The College Perspective
My name is Chiba.
Today, my friends and I arranged to play a game at the gymnasium.
Midway, two of our guys had to leave on short notice. Reluctantly, we each recruited a high schooler to act as a temporary teammate.
To be honest, our only goal was just to fill the numbers.
But to our utter astonishment, these two high schoolers: one immediately executed a perfect diagonal shot, and the other withstood the block of our two strongest net players to land a super straight spike right on the boundary line.
I just have to ask: has high school volleyball technique become this absurd?
We are a university team.
Is this reasonable?
Is this really reasonable?
...
The college students on both the Red and Blue teams twitched slightly at the corners of their eyes, feeling utterly outclassed.
The two sides glanced at the high schoolers on their own team, then at the high schooler on the opposing team, feeling a multitude of unspoken complaints swelling up inside, yet unable to articulate a single one.
"Nice spike!" Chiba finally managed to utter.
"Thank you for the compliment," Akashi responded politely.
Relying on the attacks of their respective 'newcomer high schoolers,' the Red and Blue teams each scored a point, bringing the score to 1:1.
The moment Akashi scored his point, Kyoutani Kentarou, who had only been "challenging" everyone instinctively, instantly focused all his attention on Akashi.
The intention to provoke and challenge was already bubbling up in his eyes, which resembled those of a 'mad dog.'
At this point, the rotation brought Akashi to the serving position for the Red Team.
"Hmph!"
Standing outside the end line, Akashi held the ball with one hand and gently inhaled, trying to keep his body relaxed.
Then he started a slow run-up and lightly tossed the ball...
Seeing this movement, the college students on both teams were stunned again. They initially thought Akashi's serve would be similar to Kyoutani Kentarou's, but now the situation seemed entirely different.
THWACK!
THUD!
As they were still pondering, a muffled sound of the ball being struck suddenly rang out. Then, the Blue Team players only saw a streak before the ball landed on the floor behind them.
"???"
"?????"
Everyone was dumbfounded, looking at the volleyball still rolling on the floor. The question marks in their heads erupted like a gale.
This jump serve...
Is this seriously a high schooler?
Chiba, who had pulled Akashi over, was probably the most confused of all.
He had participated in the volleyball club during high school. Although their club never made it to Nationals, they had competed against a team that did.
You never truly understand until you face them: even among high schoolers, the gap between a National-level team and a regular club cannot be quantified purely by score.
Therefore, he clearly understood that Akashi now possessed the skill to challenge for the High School Nationals.
Thinking this, Chiba suddenly felt a surge of emotion regarding his luck. To casually pick up someone on the street who happened to possess National-level potential in high school—he truly didn't know if his luck was good or bad.
BAM, BAM, BAM...
The thoughts swirling in everyone's minds clearly did not distract Akashi.
After scoring on the first serve, Akashi knew his serving was feeling good today. To maintain the momentum, he immediately prepared for the second serve after receiving the ball.
SMASH!
Following the same preparation routine, the volleyball flew out again.
This time, the prepared Blue Team members clearly saw the trajectory, but... the speed was still too fast.
The Jump Serve, which completely sacrificed control and placement to focus all energy on power and speed, sailed over the block and descended directly in front of Kyoutani Kentarou.
With that kind of placement, if it were against an average jump serve or a better Libero, it would generally be considered a free point.
But unfortunately, neither was the case.
While Kyoutani Kentarou's personality was rough, he was certainly talented and dedicated. However, his position on the court was Wing Spiker, not Libero.
The moment the volleyball approached, Kyoutani Kentarou caught the ball's line. But the instant the ball contacted his arm, an immense force knocked his arm out of position. The volleyball flew off course and landed out of bounds.
The score was 1:3.
"Damn it!"
Kyoutani Kentarou's expression grew visibly frustrated, seemingly furious at himself for failing to receive that serve.
At the same time, the intensity of his competitive gaze aimed at Akashi grew hotter and more indignant...
"It's okay, it's okay, let's focus on the next point."
The Blue Team's Spiker clapped his hands, trying to boost Kyoutani Kentarou's morale.
Then, Akashi made a misplay.
His serve hit the net.
The score moved to 2:3.
This was completely normal. Even in world-class professional matches, service errors are common.
Moreover, Akashi's Jump Serve skill was not highly developed. The fact that he successfully landed two in a row in a match was already somewhat unexpected for him.
The Red Team setter patted Akashi on the shoulder, indicating that he had done very well and shouldn't worry too much.
The match then continued.
The first point on a "pickup court" is a show for the newcomers. After that, most of the match relies on the cooperation and tactical offense and defense among the established players.
In this regard, Akashi and Kyoutani Kentarou clearly could not compare to the veterans who had played countless matches together.
Consequently, the number of balls received by both younger players began to decrease.
This was fine for Akashi; he was self-aware. Early on, relying on the opponents' unfamiliarity, he might be able to break through the defense on his own.
But once both sides became familiar with his style, his current physical ability and technique did not grant him a significant advantage against the combined defense of the college students. Scoring ultimately required cooperation among teammates.
Therefore, he was content to act as an ordinary spiker here, primarily focusing on learning.
But Akashi was self-aware because he housed an adult soul.
Kyoutani Kentarou was clearly not.
For the young player nicknamed "Mad Dog," playing volleyball naturally meant spiking, attacking, and scoring. If he couldn't spike, where was the excitement?
Thus, after a long period of not receiving the ball, the young player finally lost his patience.
When the score reached 22:24, giving the Red Team set point...
The Blue Team's offense and defense were stabilizing. For the final attack, the Blue Team setter instinctively chose to set the ball to the veteran teammate he had collaborated with for the longest time.
But the instant the final ball was set, and just as the Blue Team's Middle Blocker was preparing to jump, Kyoutani Kentarou suddenly charged from behind, fiercely stealing the set intended for the Middle Blocker.
BOOM!
A ferocious spike cleared the block, flew directly over Akashi's head in the backcourt, and resulted in a "home run," smashing against the wall twenty meters away.
"Uh..."