Bam!
Kageyama Tobio's second serve arrived.
The speed and power were still excellent, but the landing spot was not as tricky as the first. In the nick of time, Kurata Cat lunged, barely managing to pull the volleyball up from the floor and into the air.
However, the ball flew directly back over to Kitagawa Daiichi's side of the court.
"Great chance! I've got it~"
The volleyball fell into the air above the Kitagawa Daiichi Opposite Hitter's position. He shouted and smoothly passed the ball to Kageyama Tobio's hands.
Akashi stood at the net, his eyes locked onto Kageyama Tobio's hands.
"Who will he set to? Will he set to Kindaichi as usual, or involve the back row in the offense..."
When Akashi usually blocked, he preferred to use the 'Delayed Block': seeing the direction of the setter's pass, then quickly following up to lock down the spiking area.
The advantage of this block was that it was hard for the setter to fool him. The disadvantage was that his blocking reaction would be half a beat slower.
This 'Delayed Block' had been very effective against previous opponents. Although the reaction was half a beat slow, Akashi's own physical prowess was enough to make up for some of it.
But facing a setter like Kageyama Tobio now, this 'Delayed Block' was severely ineffective.
The reason was simple: Kageyama Tobio's sets were too fast, and before setting, he gave no visible cues from his body or the tilt of his fingers.
In comparison, what might be the fastest quick attack on other teams was likely just a normal attack for Kitagawa Daiichi.
Therefore, to block Kitagawa Daiichi's quick attack, Akashi had to start relying on a degree of prediction.
"My current front-row blockers are myself, Mishita Ryuhei, and Ota Miki. Kazama Juujirou and Omae Masato have both rotated to the backcourt, so this is about the weakest period for our team's blocking."
"If they choose to attack, the opponent most likely won't choose my direction. That's too risky and unnecessary."
"Quite the opposite."
"Not only will he not choose me, but he should also avoid my position. So the greatest offensive possibility for this ball is still at..."
WHOOSH!
Almost the instant the volleyball left Kageyama Tobio's hands, Akashi took a step, rapidly rushing toward the front row's leftmost Position 4, in Ota Miki's direction.
Kageyama Tobio, in the Kitagawa Daiichi backcourt, saw this and immediately narrowed his pupils.
Arriving at Position 4, Akashi leaped. At the exact same time, the Kitagawa Daiichi attacker received the set, swung his arm, and spiked down.
BAM!
THUD!
The sensation of the volleyball hitting his palm.
The attack from Kitagawa Daiichi's Position 4 hitter was blocked by Akashi's single hand, but the ball landed out of bounds.
2:5.
Since the start of the qualifiers, this was the first time Senkoku had faced such a large deficit early on.
Pressure began to mount...
The breathing of the Senkoku players grew heavy. The specter of the crushing defeat they had suffered against Kitagawa Daiichi before seemed poised to descend upon them once more.
...
"Wow! That was close! We almost got blocked!"
In contrast to Senkoku's mounting pressure, the Kitagawa Daiichi Position 4 attacker patted his chest in relief.
Honestly, Akashi's sudden emergence had given him a major scare.
Although the Kitagawa Daiichi coach had specifically analyzed Akashi's spiking and blocking for them before the match, it was hard to truly imagine the sheer oppressive force Akashi brought in that split second without experiencing it firsthand.
A hair's breadth.
That spike should have been blocked.
No.
To be precise, the spike was blocked, but they were simply lucky not to lose the point.
The referee blew the serving whistle again.
Kageyama Tobio walked to the end line with the volleyball. Although they had just scored and retained the serve, Kageyama Tobio did not feel relaxed at all.
"That last ball, that guy..."
The image of Akashi prematurely predicting his set flashed repeatedly in his mind. Although Kageyama Tobio had managed to drive the image away before serving, a sudden alarm went off in his mind the moment he tossed the volleyball into the air.
"Crap, too low."
BAM!
Kageyama Tobio quickly jumped and struck the back of the volleyball with his palm.
The volleyball flew over the block, but both its power and speed were far inferior to his previous serves. The Senkoku backcourt defensive players noticed this and decisively stepped forward to receive the ball.
"Chance ball!"
Mishita Ryuhei shouted, setting the ball to Akashi. With a BAM, the volleyball arced diagonally and landed on the floor within the Kitagawa Daiichi court.
3:5.
After three serves, Senkoku finally recaptured the serving right.
The rotation now brought Akashi to serve.
"A good serve, Akashi."
"Give them a taste of their own medicine. Let those guys know they aren't the only ones who can serve."
"Turn the score around."
...
The Senkoku players encouraged Akashi, one by one.
On the opposite side, as Akashi took the ball, all the Kitagawa Daiichi players immediately went on high alert.
Just as Senkoku guarded against Kageyama Tobio's high-speed serves, the Kitagawa Daiichi players were equally wary of Akashi's powerful serves.
Akashi walked to the end line with the ball.
"Hoo~"
A breath of stale air was exhaled from his lungs, and Akashi's heart grew calm.
Across the net, the moment Kageyama Tobio saw Akashi's movement, a sudden, inexplicable chill shot from his feet to the top of his head.
Kageyama Tobio tensed, then shouted decisively, "Everyone, be ready! Don't lose focus for anything!"
SWISH~
The volleyball lifted from Akashi's palm into the high air. He then began his approach, jump, and arm swing...
Every movement Akashi made was soft, looking like a gentle feather fluttering in the sky.
Until... the moment Akashi's palm made contact with the volleyball.
BAM!
A thunderclap seemed to erupt over the Senkoku court.
This hitting sensation was unlike any Akashi had experienced before.
In the past, when serving, the most common sensation he felt was the stiffness of the volleyball's surface. This time, however, Akashi felt a certain softness from the volleyball.
He knew in his heart that the ball hadn't gone soft; it was the illusion caused by the volleyball being compressed by the immense force of his hit.
BOOM!
The volleyball howled as it flew out.
Even before the serve was close, the Kitagawa Daiichi players felt the roaring wind rush past their ears.
In the next instant—
The howling volleyball arrived instantaneously. Before anyone could even blink, the ball was already inside the Kitagawa Daiichi court, then landed, compressed, sunk in by half a ball's depth, and flew high...
"THUD!"
Only when the volleyball hit the back wall did the sound seem to catch up.