The volleyball shot out violently.
In the eyes of the spectators, it was so fast only an afterimage seemed to remain.
But Keiichiro could still see the path of the ball clearly. Once he saw it, his mindset also steadied. This ball was not all that different from the last one. If he had to say what was different, then it was that the timing of the serve had been more torturous, and the speed was also quite fast.
But for Keiichiro, he had already faced balls that were even harder to receive. Even though he had not managed to receive that one, any ball after this, no matter how troublesome, could only be around that level.
Seeing that the volleyball was about to reach him, Keiichiro ran toward the three-meter line without hesitation.
He felt that something about this ball was strange. Its landing point was different from before. It was possible that Bokuto had made a mistake, and honestly, that kind of thing happening to Bokuto made perfect sense.
Just as Keiichiro thought, Bokuto had indeed made a mistake on this ball. The moment Bokuto jumped and struck the volleyball, he sensed that something was wrong. The contact area against his palm had changed, possibly because the timing of his toss had been different.
To other people, this ball looked extremely powerful, but anyone who understood Bokuto knew this guy had definitely made a mistake.
Keiichiro shifted his weight onto his left knee, then stretched both hands forward. Both his arms were tensed tightly. He had already prepared himself to absorb the impact at any moment.
"Bang!"
The volleyball slammed hard into Keiichiro's arms.
When Keiichiro received the ball, he let out a breath of relief inwardly. Good thing he had moved forward several body lengths in advance. Otherwise, he definitely would have missed this ball.
Then Keiichiro prepared to absorb the force.
He shifted his weight into his feet. The moment he received the volleyball, the enormous force pressed down on him, and he followed that force into a roll. He had not been knocked down by the volleyball. This was him dispersing the impact.
After its force was absorbed, the volleyball turned into a very ordinary first pass. It looked completely tame now, with none of the fierce momentum it had shown earlier.
The volleyball flew at a normal height.
Everyone on Kamomedai let out a breath of relief. Thankfully, this ball had been received.
As for Bokuto, he felt a little embarrassed and guilty. To cover up his feelings, Bokuto gave a "hehe" laugh, then ran with everyone else to join the attack, trying to forget the whole thing.
Konoha sighed. He knew it. Once Bokuto got too happy, he was prone to mistakes. If he had known, he would have reminded him. But this mistake was not very obvious, so the coach probably had not noticed, right? If he had, then once the match ended, Bokuto would definitely be doing extra practice again.
Coach Takurō had not seen it, of course... As if that were possible!
Takurō's eyes were fixed on everyone on the court at every moment. The instant he saw Bokuto fail to serve after the whistle sounded, he knew there was probably going to be trouble. Takurō's expression did not look good, his face dark and heavy.
Seeing that, Coach Washijō let out a snort of amusement. This was Fukurōdani's player. If this had been one of his own players, Coach Washijō would probably have exploded on the spot and started scolding from the bench.
After Kazuyoshi Bessho saw Keiichiro get that ball up, he also let out a breath of relief. The situation he had been most worried about had not happened.
The first pass was bumped toward position four.
Kazuyoshi Bessho was only one body length away from position four. One step was enough to reach it. There was no need to run at all.
As Kazuyoshi Bessho got to the pass, he was still thinking about who he should set to.
He saw Suwa and Hirugami running toward position two, preparing to block. Meanwhile, Hakuba, who had been taking part in blocks all this time, was beginning his run-up and seemed to have some intention of attacking.
As Hakuba began his run-up, Hoshiumi also started running from position six. The two brushed past each other during their approaches, and from the other side, it looked as if they had crossed paths.
Washio looked at Hoshiumi and Hakuba, unsure who was going to spike and unsure who Kazuyoshi Bessho would send the ball to. Washio felt that the one spiking would probably be Hoshiumi. After all, Hoshiumi had not spiked much since the start of this set. But why single out Hakuba? Hadn't Hakuba always been responsible for blocking?
Washio was a little confused, but it did not matter. He only had to stop one of them. The remaining one could be left to Konoha.
Kazuyoshi Bessho looked toward the net. Hakuba and Hoshiumi had already begun gathering power to jump. Hakuba's side had indeed drawn two blockers over. Konoha and Onaga had both gone there, while Hoshiumi only had one blocker in front of him.
But Washio's block was also very strong.
