The Iron Wall of Seijoh
Directly opposite the 186{cm} Azumane Asahi stood 18{cm} Matsukawa Issei and 184{cm} Hanamaki Takahiro.
Before Akashi Asuka and Kindaichi Yūtarō joined Seijoh, Matsukawa Issei and Hanamaki Takahiro had always been the main players for Seijoh's blocking defense.
And after Akashi Asuka and Kindaichi Yūtarō joined, Matsukawa Issei and Hanamaki Takahiro... were still the main players for Seijoh's blocking defense.
Because they are tall.
Seijoh's current starting lineup is truly unique, especially since Watari Shinji rotated to the front court and was temporarily substituted out. The height of the current starting players on the court is very astonishing.
The heights of all six players are 189{cm}, 187{cm}, 185{cm}, 184{cm}, 184{cm}, and 179{cm}.
...
Although the height of the last player appears slightly out of place among the group, overall, the average height of Seijoh's current starters ranks among the best in the nation.
More importantly, all six of Seijoh's current starters possess quite refined blocking and spiking techniques.
This is because Wing Spikers and Middle Blockers are primarily responsible for spiking and blocking, and while Oikawa Tōru is a Setter, he is an all-around player.
Therefore, in such a lineup, the positional boundaries of the five non-Setter players are significantly blurred.
Especially when participating in a block.
Any Seijoh starter who rotates to the front court can be considered a high wall.
Take the current situation, for example:
Even though Hanamaki Takahiro and Matsukawa Issei have gradually retreated to the second line of defense since Akashi and Kindaichi joined the team, they are still capable of blocking Karasuno's Wing Spiker's spike.
As the referee blew the whistle, the score flipped again.
10:3.
This block undoubtedly added another massive stone to the already heavy atmosphere within the Karasuno team.
It also made Karasuno and the audience realize that compared to Seijoh's powerful serving ability, Seijoh's block appeared to be a greater hurdle for Karasuno to overcome.
"What's going on? Didn't Karasuno defeat Date Tech high school yesterday? Why do they seem so weak today?"
"Idiot, it's not that Karasuno is too weak, but that their opponent is too strong."
"Aaaahhhh~~ Oikawa-senpai!"
...
Oikawa Tōru's female fans standing in the stands were clearly a 'frustrating' sight in the arena.
Seeing the girls constantly cheering for Oikawa Tōru, not only the Karasuno players but even the Seijoh team members wanted to hit Oikawa with a bat.
Unfortunately, they were in the middle of a match, so it wasn't convenient to do so.
Akashi Asuka served again, but this serve was unsuccessful. After a hand-slip error, the volleyball flew directly out of bounds.
10:4.
This error clearly gave Karasuno a forced lifeline.
After Karasuno regained the serve, Libero Nishinoya Yū returned to the back court. With the genius Libero Nishinoya Yū defending the back court, Karasuno's backcourt defense instantly strengthened significantly.
On the Seijoh side, the attacking power slightly decreased because Akashi Asuka rotated to the back court.
As a result, in the next few rallies, the two sides entered a phase of offense and defense.
10:5.
11:5.
11:6.
12:6.
...
The Predicted Quick Attack
"I see, did you temporarily change your code signal before today's match? Was it that handsome guy with the good eyes who just subbed out who tipped you off?"
After winning another point against Kindaichi using the [Minus Tempo Quick], Oikawa Tōru finally confirmed his internal guess.
Before the match started, he had specifically studied footage of Karasuno. In previous matches, Karasuno's Hinata Shōyō would shout loudly before every attack.
After studying it, Oikawa Tōru had basically determined that the shouts of [Set it here] and [Set it to me] were the code signal for the [Minus Tempo Quick].
However, in today's match, the opponent hadn't shouted a single time.
Initially, Oikawa Tōru thought his guess was wrong. It wasn't until Oda Miki subbed in that Oikawa, by observing, realized he hadn't guessed wrong; someone had simply anticipated his anticipation.
Kageyama Tobio's expression changed slightly.
The facts were exactly as Oikawa Tōru guessed: their code signal was improvised last night, and it was indeed due to Oda Miki's suggestion.
However, Oikawa Tōru was wrong about one thing.
Oda Miki hadn't anticipated Oikawa, because at this time, Oda Miki didn't know Oikawa Tōru well.
His reason for doing this was purely for the sake of caution.
This was because Oda Miki had recently read a very interesting novel. Although the main character had a slightly strange personality, his actions made sense, and Oda Miki was significantly influenced by this novel during this period.
BAM!
SLAP!
After two rallies of offense and defense, Oikawa Tōru and Kindaichi teamed up to block Tanaka's spike, and Seijoh scored another point.
The score reached 13:7.
Seijoh won the serving right, and Akashi Asuka finally rotated back to the front court.
When Akashi returned to the front court, the Karasuno players immediately felt a wave of pressure wash over them, causing their breathing to become slightly heavier.
"No need to be so nervous; I'm not a devil, you know?" Akashi Asuka smiled and said.
Just then, Seijoh's backcourt player served the ball over the net. It landed steadily in the Karasuno back court, was received by the Libero, and passed to Kageyama Tobio.
Whoosh!
Kageyama Tobio seemed to not even think, decisively setting a [Minus Tempo Quick].
The volleyball flew in an almost straight line mid-air, instantly crossing most of the blocking area, precisely landing right in front of Hinata Shōyō, who had already jumped and closed his eyes, ready to swing.
"Oh~~~ What a fast set! But it took me this many times to finally grasp the setting rhythm."
Akashi Asuka's gaze was fixed on the direction the volleyball was flying. Just as the ball was about to reach Hinata Shōyō's hitting point, Akashi suddenly moved.
Using his 180{cm} long legs on his 185{cm} tall body, Akashi covered the distance of the ball's flight in virtually a single step, arriving directly in front of Hinata Shōyō right as he swung.
BAM!
SLAP!
Two crisp collision sounds occurred simultaneously.
Perhaps hearing that the sound of the ball landing was wrong, Hinata Shōyō, still mid-air, slowly opened his eyes. In the next instant, a calm-eyed Akashi Asuka appeared in the depths of his pupils.
Tap.
Hinata Shōyō landed from the air.
At the same time, the referee's whistle signaling a point rang out. The still-confused Hinata Shōyō turned to look and clearly saw the score on the scoreboard change again:
14:7.
In that instant, Hinata Shōyō's mind went blank.
...