Chapter 73 – VS Himesaki High – Part 11: Conclusion

The Spring Nationals qualifiers have finally reached their final stage.

The set count is 2–2.

The score in the fifth set is 12–14. We’re two points behind.

In volleyball, the fifth set is different from the others. If you don’t consider deuce, reaching 15 points first wins the set. In other words, they’re at match point right now.

And at this extremely tense moment, it’s my turn to serve. I get the urge to just lob it in and play it safe, but if I do that, it’ll likely turn into a lost point for us anyway. The memory of the Tamaki Commercial match from the Inter-High qualifiers flashes through my mind—how we won in the end thanks to a serve error on their part.

Fuuuuuh...

Calm down. This is exactly what routines are for.

Treat practice as seriously as a real game, and think of real games as casually as practice.

I take a deep breath. The whistle blows.

Second step—toss...

Ugh! The toss drifted forward. Still, I can’t just not swing. Since the ball went forward, I can’t transfer as much power from my arms. The serve hits the white tape on the net—

For a second, I thought it was over—match lost on a self-inflicted error—but it just barely rolls over the net.

And that surprise drop-in earns us a point.

13–14.

“Yuu-chan, that was way too stressful on the heart...”

“Hina, don’t be like that. Ninja, nice serve under pressure.”

“Mirai’s right. If it were me, I’d probably have thrown up from nerves...”

“Asuka, if you’re gonna puke, please do it off the court.”

“Ugh... now I’m getting nervous too...”

Just a few seconds before the next serve. My teammates call out to me. Right... now that I think about it, am I nervous?

Now that it’s been said...

No, no—focus on the game.

I go through my routine again and steady my breathing. Second step, toss. This time it’s a floater serve. It goes to a good spot. The opponents’ serve-receive is disrupted, but their first-year setter, who came in from the fifth set, recovers it well.

Where will the attack come from? Their ace is in the back row, but they might use a back attack. Got to be on guard. The setter is in the front row, so that leaves left or center as options.

The middle comes charging in. The toss goes up—but it’s a fake. This is...

Back attack!

Their ace fires off a powerful back attack, but I manage to dig it.

...It was powerful, so the fact that I couldn’t return it perfectly with an A-pass isn’t really on me.

“Cover! Hina!”

Asuka calls out to Hina to cover the ball.

“Yuu-chan, hit it back!”

Hina sends an open toss just ahead of the attack line. That call-out was an order. With the ball's height and position, I take three steps for my approach. I’ll decide where to aim after I jump.

“Back attack! It’s fast!”

Everyone on Himesaki’s side, including their front row, drops into a defensive formation. But it won’t be that easy. Even if they’re set to receive, I’ll break through with no hesitation.

I spike with everything I’ve got. They react—but the ball doesn’t touch anyone. It goes straight in. That makes it 14–14. We’re at deuce. We need two more points to win.

The same goes for them. They must be feeling the pressure too, but there’s no sign of their fighting spirit fading. Honestly, they’ve made things tough to the very end.

For my third serve this rotation, it’s the spike serve—probably what they’re expecting. It heads to a good spot, but they manage to receive it. However, the trajectory is bringing it straight back to our side.

“Chanbo!” (short for “chance ball”)

Asuka calls it out, but there's no need to return it with a textbook three-touch play.

The returning ball is just over 3 meters high. Normally, you'd wait for it to drop and spike it from the ground, but for me, this height is just right.

“Everyone, move!”

I take a run-up, jump from behind the attack line, and meet the ball mid-air at about 3.5 meters up.

And then—

BASH!!

A direct back attack, spiked straight into the opponent's court.

Even they are stunned. Well, yeah—no one usually slams a back attack like that. If someone could, the front row would’ve done it by now.

It’s worth noting—I can do quick attacks from the back. It’s just that the ball doesn’t usually come to the right height for me to pull it off.

(For Hina and Mirai’s sake, let me clarify—it’s not that they never get it there. But to use it in a match, we’d need more practice and better accuracy.)

15–14.

My fourth serve in this rotation, unfortunately, goes out of bounds.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry.”

“Nice serve. That was a bold one.”

“It’s okay, the momentum’s still with us.”

“Alright, now we stop them right here.”

I get encouragement after the miss.

So once again, we’re back to needing two points.

After a while—

Reiko jumps. Her form is so perfect, it could be in a volleyball textbook. And her contact point—especially for a girl—is really high.

Her spike hits the tips of the blocker’s fingers. That was on purpose. The ball, unable to be stopped completely, flies out of bounds on the opponent’s side.

Piiip!

The final whistle blows.

Phew... That match was exhausting—not just because it was five sets. If we’d lost, it would've felt twice as bad.

Spring Nationals Prefectural Final – Girls’ Division

Matsubara Girls’ High School vs. Himesaki High School

  16–25
  25–20
  25–23
  14–25
  17–15

Set Count: 3–2

Matsubara Girls’ High School advances to the All-Japan High School Volleyball Championship

Individual Awards (All selected from third-round qualifiers onward) ※1

Best Spiker
 1st: Tachibana Yuuri – Matsubara Girls’ HS, 1st Year
 2nd: Tokumoto Masami – Himesaki HS, 1st Year

Best Setter ※2
 Nishimura Saori – Himesaki HS, 3rd Year

Best Blocker
 1st: Henmi Akari – Himesaki HS, 2nd Year
 2nd: Tanabe Ayumi – Himesaki HS, 2nd Year

Best Server
 Tachibana Yuuri – Matsubara Girls’ HS, 1st Year

Best Libero
 Arimura Yukiko – Matsubara Girls’ HS, 1st Year

Best Six
 S – Setter: Nishimura Saori – Himesaki HS, 3rd Year
 WS – Wing Spiker: Tachibana Yuuri – Matsubara Girls’ HS, 1st Year
 WS – Wing Spiker: Tokumoto Masami – Himesaki HS, 1st Year
 WS – Wing Spiker: Kohryogawa Nozomi – Youkou HS, 3rd Year
 MB – Middle Blocker: Henmi Akari – Himesaki HS, 2nd Year
 MB – Middle Blocker: Murai Reiko – Matsubara Girls’ HS, 1st Year

Most Valuable Player ※3
 Tachibana Yuuri – Matsubara Girls’ HS, 1st Year

Notes:

※1
Individual awards aren’t commonly given at the prefectural level in recent tournaments, but this is fiction, so let’s roll with it...