Kazuyoshi Bessho hesitated for only 0.0001 seconds before sending the ball to Hoshiumi. One of them was jumping from position two, and the other from position three. The ball set to Hoshiumi happened to pass through the area where Hakuba was jumping.
Kazuyoshi Bessho raised his hands and sent out a long set.
Hakuba heard the sound of the volleyball cutting through the air. When he turned his head, he saw the ball and immediately jumped, preparing to spike.
Onaga and Konoha also jumped, ready to block.
Hakuba held his face tense, his right hand exerting force until his muscles bulged. Then he swung down hard.
Onaga and Konoha stretched their arms straight to block.
"Bang!"
"Beep!"
The sound of the volleyball hitting the floor rang out, but over at position two, one person had not hit the ball, and the others had not blocked it. After landing, they exchanged a glance, then moved in perfect sync and looked toward Hoshiumi's side.
There stood Hoshiumi and Washio face-to-face. The volleyball had already landed by Washio's feet. Washio's face looked a little dark, while Hoshiumi said nothing. Still, the smugness and provocation in his eyes were almost unbearable to look at.
The two of them stood facing each other, and it was as if the air itself had stopped moving. Now that these two had locked eyes, it looked like they were going to clash head-on.
"Point for Kamomedai! A tip from Hoshiumi! The 1.6-meter Hoshiumi tips the ball past the 1.8-meter Washio!"
Hearing the commentator, everyone understood why Washio's expression looked so bad. Being beaten by a tip from someone who was 1.6 meters tall would not make anyone happy.
After hearing the commentary, Hoshiumi completely bristled. He put his hands on his hips and shouted toward the direction of the broadcast,
"What do you mean, 1.6 meters?! I'm clearly 1.623 meters!"
Hirugami had already come over the moment he heard the announcement. He knew Hoshiumi was going to get angry. Did this commentator even know how to compliment people?
Before Hoshiumi could say anything even worse, Hirugami covered his mouth, smiled apologetically at Washio, and dragged him away.
Hoshiumi's defiant eyes and wildly kicking legs made it very clear that he was in an awful mood.
What had just happened was this.
Kazuyoshi Bessho had originally planned to set the ball to Hakuba, thinking that having Hakuba spike would be a little more unexpected. But he had not expected there to be two blockers on Hakuba's side. Compared to that, Hoshiumi's side had a better chance of scoring, so Kazuyoshi Bessho put a little more force into the set and sent it to Hoshiumi.
Hoshiumi heard the sound of the volleyball coming and jumped to spike.
He had originally wanted to hit a block-out, but he had not expected Washio to dodge perfectly, as if his hands had eyes. Hoshiumi's face darkened with anger on the spot.
Then, seeing the height of his ball, his mind turned. If he could not hit a block-out, he could tip it instead. Even if the tip did not go over, he could still mess with Washio a little. Perfect.
That was what Hoshiumi thought, and that was exactly what his hand did. The moment Washio pulled his hands back, Hoshiumi lightly flicked the ball with his fingertips.
The volleyball flew straight behind Washio.
Keiichiro's attention had also been on Hakuba's side. In a crowd, the place with more people was always more attention-grabbing. Haruki Komi had only glanced over there once, and the volleyball had already landed.
He was instantly furious. If he had known, he would not have looked around. Right now, he even wanted to smack himself.
"Ah... sorry."
Washio looked at Hoshiumi for a while, then withdrew his gaze and apologized to Keiji Akaashi and Bokuto, who had rushed over.
Keiji Akaashi waved his hand, showing that it was fine.
But Washio still looked like he was in a very bad mood. In his heart, he quietly made a decision. If he found the chance, he would definitely hit one over Hoshiumi's head.
Being tipped on really was frustrating.
At his core, Washio was actually an honest person. He had only learned those little tricks out of necessity for volleyball.
Kamomedai scored again, widening the gap between the two teams back to two points. They were still leading Fukurōdani.
Bokuto looked at the scoreboard, then withdrew his gaze. There was no need to panic in this situation. First, they had to pull the momentum back again.
No rush, no rush.
Bokuto blinked, thinking that to himself.
It was Kamomedai's serve again. Haruki Komi watched Suwa walk to the service line, and his expression nearly cracked on the spot.
The thing he hated most right now was seeing Suwa at the service line. Hoshiumi's and Hirugami's serves could be received as long as your physical ability was strong enough, but Suwa's serves required thinking. Constant thinking.
Komi felt like, by the end of this match, he was about to grow a whole new brain.
