"A front-row tip technique!? Who knows where he picked up another move like that."
"That Hank really does keep surprising me."
The moment Coach Irihata saw Hank score again, a smile appeared on his face. Aoba Johsai could go even farther now. If Hank only had top-tier talent, he might never reach the very top of the world, but now he had technique as well.
That meant he could go even farther, and it greatly improved their chances of securing a berth at Spring High.
"He actually scored with that. Unbelievable."
"How can he even do that!?"
Shock immediately spread across Kunimi's face. To be honest, in that split second just now, he had already started to think Hank might come up short at the net. But it did not happen that way. Hank, who had been in the back row, had rushed all the way to the front row and directly tipped Oikawa's set over.
He had broken through the Iron Wall and won the point.
It was unbelievable.
Especially when they were standing right there on the court, watching him pull it off with their own eyes. It was something far beyond anything they could understand.
"What!?"
Oikawa turned to look at Hank beside him, his heart equally filled with shock. He had never expected that result either. It was simply too unbelievable. At that moment, not just him, but probably half the people on the court still had not fully processed what they had just seen.
To come charging from the back row into the front row and still break through a three-man block—what kind of concept was that?
It was obvious now that Hank's strength was even more monstrous than any of them had imagined.
They might very well be about to witness his true strength.
With that thought, Oikawa suddenly grew excited. As long as Hank could keep up with his rhythm, then this year might really be his chance to fulfill his dream.
"Rotation."
Once Kindaichi rotated into the back row again, Hank smoothly rotated into the front row. Feeling himself return to the front row, he finally relaxed completely. Now it was time to finish the match.
A top-tier jumping gift really was a game-changing ability.
If nothing unexpected happened, they could completely take this match against Date Tech now. Because Hank no longer had only one option—spiking. He also had the ability to tip the ball over directly at the net.
That meant the three Date Tech players responsible for blocking now had to consider the possibility of his tip as well.
At this point, Hank alone was enough to put tremendous pressure on both their front court and back court.
Tweet!
As the referee's whistle rang out, Kindaichi, standing at the service line, calmly sent the ball over. As soon as it crossed the net, Oikawa moved into position at high speed, edging up near the net as he started planning the next attack.
Very quickly, a set at just the right height arrived above Hank's head. The moment the ball appeared, Hank did not hesitate and moved up to the net again.
At the same time, Date Tech's three blockers also leaped together to the net and prepared to block. Watching Hank already beginning to descend, Aone and the others spoke with stubborn defiance in their hearts.
"There's no way we'll let you break through our wall every single time!"
Now that the three-man block had taken shape, the three Date Tech players in the back row also prepared themselves for the possibility of Hank's tip. It was obvious that, for this next ball, they were determined to take it. There was no way they were going to hand over another point so easily.
As they watched Hank descend toward spiking height, everyone's face was filled with resolve.
For a moment, every eye in the entire gym was fixed on Hank, waiting anxiously.
Boom!
With an unbelievably heavy sound, Hank's right hand sank into the volleyball, visibly deforming the ball. Then, instead of going straight at the block, the ball shot toward the gap between the hands of the three blockers at the net, slipping right through the opening.
It slammed violently onto the floor in the middle of the court.
Watching the ball bounce back up, Date Tech's libero was instantly shaken. That spike had come through the seam in the block. Pulling off a spike like that required a very high level of spiking technique—at the very least, it was not something just anyone could do.
"Good. I didn't mis-hit it."
"Looks like my spiking stat really did go up. Those points weren't wasted."
After landing, Hank secretly rejoiced. He had gained quite a few spiking points before, and today he was finally seeing some results. Even though he still could not fully control his spike placement and angles with complete ease, this was already very good.
Now he just needed a few more matches, and he would be able to raise his spiking to youth national team level as well.
(End of Chapter)
[100 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/Zukooo]
[Thanks for your support!]