※2
The Best Setter award is typically based on how well the setter delivers tosses that lead to successful spikes.
Normally, a higher spike success rate = good setter for spreading out blockers. But in this story, the protagonist is someone who can spike through blockers.
So, if you went by spike percentage alone, Hina would win, but since that’s due to Yuuri’s strength, not Hina’s skill, both Hina and Mirai were excluded from the selection.
Factually speaking, their technique is still behind Nishimura’s.

※3
Whether she was truly the most skilled is debatable. But when they tried to consider other candidates, Yuuri’s impact was simply too overwhelming to ignore.
She’s more of an MIP (Most Impressive Player) than an MVP (Most Valuable Player), to be honest.

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Chapter 72 – VS Himesaki High – Part 10: Not Bad

 

Himesaki High’s super rookies, Chika Okino and Masami Tokumoto, were known as cheerful, talented sports girls blessed with natural ability in volleyball, who worked hard and never lost heart in the face of adversity.

That was the public image, at least—but in reality, for the two of them, volleyball was simply a means to fulfill their desire for external validation.

They started playing volleyball in April of their fourth year in elementary school. A small local boys' volleyball club, which they would later join, distributed flyers to nearby elementary schools in an effort to recruit new members. That’s how the two of them, from different schools, ended up meeting.

At that volleyball club, they were pampered from the start. The coach and manager refrained from being too strict at first, not wanting to scare off the new recruits.

Before long, the two of them displayed exceptional natural ability. In no time at all, they were on par with or even surpassed the older fifth- and sixth-year players. Since they were outstandingly skilled, well-behaved, and exemplary in attitude, there was never a reason to scold them.

By the time they reached fifth grade, both had overtaken the sixth-years and secured spots as regulars on the team. In sixth grade, they powered through even the strongest teams in the prefecture and made it all the way to nationals.

However, while they were indeed remarkably skilled, they were also the only ones on the team who were. Whatever their personalities, their teammates simply didn’t have the same level of talent when it came to volleyball.

At the prefectural level, that might have been enough—but at the national level, winning with just two players was no longer feasible.

And yet, this actually worked out well for the two of them.

“Ahh, what a shame about that team. The setter and the ace are amazing, but the other four just can’t keep up.”

“Right? That last match—putting three blockers on the ace? That’s not something you usually see in an elementary school match. If they’d had just one more decent spiker…”

“No, what they really needed was a tall blocker…”

“No, first and foremost, they needed a good receiver. If you can’t get the ball to the setter properly, the game falls apart.”

Every time they heard people say things like that, the two of them felt like tragic heroines—and in that, they found a twisted sort of satisfaction.

By the way, in sixth grade, Okino was 157 cm and Tokumoto was 159 cm. No matter how talented they were, without even reaching 160 cm, their prospects as future volleyball players weren’t exactly promising.

“Man, those girls are really good. Though they’re just a little on the short side.”

“Exactly. If they were just five centimeters taller…”

Even those kinds of whispered remarks gave them fuel. After all, they never seriously expected to make a career out of volleyball—and even now, their height was still above average. So really, what was there to complain about?

Although they did receive offers from top private volleyball schools, they didn’t take them. Instead, the two of them went on to attend the same local public middle school—unlike in elementary school, this time together.

Their middle school volleyball experience was, in some ways, less than ideal—but in other ways, it was quite fortunate.

First, the advisor. Claiming to value “student initiative,” they didn’t provide much active coaching. However, to avoid being seen as negligent, they extended practice hours considerably.

Next, the teammates. Unsurprisingly, such a club didn’t attract many strong players, and the roster remained small.

Despite that, with what felt like the passion of a character out of a low-budget drama, the two girls inspired those around them, gradually revised training routines, strengthened the team step by step, and over three years, turned it into a squad that could actually win matches.

Even so, the stigma of being a weak team stuck around, and new members were scarce. By their third year, there were only six players total—and one of them had only started volleyball the previous fall. Yet even in such a precarious state, they managed to fight their way to the national middle school tournament.

Everyone praised them as volleyball prodigies, the driving force behind this miracle.

Around that time, Okino had grown to 170 cm and Tokumoto to 176 cm.

Now that their one apparent weakness—height—had been resolved, it was only natural that invitations from higher-level stages began to arrive. One such invitation was from the U-16 national team.

Unfortunately, they didn’t achieve much success with the U-16s. But the fact that they had gone “from a no-name public middle school to representing Japan” gave their pride all the validation it needed.

Afterward, with strong encouragement from those around them, they enrolled at Himesaki High, renowned as the strongest girls' volleyball school in the prefecture.

As you can probably tell from the gap between their mindset and their resume, Okino and Tokumoto weren’t exactly your model, wholesome sports girls.

They didn’t perform well on the U-16 team because they were overwhelmed by the difference in mindset between themselves and the others. Even now, what they truly loved was being admired—not volleyball itself.

And no one understood that better than the two of them.

It didn’t have to be volleyball. As long as they had a place where they could be the center of attention, where they could feel like queens, that was enough.

That’s why the kind of match where everything depended on their performance—where whether they won or lost came down to them—was something they’d normally want no part of. Ideally, they’d prefer a more relaxed setting, where they could look good on the surface and that would be enough.

