[Day Three of the Inter-High Preliminaries]
Morning Matches—Aoba Johsai vs. Johzenji, and Wakutani Minami vs. Shiratorizawa.
After yesterday's post-match interview, Taichi offended three 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 considered 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—one team 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 second-year players; all the third-years had retired after last year's Spring High, and they even had a new coach.
Johzenji, known for their plain and steadfast style, underwent a drastic change with the arrival of Terushima Yūji and his group.
Perhaps it was the new coach's style meshing well with the new players' personalities, but Johzenji, once a team with average performance, was now making an impressive run in this year's IH qualifiers, having reached the final four.
"Forget about all that. Our goal is—to have more fun than anyone else here!" Terushima Yūji led the eclectic Johzenji team onto the court.
"Hahaha, here comes the 'festival team'!" The audience, many of whom were Johzenji fans, felt the festive atmosphere and joined in the fun.
"What a strange team," Kunimi Akira mused, feeling a strange dissonance with 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 similar light-hearted vibe," Hanamaki Takahiro chuckled beside him.
Tōru Oikawa: "No way, I'm totally reliable, right, Iwa-chan?"
Iwaizumi Hajime rolled his eyes and stayed silent.
Aoba Johsai's most responsible player, Taichi Kaedehara, was also not joining the conversation. He was focused on observing each Johzenji player.
[Terushima Yūji, WIng spiker(Ace); Overall ability Score:86, Height:177.2 cm, Strength:88, Jump:89, Stamina:82, Speed:88. Technique: Receive:84, Spike:86.]
Johzenji's ace and captain had a decent 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. Technique: 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. Technique: Receive:80, Spike:84.]
Another player with a funny name! It 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. Technique: Receive:82, Spike:82.]
Taichi noticed 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. Technique: Receive:82, Spike:86.]
[Bobata Kazuma, Middle blocker; Overall ability Score:79, Height:185.9 cm, Strength:70, Jump:82, Stamina:72, Speed:88. Technique: Receive:78, Spike:82.]
One strange name after another!
[Tsuchiyu Arata, Libero; Overall ability Score:76, Height:185.9 cm, Strength:68, Jump:83, Stamina:70, Speed:84. Technique: Receive:75.]
As a libero, his receiving ability is the weakest on the team!
However, after closely observing Johzenji, Taichi Kaedehara noticed that perhaps because all the starters were second-year players, their fundamentals were strong but none of them stood out particularly.
Nonetheless, most of them seemed quite agile.
With the blow of the whistle, the two teams, having had no prior encounters, 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 Akira
Back row—Middle Blocker Kyōtani Kentarō (Libero: Watari Shinji), Wing Spiker Hanamaki Takahiro and Setter Oikawa Tōru.
Johzenji's lineup was:
Front row—Wing Spiker Terushima Yūji, Setter Takeshita Futamata, and Middle Blocker Kazuma Bobata
Back row—Middle 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 placed in position 1 to gain an early advantage.
"Alright—here we go!"
"Wow, that was powerful!"
Although it was the first serve and Oikawa Tōru hadn't used his full strength, Johzenji's back row player Numajiri Rintarō managed to receive it.
But the ball flew out of bounds, it seemed like it was going to be out—
"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 arcing straight to Aoba Johsai's baseline, landing heavily at Kyōtani Kentarō's feet.
"Seriously?" Kunimi Akira looked back.
"A baseline attack...and with his back to the net," Iwaizumi Hajime was equally astonished. "Normally, you'd just safely bump the ball back."
Terushima Yūji scored with his spike!
[Aoba Johsai 0 - 1 Johzenji]
Even with just one point, Johzenji's players jumped and celebrated enthusiastically.
Breaking Aoba Johsai's strongest serve round in one play, with such agility and ball control during the receive and spike, Taichi Kaedehara now understood how they made it to the final four.
Johzenji served next, with Bobota Kazuma simply standing and hitting the ball without a jump.
Hanamaki Takahiro received it, Oikawa Tōru set it to the left, and Taichi spiked it down with lightning speed.
No matter how fast, there was no time to react to a ball like that on the first encounter.
Taichi Kaedehara scored with his spike.
[Aoba Johsai 1 - 1 Johzenji]
"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 interest.
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