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Spring High – Prefectural Final Qualifiers – Girls’ Finals
During the 4th Set
From the Girls' Locker Room Attached to the Gymnasium
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While the girls’ final match was underway in the arena with the 4th set in progress, Himesaki High’s girls’ volleyball team captain, Nishimura, was in the girls’ locker room with the team manager, Higashide.
Earlier, when she showed her left hand to the doctor in the medical room:
“We can’t do anything beyond first-aid here. Please head to the hospital as soon as possible.”
That’s what she was told.
Indeed, without even being able to take an X-ray here, it was impossible to know whether it was broken or dislocated. On the other hand, while she was told to hurry, it wasn’t an injury where every second counted. It did hurt, though.
Even though it was mid-November, with a proper warm-up and having played the full match up to the third set, she had worked up quite a sweat.
Going to the hospital in her sweat-soaked uniform felt inappropriate, so Nishimura and the manager decided to change clothes in the locker room before heading out. Her left hand hurt terribly, though.
The injury was to her left pinky, not her dominant hand, so changing clothes wasn’t too difficult. In the meantime, the coach would bring the car around to the venue entrance. Rather than calling an ambulance or a taxi, it would be quicker to go in a car already here at the venue.
Knock knock
“Excuse me.”
Someone politely knocked and spoke before entering the locker room. A janitor? Though the voice sounded too young for that—
“I’m terribly sorry!”
The person who came in and bowed deeply was the No. 3 ace-class player from Matsubara Girls, still in uniform.
“...? You’re from Matsubara Girls…”
She thought for a moment about why she was being apologized to.
“Oh, you mean that thing at the end of the third set? Don’t worry about it. It wasn’t on purpose, right?”
She tried to lighten the mood by adding, “If you could do that on purpose, that’d be really something,” and laughed, but the girl only looked more distressed.
“Seriously, I’m joking. Things like that are bound to happen somewhere, sometime, when you play volleyball. So don’t freeze up like that!”
And then, the one who had come to apologize ended up being the one who was consoled.
“Um… Murai-san, was it? It’s fine, really. This was just an accident. More importantly, get back to the court. If you don’t go now, you’ll regret it later.”
“But I hurt you—”
“I once injured a teammate, too.”
Cutting off Murai, who was still trying to apologize, Nishimura began telling her own story.
“April of my second year. I hadn’t made a single appearance in an official match, and I was desperate. I got into high school on a recommendation, so I really felt the pressure. So during a practice match, I tried to stand out by being aggressive and went for a ball that was supposed to be someone else’s. The other person thought it was hers, too, so we both went in at full speed—and collided. I was fine, but she ended up with a concussion and couldn’t practice for about three days. That ended up traumatizing me, and I couldn’t chase the ball for a while after that. As a result, I didn’t appear in a single official match that whole year.”
“….”
“I finally got back to chasing the ball because the teammate I injured got mad at me. When I kept moping and saying it was my fault, she told me to stop making excuses and just play volleyball. She said it couldn’t be helped because we were both giving it our all, and that’s just how accidents happen. She was in the same year as me, also recommended into the school, also hadn’t played in matches. Just like she forgave me back then, I forgive you now, Murai-san. Now go back to the court. I couldn’t bounce back right away, and I missed my chance to play. This injury isn’t life-threatening or anything. But if you lose today, Murai-san, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. You’ll wonder if you’d been on the court, maybe your team could’ve won.”
“….”
Murai fell silent, her expression different than before.
“Oh, you’re thinking, ‘Would the team really lose just because I’m not out there?’ aren’t you? Let me be clear: yes. That’s right. Murai-san, you might not know this, but our ace Masami—when she’s in top form, she’s incredible. You’re either the only one who can stop her by height, or… maybe someone else from Matsubara—”
“Oi, Nishimura. Are you still changing? The car’s ready.”
A man’s voice called from outside the locker room—it was Himesaki’s coach.
“Sorry! I’m coming! …Anyway, I’ll be fine. What I don’t want is for you to say later, ‘If I had been out there, we wouldn’t have lost.’ So go back out there.”
At this moment, Murai had no idea—
That Matsubara Girls had already fallen behind by a wide margin in the 4th set…
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Point of View Change
Same Time – Arena
Yuuri Tachibana's Perspective
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"Chika! One last set for me!"
"Alright! Masami!"
Tch… here it comes again.
I didn’t know this before, but when someone blatantly uses an open toss, it’s like they’re saying, “Your block is so flimsy, I’m not scared at all.” It really gets under your skin.
The reason they’re going with an open toss is because just before that, Asuka had fired off a razor-sharp straight spike. It was received, but rather than a clean receive, it was more like they just barely managed to pop it up. Then their setter used a two-step toss to set up their ace.
And then—
Piiip!
Another lost point. Now we're down by six.
What’s frustrating is that the opponent truly doesn’t care about our block and just smashes it through. And our block doesn’t even graze the ball.
The fourth set started without Reiko.
Well, that’s what happens when you injure someone...
Back when I sent someone to the infirmary during our match with Tamaki Commercial, I was beside myself. And this time, the injury is visibly serious—either a fracture or a dislocation, something fairly severe.
That’s why Reiko said she was going to apologize and left the arena. We all understand how she feels. Whether or not the other team accepts the apology is another matter...
She’s not going to apologize just to be forgiven, but because she sincerely wants to say sorry. That part, we respect.
The problem is on our side.
In place of Reiko, Mana is on the court. Mana’s trained to handle multiple positions smoothly so she can step in when someone’s injured. Her average skill level is high, but she just can’t match Reiko’s impact.