And yet—

For some reason…

They couldn’t help but enjoy this situation—

 

Where they were being pushed to their limits.

 

Set 5. Matsubara Girls' made a major rotation change. Standing across the net from their ace Tokumoto was a petite, Eastern European-looking girl, not even 160 cm tall.

Up to the 4th set, Matsubara Girls’ rotation had been set up to ensure their monster No. 6 could serve as much as possible, but now they’d adjusted it so that No. 6 would be in the front row at the same time as Tokumoto.

There was only one meaning to this: it was the anti-ace shift that Matsubara Girls had shown as a test in the Spring Nationals Prefecture 2nd Qualifiers, and then used against Youkou High in the Prefecture 3rd Qualifiers—a tight man-marking block by the monster No. 6 on the opposing ace.

Usually in volleyball, multiple blockers are assigned to powerful spikers. But Matsubara Girls' strategy was the complete opposite.

It was a one-on-one mark by the monster No. 6, who boasted overwhelming height and reflexes. Other blockers were positioned slightly to the right of center so as not to get in the way, allowing No. 6 to move freely side-to-side when jumping for a block. Moreover, they completely ignored any ball that didn’t go to the ace—an absolute commitment to their strategy.

And to top it off, unlike the Youkou High match, they even altered their rotation just to match up with Tokumoto’s. Letting her score 14 points in the 4th set must’ve really hit them hard.

This was a tactic that only worked because of No. 6’s exceptional blocking ability—and indeed, her blocking skill was extremely high.

Even the off-timing spikes that Tokumoto had been using since the second half of Set 3 couldn’t get past her. With such a tall block, even if the ball dropped a few centimeters below its peak, it still couldn’t clear. While No. 6 was on her, Tokumoto’s kill rate dropped significantly.

Of course, Himesaki didn’t just sit back and let it happen without a plan.

First was the decoy strategy to confuse the blocker. It was useless—No. 6 stuck to Tokumoto without taking the bait.

Next was a quick attack with a first-tempo spike. No. 6 easily reacted and blocked it.

Then came a strategy to shake her side to side during the spike. But the opponent was too quick—no matter where she jumped, Tokumoto couldn’t shake her off.

A delayed attack. Back in June, that would’ve worked, but now, it didn’t fool her at all.

Varying the spike course left and right. Even though complaints came from the other team—“Don’t wave your arms around so much when you block!”—it was still stopped. Despite being a solo block, she always managed to get a hand on the ball.

Currently, the most effective strategy was—

“I figured out how to deal with No. 6’s block. If she’s going to stop the ball no matter where I hit it, then I might as well aim for her block. The trick is to hit the tips of her fingers—around the first joint of her middle finger. If you hit any lower, she’ll just push the spike back using finger strength alone. Honestly, with a face that cute, she’s got power like a gorilla.”

The current score was 4–3. They had a one-point lead, but now it was No. 6’s turn to serve. Then again, that also meant she would be in the back row for the next three rotations.

A timeout was called to emphasize that point, but that’s when Himesaki’s ace said something incredible.

“No, seriously, we’re going to aim for—”
“Ah, yeah, I figured that’s our only real option,”

The one who casually agreed with that outrageous idea was the setter, Okino.

“But you know, aiming for the fingertips takes a lot of focus.”
“Right? And if your control is even slightly off, instead of a block-out, your spike might not even touch the block and go wildly out of bounds. That’s why we don’t usually go for it.”
“That’s so you, Masami. Always playing it safe instead of taking risks.”
“I’d prefer you call it ‘being steady,’ thank you very much…”

Just casually dropping bombs, both the ace and the backup setter.

“Wait, Masami… are you saying you can aim for the first joint of the fingers when you spike?”
“??? Of course, senpai. You all can too, right? We’ve always been taught to aim for the fingertips during block-out drills.”
““““No no no no.””””

That’s not something most players can do. The time between jumping and hitting the ball isn’t even a full second. Aiming cleanly for the tip of someone’s finger in that brief moment? That’s not something ordinary players can pull off.

When coaches say “aim for the fingertips,” they mean it as a general goal—not literally hit that exact spot. Players who can actually do it are extremely rare.

“??? Chika? Did I say something weird? You can do it too, right?”
“If the toss is good, yeah. But not if it’s a second ball or too far from the net.”
“Well, obviously even I can’t do it in that case.”

...Looks like Himesaki’s first-years are quite the monsters themselves.

“Also, I think we don’t need to force a showdown with No. 6. Our center line is taller than theirs, so we should let Henmi-senpai and the others take some swings too. So I’m counting on good receives. They don’t need to be perfect—just get the ball to me, the setter, and I’ll make sure to set it up right.”

Up until now, for Okino Chika and Tokumoto Masami, volleyball had been a game where their overwhelming talent carried the fight.

But that wasn’t the case anymore.

Now, every court player was fulfilling their role at a high level. And from that, a higher-level style of volleyball was being born.

It wasn’t just the two of them. It was six players, thinking creatively and working together—and that kind of volleyball wasn’t bad at all.

After that, no matter how careful they were, No. 6’s serve was intense, and they gave up the lead during that rotation.

But once that passed, it was No. 6’s turn in the back row.

With the opponent’s offensive power reduced, they took the lead again—until No. 6 returned to the front row, and then...

The first to reach match point was Himesaki High.

But Matsubara Girls added one more point, making it 14–12.

And then—monster No. 6 came up to serve for the second time in the 5th set.

Everyone, both on and off the court, thought the same thing:

This rotation will decide the match.

