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After the End of Set 1
Tamaki Commercial High Side
Perspective: Ichikawa Makiko
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“We’re even now. Really, I’m the one at fault for not protecting my head properly. You didn’t do anything wrong. That was a great spike.”
Saying something that cool, Yacchin walks away from the angel-chan (she’s a monster during matches, but for now, we’ll go with angel, okay?).
“So, how is it really?”
I ask in a whisper.
“Maki, you’re overthinking it. It’s just a lightweight volleyball, you know? I’m totally fine.”
Well, if you say so...
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We move courts and head over to the coach. The first thing out of the coach’s mouth is:
“Hey, Yamaki, your head okay? That last hit made a hell of a sound.”
Yeah, that’s just like Coach Kumada—or rather, Kumada-sensei.
“I’m fine. No issues going into Set 2.”
But Kumada-sensei doesn’t accept that so easily. He holds up his right hand with just the index finger raised.
“How many fingers am I holding up?”
“One.”
“And now?”
“Three.”
“Your name, school, and class?”
“Kaede Yamaki. Tamaki Commercial High School, Business Department, 3rd Year, Class 1, Roll number 38.”
“First of the four sacred volleyball club rules I always preach?”
“First is life, second is academics. Three and four don’t matter, and fifth is club activities.”
“Your measurements? From the top down.”
“Sensei. You wanna get hit with a sexual harassment complaint?”
“...”
“...”
“You’re good to go then?”
“Absolutely!”
Kumada-sensei scratches his head roughly.
“Alright, I get it. —Hey, Yamanami, take Yamaki to the nurse’s office. Her consciousness seems clear and her footing looks fine, so I don’t think we need a stretcher, but don’t take your eyes off her. If anything happens, call me immediately. Got that?”
He gives the instruction to Yama-chan, our manager.
“Wait a minute! I—”
“Didn’t those words come out of your own damn mouth just now?! ‘Life comes first,’ remember?! Nothing’s more important than that. Until I’ve confirmed with my own eyes that you’re really okay, you’re not going back out on that court.”
“It’s just volley ball!”
“That’s right. A volley ball doesn’t even weigh 300 grams. And no matter how amazing the hit was, it was still just a girl’s spike. If we ran off to the nurse’s office for that, boys’ soccer—with a 450g ball and legs that are way stronger than arms—would need stretchers every time they went for a header.”
“Exactly! So—”
“But volleyball is different from soccer. It’s not a sport designed for you to take hits to the head. And it wasn’t just any spike. That thing was pro-level speed—comparable to men’s pros. Didn’t you know? Spikes at that level can split the fingers if blocked wrong, or even cause dislocations. And you took that to the head. No matter how unlikely, there's a chance of serious injury. So you will get checked at the nurse’s office. That’s my decision as coach. Understood?”
“...!!! ...!! ...Yes.”
I don’t protest. I know he’s right. So—
“Yacchin, sorry. We’ll enjoy the taste of victory while you’re gone, okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. Set 1 was barely ours anyway.”
・
・
・
"...Sorry. I'll be right back."
"Leave it to me."
Yacchin heads off to the nurse’s office with Yama-chan. This is for the best.
"Alright then. We're going into the second set without Yamaki, but since we’re here, let's take this chance to shuffle the lineup a bit."
Our team places a strong emphasis on coordinated plays. Especially against our current opponent—Matsubara Girls’ High—who boast intense offensive power and high-level blocking. To make the most of the few chances we get, we want to avoid their blocks and attack wherever possible.
Yacchin is a key player in the coordinated plays among us third-years. In other words, without her, our third-year synergy doesn’t completely fall apart, but it does drop by around twenty percent. So right now, building a lineup around the second-years (though I’ll still be playing) would make us stronger.
So then, why did we go with a third-year-centered team in the first set? Well, because the third-years are simply stronger...
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・
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And to be honest, we underestimated the opponent. Or rather, maybe we chose to look away from the truth.
At Matsubara Girls’, all eyes are drawn to Angel-chan. Even if you set aside how cute she is, just the fact that she looks like a foreigner makes her stand out. And she jumps unbelievably high. Her spikes boom through the air. Her serves are lightning-fast. She draws attention whether she wants it or not. So the other players don’t stand out much. Under normal circumstances, they’d be stars themselves…
BAM!!
"Reiko! Nice key play!"
Cheers ring out from the opposite court. In the second set, Matsubara Girls’ number 3 has gotten much better at switching between straight and cross shots.
Judging from how she looks, she probably had the ability all along but was too nervous to show it in the first set. In the gaps between rallies, I can even hear someone saying, “Rei-chan, focus on your arm swing.”
Number 3 isn’t especially tall, but her jumping ability is incredible. Her abs and back muscles must be impressive too. And she’s super flexible. When she spikes, she curls her body mid-air like a ∩ shape, using her whole body to drive a powerful, fast shot.
In the first set, we managed to read her course, so it wasn’t too bad. But now, she’s able to hit both cross and straight shots with almost the same form until the very last moment—making it nearly impossible to react in time.
She’s probably watching the block and aiming for the open side.
So, what to do? If the ball keeps going to the left, then we start with a dedicated shift to our right (their left)—basically bunching our block on that side. Since number 3 still isn’t quite comfortable with straight shots, cross is probably her preferred angle. So we close off the straight and lure her into hitting cross.
And then, if we can successfully receive that spike...
There’s a chance to take advantage of it.
Both sides, including us, are definitely slowing down from having to play two matches in such a short time. But Matsubara’s depth is thin. number 3 and Angel-chan still look full of energy, likely because they rotate out with the libero when they’re in the back row. But number 5, who's been playing the whole time—constantly covering for two inexperienced players and always jumping for blocks—is now resting both hands on her knees during every break between rallies.
Number 1 is only managing to cheer loudly through sheer willpower and a sense of duty. Even number 4 and number 7 are starting to show signs of fatigue.
They only have one substitute.
It’s not over. It’s still too early to give up.
Tamaki Commercial High School vs. Matsubara Girls' High School
Second Set – Current Score
12–18
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