Bonus Chapter – Matsubara Girls’ High School Volleyball Club – Member Introduction

 

• Tachibana Yuuri

1st Year, Class 2
Height: 156.1 cm
Max Reach: 348 cm
Position: (If we had to say) Super Ace

The protagonist of this story. Originally male, but due to various circumstances, now female. As a side note, the male identity, Tachibana Yuuji, is officially considered missing for almost three years.
For her own reasons, she boasts an almost comically broken level of physical ability, to the point that she could realistically aim for world records in nearly every women’s track and field event.
In other words, a physical monster.
With training, not only could she match male athletes, she could potentially run 100m in the 8-second range (i.e., she still has room to improve).

• Tachibana Hina

1st Year, Class 2
Height: 173.8 cm
Max Reach: 286 cm
Position: Setter

Yuuri's older sister, and also the younger sister of Tachibana Yuuji — yes, it’s confusing.
She played volleyball in elementary school. Thanks to her tall stature and fiercely competitive nature, she became obsessed with practice and was beginning to show real talent. However, her teammates couldn’t keep up, so results didn’t follow.
She stopped playing during junior high but returned to the sport in high school.

• Tohira Asuka

1st Year, Class 2
Height: 168.7 cm
Max Reach: 284 cm
Position: Wing Spiker

A cheerful and spirited girl straight out of an old-school hot-blooded sports manga, blessed with natural talent.
She started volleyball in elementary school due to her older sister’s influence and had a solid performance throughout junior high.
Her sister is a graduate of Matsubara Girls' High. That sister served as the volleyball team’s captain when the current third-years were freshmen.

Goal: National championship.

• Murai Reiko

1st Year, Class 1
Height: 176.5 cm
Max Reach: 300 cm
Position: (Forcibly labeled as) Super Ace

A volleyball beginner with incredible physical ability.
Until now, she dedicated herself entirely to gymnastics, but after entering high school, she threw herself headfirst into volleyball.
The team’s most intense practice junkie.
A true genius in the sense of someone who polishes natural talent through hard work.

• Arimura Yukiko

1st Year, Class 4
Height: 143.4 cm
Max Reach: 248 cm
Position: Libero

A legendary player once known as the “Genius Libero of Sunagawa Middle School.”
However, due to her height, she wasn’t scouted by any elite high schools (though she’s unaware that some schools were still interested despite her stature).
She enrolled at Matsubara Girls’ — a school with a volleyball club on the brink of disbandment — simply because it was close to home (around a 10-minute walk).

• Itagaki Eriko

3rd Year, Class 3
Height: 165.4 cm
Max Reach: 258 cm
Position: Wing Spiker

The current captain of the Matsubara Girls’ volleyball team.
A good person, but easily swayed and not strict enough to keep the team’s discipline in check, which led to increasingly lax practices — a source of personal regret.
As a side note, those responsible for disrupting team discipline all left in their third year, citing college entrance exams.
In fairness, demanding intense practice from a team that had only four members and no second-years at the time was probably unrealistic.

• Okazaki Yui

3rd Year, Class 6
Height: 170.9 cm
Max Reach: 271 cm
Position: Middle Blocker

A third-year self-conscious about the freckles on her face.
She had half-given up, thinking the club would just be shut down. So when the younger sister of a former captain showed up with a group of new recruits, she was genuinely grateful.
But also — why are all five of the new girls beautiful!? What am I, the background character!? Cue justified jealousy.

• Ogino Miho

3rd Year, Class 1
Height: 160.0 cm
Max Reach: 251 cm

She casually started playing volleyball in elementary school and has continued through junior high and high school.
A bit short for the sport, but she refuses to give up.
Her parents have said if her grades drop, she has to quit club activities — so she never skips her review and prep work.

Supplement 1: Character Appearance Settings

In the story, Tachibana Yuuri is occasionally described as a “beautiful girl.”
However, this is largely because all the characters are typical Japanese, and Yuuri, being (visibly) mixed-race, stands out.
Her looks are indeed well-balanced, but still within the realm of realism.
Overseas, more glamorous types like Hina or Asuka would likely be considered more attractive as women compared to Yuuri, who jokingly calls herself “stubby.”

Supplement 2: Talent Settings

In the story, Hina, Asuka, and Yukiko are sometimes referred to as “geniuses,” but this comes with the major caveat of “within the context of Japanese high school girls' volleyball.”
To use a baseball analogy: they’re the kind of players who could be starters for a team that regularly reaches Koshien (the national high school baseball tournament), but they’re not talented enough to go pro.
Even Koshien-winning teams might only produce three or four pro-level players.

Hina and the others wouldn’t get noticed by pro scouts.
The one who would is Reiko — she has the level of talent to be considered in the draft.
However, she’s still a total novice, so it’s all potential at this stage.

Yuuri, meanwhile, is so absurdly broken that she’s simply excluded from this discussion.

The three third-years are just slightly above average in talent, honed through diligent effort.

Supplement 3: On the “Super Ace” Position

Technically, a “Super Ace” refers to a player who participates in attacks regardless of whether they’re in the front or back row.
At present, neither Yuuri nor Reiko can pull off a back attack.
When they're in the back row, they’re subbed out for Yukiko the libero.
Also — their receiving skills are so terrible they’re basically defensive liabilities.

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