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Chapter 71 – VS Himesaki High – Part 9: The Skillful Spiker

  

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
Spring High – Prefectural Final Qualifiers – Girls’ Finals
During the 4th Set
From the Girls' Locker Room Attached to the Gymnasium
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

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…

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
Point of View Change
Same Time – Arena
Yuuri Tachibana's Perspective
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

"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...

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
Spring High – Final Prefectural Qualifiers – Girls’ Final
Right After the End of the Fourth Set
From the Commentary Booth
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

"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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Chapter 70 – VS Himesaki High – Part 8: Turning Point Part 2

  

"Last one!"

The opponent's left spiker calls for the ball. In response, Reiko and Mirai get into blocking position. Me? I'm in the front row too, but my position is left. From the opponent's perspective, that puts me on their right side.

We're not running a three-person block formation, so as a rule, I don't jump for an attack from their left. Plus, there's a possibility the opponent's setter might set to the center or go for a broad attack and hit from the right, so I can't afford to ignore that possibility.

...Well, depending on the block shift, there are times when I, being tall, will jump on the right side—meaning their left. But considering how in our match against Youkou High, I stuck too close to their ace and they countered by sacrificing their ace and shutting me down, it's probably best I don't jump carelessly on the right side. When I do that, our post-block movement paths get totally messed up.

And just as expected, Himesaki came in with an attack from the left. What wasn't expected was the spike course. Since we sealed off the straight shot, we thought it would go cross-court—or maybe a feint (by the way, if it was a feint, that would've been my moment). But the opponent hit it straight.

Normally, that should have been blocked, but the opponent’s spike passed right over Mirai’s hand.

Their left spiker, Himesaki’s ace, a first-year named Tokumoto or something, used to beat up on Hina and Mirai back in elementary school. In middle school, she beat Yuki, and as for Asuka—she dominated her in both elementary and middle school. In her third year of middle school, even when she dragged the then-inexperienced Mana into matches, she still managed to snatch victory at the prefectural tournament. She's pretty much a volleyball elite.

That volleyball elite finally started getting serious after the timeout before our score reached 20 points in this third set.

You could easily guess what was said in Himesaki's second timeout. Something like, "The ace doesn't need to take the first touch—no, she mustn't. Instead, get enough runway for a full approach. Everyone else, support the ace." Probably something along those lines.

Right after the timeout, their ace started stepping out of bounds the moment she served, and more plays were ending with her finishing the point.

And those spikes—wow, they pack a punch.

Her listed height is 176 cm, which isn’t crazy tall (though coming from me at 156 cm, maybe that’s a bit much), but she’s got hops. Her contact point is high, and the only ones who can properly stop her with a block are probably Reiko and me.

If it’s Hina or Kaori, the ball hits just their fingertips instead of their palms. And with Asuka or Mirai, even a small timing slip like now lets it slip right over their hands. For the record, our team’s known for having solid block height. And yet, she's hitting over our blocks. What kind of trick is that?

And because we were planning to block the straight shot, we didn’t have a receiver in place. Result: lost point.

Not good.

That makes it 24–23.

They've almost caught up.

“Don’t tense up just because we only need one more point. Now’s exactly when we need to stay calm and play clean!”

Coach Saeki calls out from the bench.

"Let’s stop them here. If we get the serve receive right, they won’t even get a spike in."

Asuka encourages the team.

 

Piiip!

The whistle blows. The serve is coming. From the angle, looks like it's headed my way?

Don't underestimate me.

If you think I’m still bad at receives, you’re way off. And it’s not even that fast.

I receive it cleanly, but the position of the receive makes it tough to start my approach right away.

Considering that Hina is our current setter, they’re probably aiming to shut down a quick attack.

“Hina!”

“Right!”

Reiko calls from the center, and Mirai calls from the right. I can’t join the quick attack either, but I move into a spot where I can approach from the left in case Hina sets an open toss.

The ball goes to the center, and Reiko blasts through the opposing block for the point—25–23.

Phew. We somehow managed to take this set.

＝＝＝
Perspective Change – Same Time
Himesaki High School Girls’ Volleyball Club Perspective
＝＝＝

It was unfortunate they couldn’t take that point, but it’ll lead into the next one.

That was Coach Akai’s assessment of the third set, where the ace had finally started to pick up momentum.

Now, what should the next move be? Just as she was thinking that, she noticed something unusual on the court. The setter and team captain, Nishimura, was crouched down, holding her left hand with her right. No way...

“Nishimura-san. Please show me your left hand.”

Coach Akai approached Nishimura as she spoke.

“I’m fine. It’s nothing.”

“Nishimura-san. This is the second time. Show me your left hand.”

Now she was certain. This wasn’t a good situation.

“Next is the third time. Show me your left hand.”

Reluctantly, Nishimura finally showed her left hand.

And just as she feared—

The pinky finger on her left hand was bent in a completely unnatural direction.

“Get to the infirmary immediately. Higashide-san, please go with Nishimura-san. Okino-san, warm up at once. I’ll be putting you in for Sets 4 and 5.”

“Coach, I—”

“You can’t play volleyball with that hand. And especially not as a setter. You understand, don’t you?”

“…Yes.”

The setter position relies on tosses made with both hands. Precise tosses can only happen when all ten fingers are functioning properly. This wasn’t just a jammed finger or something simple like that.

“Chika. I’m sorry. I’m counting on the rest of you.”

With manager Higashide accompanying her, Nishimura began to leave the arena. Her expression was a painful mix of agony, frustration, sadness, and regret. And to her—

“Captain, make sure that finger heals in a month. It’d be unfair if you got to stay the regular without even finishing the fight.”

The first-year setter Okino, who had been entrusted with the role, called out boldly.

“What are you—”

“Captain, head straight to the hospital today. A month and a half from now at Spring High, I’ll be on the court not as your replacement, but by my own merit.”

If you just heard the words, it might come off as arrogant. But seeing her expression made it clear—

“…Got it. I’ll leave it to you. But I’m not giving up the starting spot.”

