The first-years' smiles didn't last long, less than a second, in fact. Karasuno's Guardian Deity, libero Nishinoya Yuu, with his lightning-fast reflexes and countless hours of practice against blocks, had established a two-centimeter fortress between the volleyball and the floor, protecting this point for the upperclassmen with iron resolve.
"Even if the ball is blocked by a high wall, I'll still receive it for you!"
"So go ahead… set it again! ACE!"
The crowd in the gym was genuinely stunned by this reception.
"It, he received it!"
Coach Kobu couldn't hide his amazement at Nishinoya's incredible save.
The other two graduates were once again marveling at the libero's extraordinary skill.
"No way! That didn't even touch the ground!"
"Hey! Kei-shin! Your libero can even receive that!"
"Don't… don't be ridiculous. There's no way he can receive every single ball."
Karasuno's Keishin kept his thoughts to himself.
This is national youth team-level reception.
Even among high schools nationwide, he's top-tier.
This is the kind of defender who can single-handedly elevate a team's defense by two levels.
If our offense keeps improving, we could fight for the championship this year!
The Golden Week training camp is going to give Nekoma a huge surprise.
Although he teased his teammate out loud, Keishin's face revealed a sly, mischievous grin. He had already decided how to show off a little in front of Nekoma's assistant coach.
Not just the spectators, the players on the court were equally shocked by Nishinoya's absolute defense.
Every senior had thought this ball would drop, yet Nishinoya's absurd save left their instincts and reality at odds.
In that instant, their brains shut out dozens of subtle external reactions, leaving only astonishment.
Among the first-years, the three responsible for blocking, Yudai Hyakuzawa and Tsukishima Kei, were left speechless midair.
Hinata Shoyo and Kageyama Tobio, the main attackers, seethed at such a phenomenal defense. Seeing it made their spikes feel powerless, as if the ball would never touch the ground.
Yamaguchi Tadashi silently cheered himself on, resolving to one day receive like Nishinoya-senpai. Far in the preparation area, Hoshino Katsuri had grown numb to Nishinoya's skill.
Exhausted… destroy… quickly.
Only Tsukishima Kei, on the other hand, broke into that innocent, Sonic-like grin he always wore when watching Nishinoya receive.
He alone, seeing Nishinoya stop the ball midair, immediately predicted the ball's trajectory, it would rise above his own team's net.
Without pausing, he exploded into super-fast movements, reaching the spot where the ball was about to land.
Using his net play experience and reaction speed, he launched vertically like he had two explosive packs attached to his feet.
Then, with a rapid swing, he struck the ball.
To avoid Nishinoya receiving it again and killing his team's morale, he deliberately avoided a direct confrontation, aiming instead for a diagonal space where Nishinoya wasn't positioned.
Once again, the ball didn't touch the ground.
If Nishinoya was Karasuno's Guardian Deity, then Sawamura Daichi was its cornerstone.
His three years of dedicated reception training had become instinct. As Nishinoya moved to cover the front, Daichi's brain was still processing the shock, but his body instinctively moved to cover the other side.
Having studied countless attackers' jumps in the past, he precisely predicted Ise's spike.
Ise's evasive action to avoid hitting Nishinoya's morale gave Daichi the final chance to save the ball.
After countless dives and saves, he successfully defended the court again, stopping the spike dead in its tracks.
The veterans' team produced another miraculous save. Ise's seemingly unstoppable diagonal spike was rescued by Captain Daichi.
Ignoring the first-years' already flagging morale, the upperclassmen knew there was no time to hesitate.
Instead, they needed to exploit the opponent's weaknesses and unleash their next attack with even more ferocity, adding fuel to the struggling first-years' momentum.
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Completed version available on Patreon.com/Veltoria