And the biggest issue—height.
Currently, for our Matsubara team—
It’s not just me—even Reiko often ignores the block and spikes against shorter teams. That’s exactly why this situation feels so abnormal. Not even Reiko, let alone Asuka, Mirai, or Mana, could spike through a block without even grazing it.
And the opponent’s ace is the same height as Reiko. Reiko’s jumping ability is far beyond your average high school girl. There shouldn’t be anyone out there who can jump like Reiko…
Yet, it’s like the ball is passing straight through. What kind of trick is this? During that last timeout, Coach Saeki and Asuka were saying things like, “They’re messing with our jump timing,” but still…
While I’m lost in thought, the next rally begins. It’s their serve.
The course is a bit tough, but Mana lifts it with precision. Maybe they assumed she couldn’t receive because she’s a sub? Don’t underestimate her! Mana’s better at receiving than me, who’s been playing nonstop (self-burn).
The ball Mana lifted gets tossed by Hina. A classic A-quick. Asuka hits it—but they pick it up.
This is the hard part.
If we go by textbook strategy, we’d attack from center with a B-quick, meaning Mana would spike—but with Mana’s height, it’s tough to get it past Himesaki’s blockers without a decoy.
So Hina probably opted to go left with Asuka’s spike, but even that lacks finishing power.
We’re a team that functions because either Reiko or I draw attention as the main spiker. That’s what makes the other spikers effective.
With Reiko gone, it falls to me—but I’m in the back row. We can’t rotate unless we score. But we can’t score unless we have a solid finisher.
Asuka’s spike gets picked up by the libero. Then their setter tosses it again…
Is it just my imagination? Since the fourth set, their ace seems to be jumping just a bit higher…
If the spike goes past our block, then all we have to do is defend the course the block would’ve covered—
...And she drops a feint here!? If you’re going to fight, do it fair and square!
...
...
...
...She’s a high school girl, not a guy...
Seven points behind. The gap widens again...
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Spring High – Final Prefectural Qualifiers – Girls’ Final
Right After the End of the Fourth Set
From the Commentary Booth
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"Looking back at the third set, which ended in a bit of disarray after the injury, and the recently concluded fourth set, what are your thoughts?"
"Volleyball has really changed—that’s my honest impression. Back when I was a player, when the balls were still solid white, things were different. Back then, it was all about underhand receives. Especially in the girls’ game, even spikes rarely led to points, and the team that controlled the rallies usually won. Serves weren’t something you could aim to ace with—it was normal for them to be returned. Then came the libero rule, and tall players who struggled with underhand receives stopped playing in the back row. The point system changed to rally scoring. And above all, volleyball has become more powerful. It’s a little frustrating to admit, but the ball moves so much faster now than in my playing days. You can’t pick it up like we used to. In the third set, Tachibana—the shorter one from Matsubara—scored seven points just off her serve. They scored thirteen in total during her serving rotation. That was thanks to her strong serve disrupting the receive and setting up easy returns for their powerful spikers to convert into points. In the fourth set, it was Tokumoto. That’s it. This is the Tokumoto I saw last year at Nationals when she was at her peak. I finally got to see the Tokumoto I know. Honestly, I took today’s commentary gig just to see her like this."
"Coach Tashiro has high praise for Tokumoto. She scored 14 points in the fourth set alone. Why do you think her performance took off in that set?"
"Part of it was probably that she was fired up after her captain, Nishimura, had to leave due to injury. But I also think it had a lot to do with the setter change to Okino. The setter is the hardest position in volleyball. They act as the playmaker—reading the opponent, evaluating teammates, and figuring out who today’s ace will be. But their main job is ‘setting the ball at the right height and position for the spiker.’ That’s incredibly tough. Every player’s ideal height is different, down to the centimeter. Plus, their condition varies from day to day. So setting the perfect toss is nearly impossible. Only a few rare talents can do that for all spikers. But in this case, Tokumoto and Okino have played together since elementary school. Probably, the person who can give Tokumoto her ideal toss better than anyone in Japan is Okino. She knows her so well that even just a few centimeters’ difference made all the difference in the fourth set."
"Excuse me, but can just a few centimeters in height really result in such a high scoring rate?"
"Good point. Of course, it’s not just about height. From the latter half of the third set, Tokumoto started varying her spike timing—sometimes hitting immediately, other times waiting a beat in the air. For Matsubara’s blockers, that’s incredibly tough. Tokumoto already spikes from an outstanding height. Normally, the blocker has to jump at the same timing to match her. But with her mixing up the timing, it throws them off. That kind of finesse comes from her years of experience."
"Now the set count is 2–2. While the numbers show an even match, what do you predict for the fifth set?"
"I want to say Himesaki has the momentum after winning the fourth set, but once Murai returned, Matsubara held their own again. Some might say this contradicts my earlier point, but the team that plays careful receives will win. Both teams have excellent spikers. The key will be how cleanly they can set up their ace, and how much they can prevent the other team from doing the same."
"I see. The finals of the Autumn Girls’ Volleyball Tournament—what a match fitting of a final. The winner will be decided in the fifth set.
Unlike the earlier sets, the fifth set is a race to 15 points. Only the winner will move on to the Spring High. It all comes down to this—heaven or heartbreak. The fifth set is about to begin."
Spring High – Final Prefectural Qualifiers – Girls’ Final
Himesaki High vs. Matsubara Girls’ High
Fourth Set: 25–14
Set Count: 2–2
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