Nishimura left the arena, holding back her pain, with a smile.

＝＝＝
Spring High School Volleyball – Prefectural Final Qualifiers, Girls’ Finals
After Set 3
From the Commentary Booth
＝＝＝

“Ah—so the player who just left the court, Nishimura, it appears she either dislocated or broke her left pinky finger.”

“…It’s certainly frustrating for a third-year like her, but this is unfortunately one of those ‘unlucky accidents’ you sometimes see in volleyball. When blocking, players spread their fingers to increase the contact area, but volleyballs are larger than the space between fingers. When a powerful spike forces the ball through those narrow gaps, things like dislocations, fractures, or even tears at the base of the fingers can happen—just like now. Of course, players train their fingers with exercises like fingertip pushups to try to prevent it, but that only lowers the risk, not eliminates it.”

“I see. But even so, losing Captain Nishimura at this point is a heavy blow to Himesaki High, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Nishimura had top-tier skills across the board—receives, serves, blocks, tosses—and was the only third-year on the team. Losing her also means losing their emotional anchor.”

“So then, does this mean Matsubara Girls’ High, who took Sets 2 and 3, has a high chance of taking Set 4 as well?”

“Well, not necessarily. Himesaki’s backup setter is a player named Okino. She’s been selected for the U-16 team before—an excellent player.

That said, she has a major weakness: inconsistency. Her performance can vary wildly. I’ve seen her play during her junior high days. When she’s on, she’s already playing at a level above high school.

But when she’s off, it can be really rough.

That inconsistency is probably why she’s still a bench player—”

Spring High – Prefectural Final Qualifiers – Girls’ Finals

Matsubara Girls’ High School vs. Himesaki High School

Set 3: 25–23

Set Count: 2–1

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Chapter 69 – VS Himesaki High – Part 7: The Genius’s Weakness

 

My body feels light. Why is that?

Lunch was...

Come to think of it, I only had one rice ball because the match was starting soon.

I also had a jelly-type supplement, but it clearly wasn’t enough. Still, I don’t feel hungry. Maybe my body feels light because my stomach is empty?

I can feel power throughout every part of my body. I feel like I can see the ball more clearly than usual... or at least it seems that way.

The whistle blew.

As always, I take my second step and toss.

Ah, this is a good toss.

Three more steps into the approach, then I jump—and—

The serve I hit with everything I had also landed cleanly. The course was good, and it pierced straight into the opponent's court without letting them even touch it.

“Yuu-chan, nice serve!”

“Yuu-chan, your serves have been amazing just now!”

“What’s going on, Yuuri? You’re suddenly on fire!”

“That was incredible! There’s no way to receive something like that!”

“Yuuri, nice serve!”

In the brief time before the next serve, my teammates shower me with praise.

Hmm. Honestly, that serve and the one I landed near the end of the second set are the kind of perfect serves I might only manage once every fifty tries in practice. But somehow, I landed two in such a short span. I wonder why?

Anyway, the score is now 19–15.

Just one more point to reach the milestone of 20. Just six more, and we take the set.

 

Piiiiip!

The whistle blares. Himesaki calls for a timeout.

“So they called a timeout here, which means even Himesaki is having trouble with Yuuri’s serve. But that doesn’t mean we need to overthink it. Let’s focus on each point and repeat that six times. You’re not suddenly going to pull off something you couldn’t do before. Stay calm and keep pressing.”

Coach Saeki says this as we huddle. In short, she’s telling us not to change anything—just keep going as we are.

“Still, Yuuri-chan’s serve really is amazing. Even Himesaki can’t easily handle it when she gets into rhythm.”

“Yeah, even we rarely manage to receive it properly.”

“Though it’s only the spike serves that are getting service aces. Do we not need the float serves after all?”

In the end, it's the spike serves that score. The float serves, despite how much effort it took to learn them, just haven’t been working out.

“No, I don’t think that’s quite right. You see, Tachibana’s float serve is like a ‘setup pitch’ in baseball.”

The one to disagree with the “float serves are useless” idea is the only—well, technically one of two—male (myself included) members of the team, Coach Uesugi.

A setup pitch, huh?

“Setup pitch?”

Kaori raises her voice. Most of the team has a puzzled look like, “What’s that?”

“In baseball, before throwing the strikeout pitch—your finisher—you might deliberately throw a slow ball or something with movement to mess with the batter’s timing and throw them off. That’s a setup pitch. I don’t know much about volleyball, but people’s psychology works the same. Just making them think a slower, more unpredictable serve might come instead of that powerful spike serve—well, that’s effective in itself.”

Personally, that explanation makes a lot of sense to me. If you think of it that way, using two types of serves really is effective.

＝＝＝＝＝
Perspective Change – Same Time
Himesaki High School Girls’ Volleyball Club's Side
＝＝＝＝＝

Now that it’s come to this, Coach Akai made up her mind to finally say what she’d held back for the past six months.

Himesaki’s super rookies: Masami Tokumoto and Chika Okino.

Both are among the top of their generation.

Even back in elementary school, their exceptional talent led a no-name team all the way to the national tournament despite having no recognition. Back then, both were under 160 cm, so top junior high schools didn’t scout them, and they went on to attend their local public junior high.

But during those three years, Tokumoto grew 17 cm, and Okino 13 cm. By the third year, they barely managed to assemble six players—some complete beginners—but still won the prefectural tournament and went on to nationals again.

Both have even been selected for the U-16 squad before.

They truly are prodigies.

However, both of these prodigies share a common weakness.

When targeted by stronger opponents, they suddenly shrink back.

Since earlier, every time a powerful serve or spike comes directly at them, their performance dips. Even though they could handle it if they stayed calm.

