BEEP!!!
The sudden accident caused the referee to quickly blow the timeout whistle.
The Kujira Temple Libero, who was struck by Akashi's serve, was immediately knocked out... or rather, knocked down.
The immense rebound force sent the volleyball flying high into the air, all the way up to the second-floor spectator stands.
The Kujira Temple players were stunned for a moment, then rushed toward their fallen Libero, only to find the lower half of his face stained crimson with nosebleed.
As they were just middle schoolers, they were unaccustomed to such a sight, and several Kujira Temple players instantly panicked.
Fortunately, the Kujira Temple coach arrived with the on-site doctor at that moment.
After a preliminary check, it was determined that it was likely only a burst capillary in the nose. Although alarming, it shouldn't be a major issue.
However, to rule out any potential damage to the nasal bone or the brain, the court doctor still recommended that the Libero leave the court for a more detailed examination.
The Kujira Temple coach agreed with the doctor's assessment.
As a coach, he was well aware that the violence of volleyball, in some respects, was no less than basketball or soccer.
While he didn't think Akashi, a middle schooler, could demonstrate the true force of volleyball, he had to admit that the impact of that serve was quite frightening.
The Kujira Temple starting Libero was reluctant to leave, but under the joint decision of the coach and the doctor, he had no choice but to be stretchered off the court.
Thus, five minutes and thirty seconds into the match, Akashi successfully achieved the 'First Blood' accomplishment.
After the Kujira Temple Libero left the court, the referee blew the whistle for the continuation of the match.
However, the Kujira Temple coach immediately called for another timeout.
...
"Don't worry about it too much. That was just an accident; it's common in sports. In the rest of the game, just continue to play normally." Shimokawa Sando was concerned that the accident might psychologically affect Akashi, so he was diligently counseling him.
After all, while this accident was common... well, maybe it wasn't that common.
But those details didn't matter.
What mattered was that in his eyes, Akashi was still just a middle schooler. Students at this stage are sensitive, and if this incident caused any trauma, the consequences could be serious.
However, Shimokawa Sando's worry was clearly excessive. For Akashi, causing a nosebleed—or even a more serious injury—was completely within the realm of "normal occurrence" in competitive sports.
Akashi's heart was calm, but Ota Miki and the others, in contrast, looked traumatized.
"Ew! So scary!"
"Although I knew the serve was powerful during practice, I didn't realize it had such terrifying force."
"I know, right? And to think I was hit in the back of the head by that kind of ball during practice... I think I should go to the hospital for a check-up after the match!"
Ota Miki touched the spot where he had previously been hit by the serve. He hadn't felt anything before, but now he suddenly felt a twinge of pain again.
Shimokawa Sando: "..."
Great!
He didn't know if the opposing team was deterred by the serve, but his own team was scared half to death.
But then again,
Let alone these middle schoolers, even Shimokawa Sando himself felt that Akashi's serve was somewhat unbelievable.
He had seen powerful jump serves before, but a middle schooler delivering a ball like that was a first in his long career.
Shimokawa Sando continued to reassure Akashi's mental state on this side.
...
On the other side, the Kujira Temple coach was also trying to comfort his own players.
However, one coach was comforting his player not to be scared of himself, while the other was comforting his players not to be scared of the opponent.
The Kujira Temple coach's mood was extremely heavy.
It wasn't because the loss of their Libero had hurt their team's fighting capacity.
It was because the reason for the Libero's departure had caused the team's morale to approach collapse.
Kujira Temple's spirit was already completely suppressed by Senkoku. After the opponent's 'ace' delivered that terrifying serve, it was like placing another heavy weight on Kujira Temple's already burdened morale.
If they couldn't turn the situation around in the following plays, the game could be over in the first set alone, without even needing to play the full match.
"Now we can only hope that the opponent's mentality isn't stable, and the shock from the accident will cause him to make a mistake."
The Kujira Temple coach wanted to devise a countermeasure, but until the referee's whistle blew, he couldn't find a single effective strategy.
Any tactic can only be successfully employed when the hard skill gap between the two teams is not significant.
But currently, the opponent's attack point was simply too sharp.
Even gathering all their defensive strength might not be enough to stop the opponent's offense, and now they were missing their defensive core, the Libero.
BEEP!
After both teams returned to the court, the referee blew the serving whistle.
Akashi stood at the end line, lightly patted the ball a few times to find his rhythm, and, as expected, used his Jump Serve.
BAM!
The astonishing sound exploded again.
The volleyball flew over the net with almost the same speed and power as the previous serve, leaving a clean arc in the air and landing directly on the back boundary line for a score.
BEEP!
The referee signaled, and Senkoku scored another point, bringing the score to 9:3.
Omae Masato and the others cheered heartily, while the Kujira Temple coach slowly closed his eyes.
From the moment Akashi delivered that serve, he already knew their match was over. It wasn't because Akashi scored another point, but because even striking the opponent didn't affect the power of his hit.
Kujira Temple's morale had collapsed.
Everyone in competitive sports believes the saying: "Until the final moment, the winner is never decided."
This statement is correct.
However, there is another truth: "The result of a match is often determined before the game even begins."
Not everyone has the resolve to persevere until the end when facing an uphill battle. In reality, comebacks against the odds are simply rare.
Because of this, every underdog comeback match feels exceptionally precious.
For most matches on the court, the result can already be predicted by looking at the teams' pre-match training status, time invested, effort exerted, and other factors.
Whether Kujira Temple could ultimately achieve a comeback was something the Kujira Temple coach himself wasn't sure of.
He believed in the existence of miracles, but in his past matches, Kujira Temple had never once managed to seize the opportunity for a miracle when facing adversity...