After several long minutes of silence, Hank, who was standing on the court, was finally jolted back to reality by the cheers of Oikawa and the others beside him.
Aoba Johsai's players all rushed toward him at once.
On that last ball, he had relied on an instinctive block and somehow managed to score a point off Wakatoshi Ushijima. It had been incredibly close.
There had even been a moment when Hank felt that Ushijima had seen through the intent behind his block and was preparing to hit around it. Fortunately, the result had still turned out well. Nothing unexpected had happened in the end, and they had taken that point.
The final score between Aoba Johsai High and Shiratorizawa Academy settled at 27–25.
After four hard-fought sets, Aoba Johsai had finally defeated Shiratorizawa. Seeing the scene before him, even Coach Nobuteru Irihata could not help standing up and applauding toward the court. He could tell that, in the match against Shiratorizawa, they had already given everything they had.
Even if they wanted to play better than that, it probably would have been impossible.
"I can't believe we actually won. Before this, we never had any chance of defeating Shiratorizawa, but after Hank joined us, we finally got one!"
"This time, we're only one step away from Spring High! We owe all of this to Hank."
"Time will prove everything. Hank is definitely going to become a super ace in the future."
Many of the people surrounding Hank could not help cheering him on. So many times, they had believed they were bound to lose to Shiratorizawa, but in the end, Hank had always been able to step forward.
That alone was enough to prove his strength, as well as his sheer presence.
If he had not led Aoba Johsai, they would never have had a chance to reach the Spring High stage.
They might have remained eternal second place in Miyagi Prefecture, forever serving as Shiratorizawa's stepping stone.
Ushijima looked at the ball lying beside his foot. The expression on his face was still frozen in stunned disbelief.
This was the first time he had ever encountered a situation like this. He had not even managed to secure a ticket to Spring High. From here on, they would not have many more chances to enter Spring High as a team.
As their ace, he bore tremendous responsibility.
"I didn't expect this result either, but there's nothing we can do about it."
"Things don't always go your way."
Tendō walked over to Ushijima's side and began comforting him. He knew that Ushijima desperately wanted to prove to his father that he could become a top-level volleyball player in the future.
But now, all of that had been put on pause along with the end of this match.
Tendō had never once doubted Ushijima's talent. It was just that, sometimes, a person also needed a little luck.
"Damn it. I still didn't play any key role."
Tears welled in Goshiki's eyes. Even at the final moment, the one who had stepped forward was still Ushijima.
All Goshiki had been able to do was serve as a decoy. Although he believed from the bottom of his heart that Ushijima could accomplish anything, he himself had not been of much use.
That was what frustrated him the most.
Hank raised his head and looked toward the fans in the stands. They were all cheering for him, and his heart filled with a deep sense of pride.
This was the satisfaction that volleyball gave him.
No other sport could give him this feeling.
The full fusion of teamwork and individual strength.
Ding-dong!
Detected that the host has successfully advanced in the Spring High preliminaries.
System functions upgraded!
(End of Chapter)
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