This flaw didn’t surface in their elementary or junior high days. Maybe they themselves haven’t noticed it. After all, their teammates were always far below their level. So if the opponent was going to aim at someone, it would naturally be the weaker ones. And ironically, when they step in to support a struggling teammate, they don’t shrink back at all.

But this is Himesaki High, where national-level players gather. The two might be good enough to contend for a regular spot, but they’re not clearly above the rest. It’s only natural they’d be targeted in matches. So far, they’ve masked it well. But what about now?

For better or worse, Coach Akai has seen her share of such “noble” types—though in this case, maybe “princess-type” is more fitting.

She has some idea of how to address it, too.

Ideally, they realize on their own that they’ve become overconfident and humble themselves. If someone older like her tries to force the issue before they notice it, it can actually backfire.

That’s why she’s waited over six months.

But losing now would help no one. That’s why she called this timeout.

Just as she was about to point it out—

“Masami. Why don’t you calm down a little? With your ability, there’s no need to panic.”

The unexpected words came from a third-year she’d appointed as captain.

“Yeah, totally. Masami, have a little faith in us upperclassmen, okay? You don’t have to do everything yourself.”

“Ah, yes... Was it really that obvious?”

“It was. You looked really flustered. But you earned that uniform by outperforming us third-years. Oh, I’m not upset or anything. We all agreed you were better. The six strongest players should be the ones on the court. So we get it. We know this isn’t your best.”

The expression on the first-year super rookie shifted slightly. Coach Akai caught that subtle change and adjusted her approach.

“If I may? What I wanted to say just now, Nishimura-san already said it for me. Tokumoto-san, let’s take a breath. Since the middle of the second set, your play has been getting sloppier as the score fell behind. Have more confidence. You are the best spiker on Himesaki High’s team. There’s no high school team out there that you can’t break through. Also, we’ll tweak the strategy slightly. Specifically—”

 

Piiiiip!

Timeouts only last 30 seconds. The whistle sounded all too quickly.

But what needed to be said came through even better than it would have 30 seconds earlier.

And then—

“Coach Akai. Is that the difference between me and Nishimura-senpai?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like... when I’m losing—or Tokumoto is—I feel like we both get flustered and try to force it, and it backfires...”

Unfortunately, that self-reflection isn’t quite right. The issue isn’t that they’re losing. It’s when they believe their own skills aren’t enough that they start to unravel.

Still, there’s no need to correct her now. Teaching isn’t about handing out all the answers from the start.

“That’s part of it. When both the playmaker and ace go off on their own, it causes problems. Do you know the phrase, ‘One for all, all for one’?”

“Yes, it means ‘One for everyone, everyone for one person,’ right? Like, everyone working together as a team.”

“That’s close, but the proper Japanese translation would be ‘One for everyone, and everyone for one goal.’ Or, more dramatically, ‘One for everyone, all for victory.’ It originally comes from rugby. In rugby, everyone needs to fulfill their role for the team to score a try. Okino-san, there’s no doubt you have talent. You might even be stronger than some of the second- and third-years. But are you using that talent properly—for the right purpose?”

Coach Akai smiles gently at Okino as she falls silent, thinking. And inwardly, she smiles a bit wryly at herself.

Is it really okay, as a coach, to find more joy in her students’ growth than in victory? Even though the students, their parents, and the school all expect her to win...

The scoreboard reads 15–19.

We can still do this. We can still catch up.

These girls aren’t the kind to give up here.

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Chapter 68 – VS Himesaki High – Part 6: From the Commentary Booth

 

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
Spring High School Volleyball – Prefectural Final Qualifiers, Girls’ Finals
Right After the End of Set 2
From the Commentary Booth
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

“In the prefectural autumn volleyball tournament, girls’ division, with a place in the All-Japan High School Volleyball Championship on the line, Matsubara Girls’ High School has taken back the second set, making the set count 1-1. It’s back to even. Coach Tashiro, what did you think of the second set?”

“Unlike the first set, Matsubara Girls’ High School seemed to shake off their stiffness. That was a major factor in them taking this set.”

“Before the second set started, you mentioned that ‘whoever gets a three-point lead first will win.’ And it was Matsubara Girls’ High School that got that three-point lead. It played out just as you predicted.”

“It wasn’t that difficult of a prediction, really. Matsubara Girls’ is made up entirely of first-years, and even their coach is in their first year of coaching. They’re overwhelmingly lacking in experience. That showed up as pressure in the first set—being the big match that could send them to Spring High. Of course, the way the seasoned Himesaki High School played to make that happen was also impressive. The key point in the second set was whether Matsubara Girls’ could regain their composure, and whether Himesaki High School could keep pressing their nerves. In the end, Matsubara Girls’ regained their energy and composure and took the second set. That’s all it was.”

“Do you think Matsubara Girls’ can keep this momentum going?”

“That’s hard to say. All they’ve done is return to playing at their usual level. In terms of overall ability, Himesaki High School probably has the slight edge. That said, because Matsubara Girls’ doesn’t have experience, they sometimes make unorthodox plays that go against standard tactics. If those happen to work, then a team like Himesaki—who has mostly been facing strong, by-the-book opponents—might find themselves caught off guard.”

“Unorthodox plays?”

“There are a few examples. Take the younger Tachibana sister. In that last set, she unveiled a jump float serve. Judging by how polished it was, that wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment thing—it’s something she’s practiced. From here on, every time she serves, the opponent will have to guess whether she’ll go with a spike serve or a float serve. That’s not a bad thing, but personally, I’d have taught her the back-row quick pipe attack before the float serve. It feels like a missed opportunity, doesn’t it? A float serve only comes around once every six rotations, and even then, it’s a choice between that or a spike serve. Compare that to a back-row quick pipe, which can be used three times in six rotations and boosts the team’s overall attacking power since she becomes part of the spike formation. Which one do you think is more valuable?”

