Match Against Kakugawa High

"Is it really that difficult to break through you? But no one else can jump as high as you!"

Seizing the opportunity, Hayato slammed the ball down over the outstretched hands of another player, scoring directly once again. The defending player lunged to receive it but couldn't save the shot.

"Yes!"

2:0

The Karasuno players celebrated their score loudly, the pressure from Kakugawa's two-meter player completely gone.

"Karasuno scored again?"

"No way, is Karasuno that strong?"

Hitoka's ears picked up the murmurs from the surrounding crowd, making her feel proud. So what if they had a two-meter player? They had Kuroba-senpai!

The match continued. This time, Hayato couldn't block Momozawa Yudai's spike, and a powerful diagonal spike allowed Kakugawa to score a point.

"Damn it, sorry, that was my mistake."

Hayato, filled with regret, apologized first. The others didn't mind and encouraged each other, preparing for the next point.

After Kakugawa scored, the serve was exchanged. An opportunity ball came over, and Nishinoya, who had just subbed in, received it. Kageyama passed the ball to Hinata this time. Hinata, flying through the air, spiked the ball before anyone from Kakugawa could react, scoring another point.

Looking back at the volleyball that had already landed, Momozawa Yudai's shock was immense. He had been staring at the ball, but in just an instant, it was in Hinata's hands. By the time he reacted, the ball had already hit the ground.

"What was that?"

Momozawa was filled with shock, having never seen such an attack.

"It's here, the Super Quick Attack."

"Huh? Is that the one they used in the first match?"

"So fast, that number 10."

Karasuno's displayed strength once again impressed everyone.

Kakugawa, forced to call a timeout, gathered all their players.

"Sorry, Senpai."

Momozawa, who had played well in the previous match, was frustrated that he couldn't score smoothly against Karasuno. His teammates quickly comforted him.

"Don't worry about it, it's just the beginning."

"Yeah, and it's your first time playing, don't put too much pressure on yourself."

Although everyone was comforting Momozawa, they were all a little nervous. They had watched Karasuno's previous matches and could see that the current Karasuno was very different from before, especially that new number 13, who was too threatening.

Unlike the tense atmosphere on Kakugawa's side, Karasuno was in the lead.

"We need to keep attacking!"

"Oh! Let's go!"

The whistle blew, and the match resumed. This time, Kakugawa seized an opportunity and Momozawa scored another point. The serve went to Kakugawa. An opportunity ball was sent over, and Karasuno began to organize their offense. Daichi was rotated to the front row. Kageyama passed the ball to Hinata again. This time, it was a normal quick attack. Hinata intended to spike, but Momozawa jumped up like an iron wall.

"Damn, he's so tall."

Changing tactics on the fly, Hinata went for a tip. His fingers hit the bottom of the volleyball, but even the tip couldn't clear Momozawa's outstretched hand. The ball bounced back down, and the others couldn't save it, allowing Kakugawa to score another point.

3:3, the score was tied by Kakugawa.

"Ahhh, sorry, everyone!"

Hinata clutched his head in extreme regret. Hayato patted his back.

"Don't worry about it."

"Damn, I really thought the tip would work."

"Shoyo, even if the tip doesn't work, there's another way to attack."

Winking at Hinata, Hinata immediately understood what Hayato meant.

After Kakugawa served, Hayato passed the ball directly to Hinata.

Hinata jumped high and, as the opposing team jumped to block, aimed for Momozawa's fingers and spiked the ball directly. The ball grazed his fingers and flew far away, completely out of reach for the Kakugawa players.

Scoring on the serve, Hinata personally won back the point they had lost.

4:3, Karasuno took the lead again.

The two teams exchanged points afterward. Because Momozawa was still new to volleyball, his skills other than spiking were not yet proficient. Karasuno players found an opportunity and, when Nishinoya subbed in, placed him on the opposite diagonal to receive Momozawa's diagonal spikes.

The effect was very significant. Furthermore, with Tsukishima rotated to the front row and coordinating with the others, Kakugawa was left with no options. With Momozawa rotated to the back row, the front row attackers were unable to break through the block.

"Nice job, Tsukki."

After successfully blocking another ball, Hayato, from the back row, went over and patted Tsukishima's back. Tsukishima clearly wasn't used to such familiarity.

"Um, Kuroba-senpai, please don't call me that."

"Huh? Doesn't Yamaguchi always call you that? We've also talked heart-to-heart under the moon, so what's wrong with it, Tsukki."

All he received in response was Tsukishima's disgusted look.

The score quickly reached 18:12. Looking at Hayato and Hinata, Momozawa's mind became chaotic. Hayato was about the same height as him but much more skilled. As for the other one, Hinata, he was only 162 cm, so why was this guy still better than him?

Momozawa, who had jumped up chasing Hinata, watched Hinata jump even higher than him. Gritting his teeth, he reached out his hand, but the height he achieved while chasing Hinata couldn't compare to a standing jump.

The volleyball flew into Kakugawa's court, scoring another point.

Although Kakugawa had Momozawa, their other players weren't bad, but they still weren't a match for Karasuno.

A spike against a block; whoever reached the peak first won. While Momozawa's jump height when prepared was indeed daunting, with Hayato and Hinata present, he couldn't defend properly with his attention split between the two. Kakugawa's block was easily torn apart by the two raptors.

And so, Karasuno vs. Kakugawa, in the first set, Karasuno won with a final point scored by multiple players attacking simultaneously, a comfortable 25:16 victory. Most of Kakugawa's points in this set were scored by Momozawa.

During the break before the second set, everyone was relaxing and rehydrating. Hayato was also happy because Karasuno had evolved to a level he hadn't known. Even Hinata wasn't suppressed by the two-meter giant and had scored several points against him with his own strength.

"Hayato-senpai? What's wrong?"

Noticing Hayato's gaze, Hinata, who was drinking water, tilted his head and looked at him.

"Ah, I'm just really proud. Hinata, like a newly hatched chick, is performing so well against a two-meter giant now."

Hayato reached out and ruffled Hinata's soft hair, his eyes moist with emotion.

Hearing this, the others also came over to ruffle Hinata. Hinata was like a cat surrounded by high school girls.

"Um, um, senpais, please don't do that, haha, it tickles."

On the other side, Kakugawa was having a strategy meeting.

They had no effective way to counter Karasuno's fierce offense. Therefore, they decided to give up blocking Hinata's spikes, as they simply couldn't keep up with his quick attacks. They shifted their defensive focus to Hayato.

"Although that number 13 is also a threat, we can still receive his spikes, and they can't block all of Momozawa's attacks."

"So, it's going to be an exchange of attacks."

Momozawa wiped the sweat from his face, his expression serious as he spoke.

"Yes, Karasuno is stronger than we imagined, but we didn't come here to lose. Everyone, let's do our best!"

"Oh!"

Watching the two teams resting on the court, Kouha was chatting with her friend in the second-floor stands.

"Uki, Karasuno is amazing, such a big victory."

"I saw."

"Hehe, maybe Karasuno can really make it to nationals."

Although Kouha didn't know much about volleyball, she had heard a lot about the match from Hitoka just now. When Hitoka mentioned that the volleyball club planned to aim for nationals, Kouha had been a little worried.

However, after watching this set, she had completely cast aside her worries.

"Kuroba-kun! Nishinoya-kun! Go for it!"

The second set of Karasuno vs. Kakugawa began. Kouha shouted their names loudly from the stands, making Nishinoya puff out his chest proudly. Tanaka on the court was incredibly jealous.

"Well, don't worry about it. After this match, I'll tell her your name."

"Really! Hayato, you truly are my best friend."