Suwa stood at the service line, smiling like a fox. He really did not look like a good person.
Tsutomu Goshiki saw Suwa's smile and turned to glance at Atsumu Miya. These two looked so alike when they served, both wearing that ill-intentioned smile, like they were clearly planning something bad.
At that moment, Tsutomu Goshiki's brainwaves lined up perfectly with Haruki Komi's.
Suwa looked at Komi, thinking about what kind of serve he should hit to make Komi unable to receive it. But before he could think for long, the referee's whistle sounded.
"Beep!"
Suwa glanced at Komi again, then looked away. He tossed the volleyball and began his run-up. Haruki Komi watched Suwa with a guarded expression. No matter what kind of ball this was... he had to receive it!
Suwa took a few steps forward, jumped, and struck the lower half of the volleyball with his palm.
"Bang!"
The volleyball was sent flying.
Haruki Komi's current position was a little far back. The sound of that serve had not been very loud, so this ball probably would not land in the front court. It should be somewhat like a sinking floater.
Haruki Komi ran to midcourt, predicted a point for himself, and waited to receive.
Komi watched the ball come over, but for some reason, its arc was extremely low. It had even nearly caught the net when crossing. Was this a mistake, or was this ball supposed to be like that?
There was no time to think. This ball felt like it was about to hit the floor. Komi hurried over to receive it, running toward position five, crouching down with his legs slightly bent, trying to get the ball up.
Haruki Komi got into position and waited for the ball to land in the bend of his arms. But as he stared at it, Komi kept feeling that something was wrong. The ball was wobbling the whole time, and the amount it shook was far too large.
"Bang!"
The volleyball hit Komi's arms.
Just as Haruki Komi let out a breath of relief, thinking that the ball was over, the volleyball drifted away from his arms in the very next instant. It floated away lightly. Komi watched it float away with his own eyes, his eyes wide open, while the confusion in his heart made him want to pound the floor in frustration.
After the volleyball drifted away, it lightly landed on the floor behind him. Bokuto had originally been beside Komi. He had seen that the ball was about to be received and had already begun preparing to run, but he never expected the ball to drift straight past the bend of Komi's arms and land directly.
With his foot already lifted, Bokuto could not run forward, and it was too late to turn back and receive. He froze on the spot. After a brief one-second pause, Bokuto bent down and tried to dive for the ball, but because of that one second of hesitation, the volleyball was already about to hit the floor.
Even after diving and landing flat on the floor, he failed to receive the ball.
"Beep!"
While Bokuto was still lying on the floor in a daze, the referee's whistle woke him up. Bokuto immediately climbed to his feet, his big eyes looking at Haruki Komi in confusion.
Komi closed his eyes, then opened them again, ready to speak. But the commentator's voice came out first.
"A brilliant random-drift float serve! That was Kamomedai's Suwa, using a random-drift float to score another point for Kamomedai!"
"Yes. Suwa is currently using jump float serves on the court, and that last ball was a random-drift float within the jump float category. With an ordinary jump float serve, the server can aim the angle and target the Libero, forcing them to receive. But with a random-drift float, even the server does not know the exact degree of wobble or the final landing point. They only know the general direction and area. If it is a Libero's first time receiving this kind of ball, they can only analyze it slowly, or go through trial and error step by step, before they can find a general method."
Actually, the commentator was still putting it politely. That step-by-step trial and error was not about letting the Libero find a way to handle it. It was about letting the Libero's body adapt to the trajectory and arc of a random-drift float after it was served. Basically, it would take two or three balls.
No one on Fukurōdani said anything, because they had heard what the commentator just said. So that meant the ball just now had been a random-drift float.
Suwa stood at the service line, smiling with a kind and friendly face. When Komi saw that Suwa was still smiling, the calm expression on his face nearly failed to hold.
"Suwa, Suwa, when did you practice that serve? You were secretly doing extra practice behind our backs?"
Hoshiumi looked at Suwa with questioning eyes.
Suwa smiled helplessly.
"When did I ever secretly practice behind your back? I've been practicing it all along. You even asked me before why I was practicing the most basic serve. Did you forget?"
Hearing Suwa's words, Hoshiumi instantly remembered. Before the prefectural tournament, Suwa had been alone in a small corner practicing the most ordinary serve. At the time, Hoshiumi had wondered whether Suwa was just too bored. But now, it seemed that a jump float serve might need to be built up step by step from the most basic serve.