“That’s quite the pointed observation, Coach Tashiro. But perhaps Tachibana just hasn’t shown it yet—maybe she can do the back-row quick pipe already.”

“If that’s the case, I don’t really see the point in holding back this long. They already dropped the first set, after all. If she could do it, she should’ve used it earlier. ...That may sound a bit stern, but it’s a sign of how much I believe in her potential. There’s no doubt she’s an outstanding player.”

“And in the upcoming third set, which features that very player Coach Tashiro has high hopes for—what do you think will be the key to victory?”

“Serve receives. Matsubara Girls’ has Tachibana, and Himesaki has Tokumoto—both exceptional spikers. I haven’t crunched the exact numbers, but I’d say their spike success rates are over 60%. That’s incredible. In girls’ volleyball, even a 50% success rate is considered ace-level. The question is whether the team can deliver a proper toss to these reliable aces—and for that, it all comes down to how cleanly they can handle the first touch. And that’s difficult for both sides. Himesaki High School is a well-balanced team, both offensively and defensively, but even they will likely struggle to cleanly receive serves from Matsubara Girls’, who have several strong servers. As for Matsubara Girls’, their receive skills overall are still lacking. Himesaki doesn’t necessarily have standout servers, yet in both the first and second sets, Matsubara often couldn’t return the ball to the setter’s position. I’d like to see both teams remember the basics of volleyball: ‘Good spikes come from good sets. Good sets come from good receives.’”

“I see. Ah—looks like the match is about to resume. This is the girls’ division finals of the autumn volleyball tournament. Which team will take the lead toward Spring High? The all-important third set is about to begin.”

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Chapter 67 – VS Himesaki High – Part 5: Turning Point

  

Piiiip!

The whistle echoed. A timeout called by Himesaki's side.

We're currently in the middle of the second set of the prefectural final qualifier for a spot at Spring Nationals. The score is 22–20, and we’re holding a slight lead.

…If we let our guard down, it’ll vanish in an instant, though.

“This is the decisive moment. Just three more points. Let’s go take them!”

“““Yes!”””

Coach Saeki shouted to fire us up.

“Yuuri. I’ll leave the final decision to you, but a spike serve will probably land better than the floater.”

Coach Uesugi gave me some advice as he stared intently at the scoreboard he’d been keeping himself.

…So he thinks so too.

My new serve got figured out pretty easily. Hina’s floater serve hasn’t scored a single service ace against Himesaki either. They’re incredibly strong against knuckleballs.

…Well, that doesn’t mean they’re weak against power hits either. Honestly, they don’t seem to have any clear weaknesses, which is just frustrating. My most effective weapon is probably my spike, but it’s my turn to serve. Considering I’ll be stuck in the back row for a while after this, I’d really like to score the next three points with my serve.

“Hina, Mirai. You don’t need to force yourselves into setter roles just because you’re in the back row. Keep calling out to each other and switch it up as needed. Reiko, Kaori. Your blocks are getting a bit sloppy. Even when shifting sideways, jump up, not diagonally. Don’t hold back on that one extra step. Asuka, your spikes have been sharp lately! Use both the straight and the inner angles depending on the situation!”

Just like she said before—she sees this as the turning point. There’s only thirty seconds in a timeout, but Coach Saeki uses every one of them to dish out all the advice she can.

Taking this set would be huge. It’s kind of obvious, but volleyball resets the score every set. Whether we lose 0–25 or 23–25, a loss is a loss.

But the mental impact is completely different. Losing a set by a wide margin makes you feel the gap in skill—you might be frustrated, but you won’t feel like it was a close one. On the other hand, if we get overturned after starting with a five-point lead like we did in this set, that’d be a huge blow. And the set count would become 0–2. We’d be completely backed into a corner.

We absolutely have to take this set and even the set count at 1–1.

＝＝＝＝＝＝
Perspective Change – Same Time
Himesaki High Girls’ Volleyball Club Captain
POV: Nishimura Saori
＝＝＝＝＝＝

“It’s no exaggeration to say the five minutes after this timeout will decide the outcome of this match.”

Five minutes…

In volleyball, from serve to point, it usually takes less than a minute. We need five points to win this set. The other side needs only three more to take it. We’re on the edge.

In the second set, their surprise tactics caught us off guard, and we ended up giving away a five-point lead right from the start.

We somehow managed to catch up to 20–20, but then lost point 21 to a powerful spike from their ace, and point 22 to one of those brutal spike serves.

The coach probably called this timeout to disrupt Tachibana (Younger Sister) No. 6’s focus. I hope it works.

“It’s not just Tachibana No. 6. Murai No. 3 and Tohira No. 7 are also spikers at a national level. They’re both in the front row in this rotation. Especially watch out for Tohira No. 7—she’s left-handed. I’m sure you haven’t forgotten, but when blocking, don’t block based on the player’s body. Focus on their dominant arm and jump in front of it. Also, I won’t name names, but just because Tohira No. 7 is hitting both left and right doesn’t mean you should use a ‘banzai’ block. If you do that, her spike will just slip between your arms.”

That made me flinch.

Tohira No. 7 might be considered the third-best spiker against Matsubara Girls’ High in terms of power and height, but at most schools, she could be the ace. More importantly, her skill as a spiker is probably the highest.

Especially since the second set started, her approach for spiking has changed.

Left-position spikers like Tohira No. 7 usually approach the net at a slight angle, but she now approaches almost parallel to the net—at an extremely sharp angle.

From there, using her left-handedness to her advantage, she smashes an inner spike right along the net’s edge, threading it past the block. That trajectory is simply impossible for right-handed players.

But if we try to block closer to the net to stop that, she switches it up and fires off a lightning-fast straight spike along the sideline.

