichi walked directly in front of Hinata and looked straight at him.
"Xiangyang, become stronger. I look forward to playing against you next time."
Hinata Shoyo raised his head, his eyes revealing a hunger to become stronger: "I will!"
"Ding, the host has successfully changed Hinata Shoyo's career trajectory, rewarding jump +3." The system's voice suddenly rang out.