BEEP!
1:0.
The referee ruthlessly blew the scoring whistle.
The Yamarashi Industrial players looked stunned, while the audience on the second floor erupted in a spectacular cheer.
"Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa~~~"
"What a serve! He even knocked the guy down!"
"Nice, Senkoku's number one!"
...
Whether they understood volleyball or not, everyone was exceptionally excited at this moment.
Violence is an animal instinct hidden deep within our genes.
Although they didn't understand the sport, they saw Akashi use a seemingly light volleyball to knock down his opponent. That visual alone was enough to hit their 'G-spot.'
"Hiss~~"
"Well done! Hit another one, Senkoku's number one!"
Some people in the stands started cheering for Akashi, though they were mostly just causing a commotion. Akashi paid no mind, as his opponent was not in the audience.
When the referee's whistle sounded, Akashi served the second ball.
The second jump serve was not as good as the first; a slight error in the ball toss caused the speed to drop slightly.
"I'll take it!"
The Yamarashi Libero shouted and received the ball.
However, because Akashi's power was immense, even a flawed serve carried a powerful impact. After the Libero received it, the ball still rebounded tens of meters high into the sky.
The super-high receive gave the Yamarashi setter plenty of reaction time.
But it also gave Senkoku's defense plenty of reaction time.
BAM!
THUD!
Ultimately, Yamarashi's first attack was directly blocked by Omae Masato. The spiked ball rebounded into the Yamarashi court, making the score 2:0.
"Tch!"
The Yamarashi Ace Spiker clicked his tongue, glancing at the ball on the floor with reluctance, then turned back to the team to reorganize the formation.
In the resting area, Shimokawa Sando frowned slightly.
"Strange. With the power of Akashi's opening serve, it should have been enough to strike the opponent's morale, but why does Yamarashi seem completely unfazed?"
Yamarashi's reaction gave Shimokawa Sando a faint, bad premonition, but he couldn't quite guess the opponent's strategy.
Just then, Akashi served the third ball.
Unfortunately, he missed this one. The serve went out of bounds after crossing the net, failing to score.
The score moved to 2:1.
"It's okay, it's okay!"
The Senkoku players walked up and gave Akashi a customary word of comfort, then continued the match.
The serving rotation switched.
A Senkoku Middle Blocker moved to the number one position. After settling down, his gaze focused on a specific player on the Senkoku team.
"It's not just powerful serves that can score points!"
The Senkoku Middle Blocker recalled the pre-match strategy, let out a soft breath to relax, and then gently tapped the ball out.
SLAP!
This was a serve almost completely opposite to Akashi's Jump Serve.
It lacked power, angle, and high technicality. The only special technique might be its unique landing spot.
The slowly flying volleyball lost all its momentum immediately after crossing the net, plummeting straight toward the ground.
Mishita Ryuhei, who happened to be directly in the ball's path, hurriedly reached out and received the ball.
Instantly, Shimokawa Sando's expression in the resting area changed.
"I see. So your target wasn't Akashi from the start."
When he saw the opposing serve deliberately targeting Mishita Ryuhei, Shimokawa Sando immediately realized and understood Yamarashi Industrial's strategy for this match.
He also understood why the opponent remained completely calm even after Akashi scored two consecutive points at the start.
It was simple.
In this match, Yamarashi Industrial had given up on targeting Akashi from the beginning.
...
In the Yamarashi Industrial resting area nearby, the Yamarashi coach watched Mishita Ryuhei receive the first ball and a subtle smile spread across his lips.
After thoroughly studying the [Senkoku vs. Kujira Temple] footage for several days, the Yamarashi coach knew that the strength of his players made it virtually impossible to stop the opposing 'Ace.'
This was because Yamarashi Industrial did not have 'genius' players.
Their team was composed of ordinary people whose individual skills were not outstanding but whose abilities were consistently average across all members.
It was a team without significant strengths, but also without significant weaknesses.
They were an extremely average team.
The biggest characteristic of an "average team" is that they can't defeat stronger teams, but they also won't lose to weaker teams.
Therefore, using a team like this to clash head-on with a 'monster' would most likely result in them being crushed.
But what if they didn't confront the 'monster' directly?
The power of any ace spiker is determined not only by their own skill but also significantly influenced by the type of set they receive from the setter.
The stronger the spiker, the more demanding they are of the setter.
The Yamarashi coach observed the [Senkoku vs. Kujira Temple] recording for several days and finally concluded that even Senkoku's main setter was not fully utilizing the number one player's full potential.
If this was true for the main setter, it was even more so for the other team members.
Therefore, the strategy Yamarashi devised before the match was to completely ignore Akashi and instead focus all their energy on limiting Mishita Ryuhei's performance.
As long as the opposing main setter didn't have the chance to set the ball, the opposing 'Ace' would be unable to exert his full power.
...
The Momentum Shifts
BAM!
THUD!
On the court, because Mishita Ryuhei was forced to take the first pass (receive), the setting role had to be taken over by Kazama Juujirou. Kazama Juujirou lacked the ability to organize a back-row attack, so the ball was passed to Omae Masato. Omae Masato's full-power spike was easily anticipated by the opposing block and was blocked directly.
2:2.
The early advantage established by Senkoku was instantly neutralized.
The Yamarashi Industrial players, seeing this, immediately pressed their advantage. The next serve again targeted Mishita Ryuhei. Mishita Ryuhei was forced into the first pass, and the subsequent attack organization was too simple and failed to score.
Instead, the ball was received by the opponent, who launched a counterattack and scored a spike.
The score was reversed.
2:3.
Yamarashi Industrial continued to serve. This time, after an early warning from Mishita Ryuhei, Kazama Juujirou quickly stepped in and took the serve, successfully executing the first pass.
On the second pass, Mishita Ryuhei decisively organized a back-row attack.
Akashi leaped high from the back row, and his powerful spike broke through the opponent's double block, leveling the score.
3:3.
However, the Senkoku players were not too happy, as they knew this was only a temporary fix.
If they couldn't solve the problem of the opponent continuously targeting Mishita Ryuhei, the subsequent plays would be just as difficult...