Besides being left-handed, she must have extremely flexible shoulders too.

We’re so wary of her inner and straight spikes that our arms probably open up when we block.

The Matsubara spikers show zero fear of blocks. They hit as if they’re determined to smash right through the wall in front of them. So in that case—

“And also, be aware—they might start mixing in feints with their spikes soon. Keep your eyes open.”

……

＝＝＝＝＝＝

The match resumed with the opponent’s serve. From their usual routine came a powerful serve flying our way.

“Akari!”

I called out the name of my teammate who was right in the serve’s path!

She managed to receive it somehow, but with that trajectory, the ball was heading straight back to the opponent’s court.

“Chanbo!” (※ Short for "chance ball")

I could hear voices from the opposing side, but we’re not letting them take advantage of that!

I ran, leapt, and tossed the ball with one hand! A so-called one-handed toss. It’s not the most precise, but I can get more height this way.

A teammate managed to spike the ball off the toss, but the course wasn’t great.

Their libero picked it up—

“Sei!”

With a spirited shout, number 7 from Tohira spiked with all her might. The spike hit my hand as I jumped to block. My fingers stung from the impact.

Spikers from Matsubara Girls often swing at full force regardless of the block.

Are they not afraid of getting blocked?

And that spike just now—number 7 from Tohira was definitely aiming right above my head, between my arms.

If I hadn’t put strength into every single finger…

Or if I hadn’t gotten that advice from the coach during the timeout…

That powerful spike might have slipped through my block.

But that’s just a what-if. In reality, the block was successful, and the ball went back to their court.

The one who followed up on the blocked ball was Matsubara’s proud, petite libero, Arimura-san.

…She really moves well. Definitely the type of player you hate to go up against.

“Hina! One more time!”

“Hina! This time, center!”

Arimura-san’s block follow-up resulted in an A-pass to the setter’s position.

From there, both the left and center spikers called for the ball.

And the one who will toss it is—

!!

Here they switched the setter from Tachibana (older sister), number 4, to Maejima, number 11!!

If Maejima number 11 is setting, then there won’t be a spike from the right side—but since she’s in the front row rotation—

!!!

Two-attack!

Expecting a two-attack, I kept my body ready to shift back quickly—but the toss went—

!!

Murai number 3 dashed to the right side! With Maejima number 11 acting as setter, the right was left open! They’re going for a broad attack!

The players of Matsubara Girls shift tactics rapidly.

And I know it. Once they throw off our rhythm like this…

“Soiya!”

In the end, the spike came from the left. We had two blockers up, but it slipped just past the narrow gap—an absolutely perfect straight spike.

That kind of trajectory can only come from a left-handed player. It hugged the line.

No, even a killer straight like that could’ve been stopped if it was alone. But with our attention divided by the threat of a two-attack and a broad assault, our reaction was just slightly delayed. That little delay affected our positioning for the block.

20–23

“Alright! Two more points! We got this!”

“Asuka, nice key play!”

“Yuki, great follow!”

“Yuuri, don’t hold back—go ahead and get two more points with your serve!”

Cheers rang out from the other side. Their morale was rising fast.

This is bad.

“Stay calm. We can still catch up. That wasn’t an unstoppable attack by itself.”

I’m sure they know even without me saying it—but we’re not at the point of giving up yet.

We absolutely wanted to end this rotation with just one serve from Tachibana (younger sister), number 6—this was already her third serve in this rotation.

We have to make this stop, no matter what—

A serve flew our way that shattered such hopeful thoughts like thunder.

…What was that just now?

Even my teammates could do nothing but watch. That’s how shocking it was.

Daiki-kun’s…

No, that wasn’t just stronger than a boy’s serve—it was stronger than a boy’s spike.

As long as we’re human, we can aim to hit the same serve each time, but it will never be truly identical.

There will always be some variation.

This one must’ve been a “good” serve for them.

…Is that the best serve she can hit? How do we even deal with that…

20–24

“Stay calm. We’ve had matches where the other team got set point first before. But we’ve also come back and won. Focus on this one play!”

That absurd serve nearly shattered our spirit. But still. It’s not over yet.

Matsubara’s tiny ace once again began her familiar serving routine. The fourth serve was…

Ugh…

A floater serve at this stage!

That last serve had left our legs heavy.

I ended up making the first touch. That meant someone else had to toss it instead.

“Henmi-senpai!”

Our first-year Masami stepped in to toss the ball.

And the spike! A good course!

Because of her petite size, their libero Arimura-san doesn’t have a particularly wide defensive range.

The spike slipped past the block—and Arimura-san wasn’t there—

pahss...

With a soft sound, the ball rose cleanly into the air. Even if it was slightly off, that’s easily an A-pass.

The one who brought it up was Tachibana (younger sister), number 6.

I’m not even surprised she managed to receive from an empty area—she’s got crazy movement.

But to be able to receive it that cleanly…

Ah, but I guess that makes sense. She might’ve started as a total beginner, but she’s already been playing for seven months now. She’s probably started to pick up all sorts of things…

The one who set the ball that Tachibana number 6 received was Tachibana (older sister), number 4.

“Hina!”

“Center!”

“Give it to me! I’ll end this set!”

Three spikers calling for the ball from the left, center, and right.

Ugh…

The spikers had already started their approach.

Any of A to D quicks was possible.

Who? Which spiker will it be?

The left, rising in momentum? The tall center? Or maybe…

“Shaaaa!!”

The ball was back-tossed to the right side. Maejima number 11 slammed it down—20–25.

We lost the second set. And thinking about their rising morale, this wasn’t just back to square one—it felt like we were now in a worse position…

Spring Nationals – Prefectural Final Qualifier – Girls’ Finals

Himesaki High School vs. Matsubara Girls’ High School
Set 2
20–25

Set Count
1–1

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