"Breaking through you really was a little difficult, huh? But nobody else can jump as high as you!"
Seizing the opportunity, Hayato spiked the ball over another player's outstretched hands, scoring directly once more. Even the defending player's diving save failed to reach it.
"Good!"
2:0
The Karasu High players celebrated loudly after scoring again, completely shaking off the pressure brought by Kakugawa's two-meter player.
"Karasu scored again?"
"No way, is Karasu really this strong?"
The discussions around her reached Hitoka's ears, making her feel proud as well. So what if they had a two-meter player? We had Kuroba-senpai.
The match continued. This time, Hayato failed to block Momozawa Yudai's spike. A powerful cross-court spike allowed Kakugawa to win back a point.
"Damn it, sorry. That was my mistake."
Hayato apologized regretfully, but no one minded. They encouraged one another and prepared for the next ball.
After Kakugawa scored, the serve changed hands. An easy ball came over, and Nishinoya, who had just entered the court, received it. This time, Kageyama set the ball to Hinata. Hinata soared through the air and scored before anyone on Kakugawa could react.
Looking back at the volleyball that had already landed, Momozawa Yudai's shock was easy to imagine. He had clearly been watching the ball, but in that instant, it had flown into Hinata's hands. By the time he reacted, it had already hit the floor.
"What was that?"
Momozawa was filled with shock at an attack he had never seen before.
"There it is, the Super Quick Attack."
"Huh, is that the one they used in the first match?"
"That number 10 is so fast."
Karasu High's display of strength once again made everyone see them in a new light.
Forced to call a timeout, Kakugawa gathered all its players.
"Sorry, senpai."
Momozawa had performed well in the previous match, yet he was unable to score smoothly against Karasu High. He was deeply frustrated, and his teammates hurried to comfort him.
"Don't worry about it. We're only just getting started."
"Yeah, and it's your first time playing. Don't put too much pressure on yourself."
Although everyone was comforting Momozawa, they were all somewhat nervous. They had watched Karasu High's earlier matches, and it was fair to say that the current Karasu High was completely different from before. That newly joined number 13 in particular was far too threatening.
Unlike Kakugawa's tense atmosphere, Karasu High was in the lead.
"Keep attacking like this."
"Yeah! Let's go!"
The whistle blew, and the match resumed. This time, Kakugawa seized an opportunity and let Momozawa score again. The serve passed to Kakugawa, and an easy ball came over. Karasu High began organizing an attack. Daichi had rotated into the front row, and Kageyama set the ball to Hinata once more. This time, it was only an ordinary quick attack. Hinata had wanted to spike, but Momozawa leaped up before him like an Iron Wall.
"Damn it, he's so tall."
Hinata changed tactics at the last second and turned it into a tip, his fingers striking the lower half of the ball. But even the tip could not clear Momozawa's palm. The ball bounced back down, and before anyone could save it, Kakugawa scored again.
3:3. Kakugawa had tied the score.
"Ahhh, sorry, everyone!"
Hinata clutched his head, utterly regretful, and Hayato patted him on the back.
"Don't worry about it."
"Damn it, I thought the tip would work."
"Shoyo, even if a tip doesn't work, there's another way to attack."
Hayato winked at Hinata, who immediately understood what he meant.
After Kakugawa served again, Hayato sent the ball directly to Hinata.
Hinata jumped high. As the opposing blockers rose up, he aimed at Momozawa's fingers and spiked directly. The ball grazed his fingertips and flew far away, too far for any Kakugawa player to chase down.
Hinata scored off the serve, personally winning back the point he had lost.
4:3. Karasu High took the lead again.
After that, both teams scored in turn. Since Momozawa was still new to volleyball, his other skills besides spiking were not yet polished. Karasu High seized the opportunity and, whenever Nishinoya was on the court, placed him on the opposite diagonal to receive Momozawa's cross-court spikes.
The results were obvious. Tsukishima's move to the front row and his coordination with the others left Kakugawa helpless. With Momozawa rotated to the back row, Kakugawa's front-row attackers could not break through the blocks.
"Nice one, Atsuki."
After successfully blocking another ball, Hayato, who was in the back row, went over and patted Tsukishima on the back. Tsukishima clearly was not used to such familiarity.
"Um, Kuroba-senpai, please don't call me that."
"Huh? Yamaguchi always calls you that. We've even had a heart-to-heart under the moonlight, so what's wrong with Atsuki?"
Tsukishima only answered with a look of disgust.
The score soon reached 18:12. Looking at Hayato and Hinata, Momozawa's thoughts became increasingly chaotic. Hayato was about the same height as him, yet he was far stronger. And Hinata was only 162 centimeters tall, so why was he still better than him?
Chasing after Hinata, Momozawa jumped and watched Hinata rise even higher than him. Gritting his teeth, he stretched out his hand, but a jump made while chasing someone could not compare to a standing jump.
The volleyball flew into Kakugawa's court and scored again.
Although Kakugawa had Momozawa, and their other players were not bad either, they still fell short compared to Karasu High.
In a battle between a spike and a block, whoever reached the peak first won. Momozawa's jumping height was indeed terrifying when he had time to prepare, but with Hayato and Hinata there to split his attention, he had no time to defend properly. Kakugawa's blocks were easily torn apart by the two raptors.
And so, in the first set of Karasu High vs. Kakugawa, Karasu High scored the final point through a simultaneous multi-player attack and won easily, 25:16. Most of Kakugawa's points had come from Momozawa.
During the break before the second set, everyone relaxed and drank water. Hayato was happy too, because Karasu High had evolved beyond what he knew. Even Hinata had not been suppressed by that two-meter giant and had won several points off him through his own ability.
"Hayato-senpai? What's wrong?"
Noticing Hayato's gaze, Hinata tilted his head toward him while drinking water.
"Nothing. I'm just moved. Hinata used to be like a newly hatched chick, but now he can perform so well even against a two-meter giant."
Hayato reached out and rubbed Hinata's soft hair, emotionally wiping at the corner of his eye.
After hearing that, the others also came over and ruffled Hinata's hair. Hinata was like a cat surrounded by high school girls.
"Um, um, senpai, please don't do this. Hahaha, that tickles."
Meanwhile, Kakugawa was holding a strategy meeting.
Facing Karasu High's fierce attacks, they had no way to respond effectively. So they decided to give up trying to stop Hinata's spikes. They simply could not keep up with that quick attack, so they shifted their defensive focus to Hayato.
"Although that number 13 is just as threatening, we can still receive his spikes. They can't block all of Momozawa's attacks either."
"So we're going to trade blows?"
Momozawa wiped the sweat from his face and spoke with a serious expression.
"Yeah. Karasu High is stronger than we imagined, but we didn't come here to lose. Everyone, let's go!"
"Yeah!"
Watching the two teams resting on the court, Kouha chatted with her friend in the second-floor stands.
"Uki, Karasu High is amazing. They won by such a huge margin."
"I saw."
"Hehe, maybe Karasu High can really make it to nationals."
Kouha did not know much about volleyball, but Hitoka had explained quite a bit about the match to her. When she heard that the Volleyball Club intended to advance to nationals, Kouha had been somewhat worried.
But after watching this set, she completely threw those worries aside.
"Kuroba-kun! Nishinoya-kun! Go for it!"
The second set of Karasu High vs. Kakugawa began. Kouha shouted both their names from the stands, causing Nishinoya to straighten his chest with a proud look on his face. Tanaka, on the court, was consumed by jealousy.
"Come on, don't worry about it. Once this match is over, I'll tell her your name."
"Really? Hayato, you truly are my best friend."
Before you continue