"Quick set!"
"Faster! Don't give their wing spiker time to react!"
"Don't hesitate!"
After Kageyama set the ball, the momentum of the motion threw his body backward, but his eyes never left the ball.
He was completely focused.
But what looked perfect in theory fell apart in reality.
Even though the wing spiker had already sprinted forward with everything he had and jumped, the ball still dropped short. It turned into nothing but a free ball, handing North River another point.
"Damn it, what are you people even thinking!?"
"To you, is winning really worth that little!?"
"You have to stay completely focused on the court!"
Kageyama's face twisted fiercely when he saw them lose another point.
His expression turned grim.
He couldn't understand why his teammates refused to cooperate with him. It had been such a good chance to score, and they had wasted it again!
After that, for one reason or another,
Kitagawa Daiichi lost more than ten points in a row and ultimately dropped the second set.
And just as both teams were about to switch sides,
"Kageyama, that set you gave me was too low. Even if I ran at full speed, I still couldn't catch up to it."
An impatient look appeared on Kitagawa Daiichi's wing spiker's face as he spoke, clearly holding back his near-explosive frustration.
Hearing that, Kageyama had originally wanted to step forward and argue.
He wanted to ask why the other guy hadn't cooperated with him, only to turn around and blame him afterward.
But at that moment, Coach Sumi used a time-out and began coming up with a strategy for dealing with Hank while adjusting the team's condition.
"I honestly didn't expect North River to still have someone this gifted hidden away."
"He's in position four right now, which lets him make full use of his vertical jump."
"From here on out, I want you to do everything you can to take one point and rotate him into the back row. Once he's no longer in the front row blocking, an offense organized by the setter will be able to win much more easily."
"Remember this: right now, everyone's attention is on that wing spiker. The rest of them pose no threat to you at all."
After a simple analysis, Coach Sumi arrived at a conclusion.
If they focused all their attention on shutting Hank down, then as long as they could force him into the back row, the threat he posed to their side would plummet.
"All right, that's enough."
"Now get back out there."
"Kitagawa absolutely cannot stop here. Our goal is the national tournament!"
Coach Sumi spoke forcefully, and the members of Kitagawa's school team stacked their hands together and shouted in unison.
Then they all returned to the court.
After their coach's encouragement, Kageyama and the others were all fired up again. They were Kitagawa Daiichi Junior High!
How could they possibly lose to North River!?
As the referee's whistle blew, North River Middle School's serve crossed the net, and the ball dug up by Kitagawa Daiichi's libero floated above the net.
And instead of setting the ball like usual and organizing an attack for the wing spiker, Kageyama, acting as the setter, did not set the ball at all.
Instead, he jumped straight up from where he stood and hammered the ball down with a fierce spike.
Aiming directly at a weak point on North River's side, he drove the ball straight into the hands of a North River player standing in the back, frozen in a daze.
Just as expected, the ball was deflected straight out of bounds.
"It's over, I actually made such a huge mistake!"
The North River player who had knocked the volleyball out of bounds instantly went pale. He could feel that he had made a terrible mistake just now.
He had actually zoned out in the middle of the match.
(End of Chapter)
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