1:2.
Thanks to Iwaizumi Hajime's line shot that kissed the boundary line, Seijoh finally broke the disadvantageous start to the second set.
"Oh? He actually managed to land a shot like that?" Tendo Satori said, slightly surprised. As an old rival of Seijoh, Tendo Satori knew Iwaizumi Hajime quite well. In his memory, Iwaizumi Hajime was not weak, but under normal circumstances, it would be quite difficult for him to hit such a high-difficulty spike.
Was it luck?
"It seems the opponent won't let us take this set easily," Ohira Leon commented.
"Please don't worry, Ohira-senpai," Shirabu Kenjiro replied. "Our strategy is sound. As long as we can neutralize their number six, the Seijoh setter's tactical options become very limited."
Shiratorizawa and Seijoh generally understand each other's abilities and style. While Seijoh's various combination attacks were already highly synchronized and diverse, allowing all their spikers' abilities to be utilized 100\%.
From another perspective, wasn't this also a limitation on Oikawa's potential?
But with Akashi's addition, the range of offensive formations the Seijoh setter could deploy suddenly became rich and varied, like a pure and lovely wife suddenly transforming into a mature, beautiful woman on their wedding night.
In the first set, Shiratorizawa lost the point first because they failed to respond in time to Seijoh's sudden change.
Therefore, for the second set, Shiratorizawa found the key, choosing to directly target Akashi. As long as Akashi is neutralized, even if Tendo Satori can't block everyone else, if he can block half, or even one-third, of the other attacks, Seijoh is guaranteed to lose.
After all, one must remember that compared to defense, Shiratorizawa's greatest strength has always been offense.
BAM!
A brute-force spike tore through the block, landing directly for a score.
1:3.
"Tch!"
Oikawa grumbled angrily. His serve in that service rotation was faulty. Although it went over the net, it failed to generate the required speed, handing Shiratorizawa an opportunity to attack.
The Unstoppable Force
Next ball: Shiratorizawa served, and Seijoh gained an attacking chance.
Oikawa organized the offense, and the set once again fell to Kindaichi. Tendo Satori, relying on his exceptional 'intuition,' laid out his block one step ahead, but Kindaichi and Oikawa executed a synchronized tempo attack. Tendo Satori failed to find the right blocking timing, allowing Kindaichi to score a point successfully.
2:3.
The next serve was by Seijoh.
After Shiratorizawa received the ball, Shirabu Kenjiro once again delivered the offense to Ushijima Wakatoshi.
Akashi, Kindaichi, and Iwaizumi Hajime, who had just rotated to the front court, executed a triple block. Yet, Ushijima Wakatoshi, facing the three of them, slammed a super tight cross-court shot within the three-meter line.
2:4.
"Damn it, that jerk Ushiwaka's attacks are utterly unreasonable."
Even after getting used to Ushijima Wakatoshi's unrivaled 'absolute power,' when the opponent pulled off such an aggressive and irrational spike, Iwaizumi Hajime still felt his focus slightly break.
The serving right returned to Shiratorizawa.
And this time, Shiratorizawa rotated to Ushijima Wakatoshi's serve again.
BAM!
The volleyball, tossed into the air, took a heavy hit, whistling towards the Seijoh court. Oikawa, being closest to the landing spot, managed a desperate dive for the save, but failing to control the ball's rotation, the volleyball flew directly out of bounds.
2:5.
BAM!
Ushijima Wakatoshi's second serve followed immediately. Perhaps by luck, or perhaps by skill, the landing spot of this serve hit the outer corner, scoring by pressing the boundary line.
2:6.
BAM!
The third serve flew out, hitting the block, and Seijoh was finally saved.
But the point difference still stretched to 3 points, now 3:6.
Ushijima Wakatoshi's three consecutive serves almost suffocated the Seijoh players. Especially for Oikawa and the other third-year players, this feeling was quickly becoming a mental shadow.
It was like this every time.
No matter what brilliant tactical strategy Seijoh devised, or what seamless coordination they displayed, Ushijima Wakatoshi would ultimately crush all of Seijoh's plans with his individual power alone, in an unreasonable fashion.
A shadow fell across the faces of Oikawa and the others.
At this moment, Seijoh's rotation brought Akashi to position one.
BAM!
An explosive sound.
Akashi served the first ball. This serve, superior in power to Ushijima Wakatoshi's, rushed past with a gust of wind, flying directly towards the Shiratorizawa court.
And then...
SLAP!
Akashi's serve was received.
Shiratorizawa launched a counterattack. Shirabu Kenjiro and Goshiki Tsutomu executed a quick attack combination, scoring a point swiftly before any of the Seijoh players could react.
3:7.
The gap between the two sides widened further.
However, the Seijoh team was clearly no longer focused on the score difference. They all turned their gaze towards Akashi, their eyes flashing with shock and disbelief.
BEEP!!!
Irihata Nobuteru called an emergency timeout.
The Coach's Worry
Back in the rest area, the expressions of many Seijoh players were gloomy, their previously high spirits plummeting.
Perhaps Akashi's serve being received was just a coincidence. After all, with the current power of Akashi's serve, no team, even on a national scale, could claim to receive such a serve 100\% of the time.
But at this moment, whether it was a coincidence or not was no longer important.
Because one fact remained unchanged: the serves of Seijoh's two best servers, Oikawa and Akashi, were both received by the opponent, and the opponent seized the opportunity to counterattack both times.
This was definitely a heavy blow to Seijoh's overall morale.
"The serve in volleyball is an extremely unstable offensive skill. Even in professional matches, professional players have countless service errors. So, don't get discouraged by one or two service losses, and certainly don't feel that the match is over."
Irihata Nobuteru scanned the group, finally letting his gaze rest on Akashi. His tone softened: "Akashi, losing points on a serve is very common. Don't put too much pressure on yourself. You need to know that even your third-year senior, Oikawa, also lost a point on his serve just now. So, just play as usual for the rest of the match."
Oikawa: "..."
Coach, you're trying to cheer him up, so why drag me into it?
Compared to the third-years, Irihata Nobuteru was genuinely worried about Akashi's state of mind. After all, no matter how much of a genius or "monster" he was called, the young man was ultimately just a first-year high school student.
If his mindset were to break down because of that last point, Seijoh would be completely unable to continue the match.
However, after Irihata Nobuteru finished speaking, Akashi looked up, scratched his hair, and said: "Huh? Coach, what are you talking about? Losing points in a match is totally normal! It's not like I've never lost a match before. Why would that be stressful?"