"How cruel!"
Looking at the Omisaki players, who were solidified like statues on the opposite side, even Oikawa Tōru, who had just scored five consecutive points, couldn't help but look away.
To deliver another devastating blow right when the opponent's morale was just starting to flicker back to life was utterly soul-crushing.
The score reached 9:1.
After enduring a barrage of powerful serves, no matter how stable the mentality of the Omisaki High players, they couldn't help but feel a breakdown in morale.
The Omisaki High coach sat in the rest area, chewing the skin around his thumbnail almost raw.
This situation was unexpected not only for him but also for Irihata Nobuteru, Seijoh's head coach. While he knew that Akashi's and Oikawa Tōru's serves had surpassed the standard high school level, the problem was that even professional players frequently make serving errors.
Although Oikawa Tōru's and Akashi's serves are strong, they are still a bit short of the professional level.
Serving errors occur frequently even in regular training. A streak of consecutive service aces like today is rare, even in practice matches, let alone a formal tournament.
Irihata Nobuteru wondered: "Are these two in exceptionally good form today?"
THUD!
As Irihata Nobuteru pondered, Akashi's fourth serve flew out again. Having gradually rediscovered the feel for his serve, Akashi was finally able to exert close to 100% of his power.
The volleyball flew over the net, dropping directly toward the Omisaki High Libero. However, even so, the Omisaki Libero failed to receive the ball.
10:1.
This point was another heavy blow to Omisaki High.
Because this point was scored by Akashi against the opponent's most skilled receiver, the Libero. If the Libero couldn't handle the ball, others obviously had even less confidence.
BEEP!!!
The Omisaki High coach could no longer sit still and used another time-out—their last available time-out for this set.
Four serves had forced the opponent to use two time-outs.
This situation instantly caused an uproar among the surrounding spectators.
When the time-out ended, Akashi, whose serving feel had been disrupted by the two consecutive interruptions, finally cooled down somewhat. The fifth serve after returning to the court did not score directly.
Because the cooling feel led to Akashi missing the perfect contact point, the volleyball skimmed the net, barely managing to cross the line.
Omisaki High received the serve, and the Setter quickly initiated a counter-attack. However... the attack was instantly blocked by Kindaichi and Matsukawa Issei.
The volleyball dropped to the floor.
Looking at the two Seijoh blockers in the front court—189{cm} and 187{cm} tall—the Omisaki High spiker's morale completely shattered.
"Woah! Seijoh's block is so high!"
"We were so distracted by the serves of Seijoh's Number 1 and 8 that we completely ignored the others. Looking now, Seijoh's lineup this year is terrifying! Their offense and defense are virtually flawless."
...
11:1.
Due to Kindaichi's and Matsukawa Issei's successful defense, the serving right remained with Akashi.
THUD!
Akashi launched the sixth serve, still with a loud, fierce contact sound, but the moment the ball left his hand, Akashi felt a premonition: "Damn it, it slipped."
As expected, in the next second, the Seijoh players watched helplessly as the volleyball flew over the net without showing any sign of descending. It continued flying toward the baseline boundary of the Omisaki court before finally starting to drop.
Under normal circumstances, this ball would definitely go out of bounds.
But an unexpected event occurred.
Just as the ball was about to go out and the line judge was about to raise his flag, the Omisaki High Libero suddenly sprinted out and managed to receive the ball back into the air.
This action stunned not only the Omisaki High teammates but also the Seijoh players for a brief moment.
What was even more ridiculous was that when the other Omisaki players saw the ball received, not a single one of them reacted. They stood rooted to the spot like statues, watching helplessly as the volleyball flew back over the boundary line and then landed on the ground.
Thump, thump, thump...
Suddenly, the atmosphere in the entire court was deathly silent. All the Omisaki High players suddenly felt that sound had been lost in the court. Apart from their own heavy breathing, they could hear nothing else.
A massive pressure, like a collapsing skyscraper, weighed down upon them. The built-up physical and psychological exhaustion rushed out all at once, like a dam breaking.
Reflected in the Libero's eyes was the volleyball rolling on the floor. His mind instantly went blank.
"The last psychological defense line has also broken?" Oikawa Tōru saw the error on the opposite side and knew the set was already over.
Compared to a deficit in score, a psychological breakdown on the court more often leads to a complete collapse of the entire team.
The Omisaki High coach immediately requested a substitution.
The starting Libero was taken off and replaced by a substitute. However, a substitution at this point was largely ineffective.
Ten minutes later, the first set ended with a score of 25:7.
...
The Sweep
In the second set, the Omisaki High starting Libero returned to the court.
It was clearly not easy for this starting Libero to escape the shadow of Akashi's serve in such a short time.
However, Akashi did not demonstrate as good a serving form in the second set. Although he could still score aces, the number of errors also noticeably increased.
But Akashi never had only his serve as a weapon...
BAM!
The volleyball shot out like a cannonball, straight into the opposing triple block, and instantly pierced through it.
"Damn it!"
The three Omisaki High blockers landed, looking at the tall figure opposite them, their faces showing anger and reluctance.
Does this guy truly have no weaknesses?
Akashi turned around. The scoreboard flipped, and Seijoh scored another point.
23:11.
There were not many spectators left in the stands near Seijoh. The outcome of this match had been obvious since the second set entered its latter half.
"Great spike!"
The Seijoh players offered symbolic applause to Akashi, but their tone sounded completely listless.
There was no helping it.
When faced with a spike that they already knew was going to score, the Seijoh players genuinely found it difficult to look excited.
After all, they weren't professional actors.
After the point, Seijoh rotated positions again. This rotation brought Oikawa Tōru back to the position 1 serving spot.
Ultimately, Oikawa Tōru scored two consecutive service aces, successfully clinching Seijoh's first victory.
...