Seeing the situation before them, many people could no longer stay calm. Even so, they could not help breaking into a cold sweat for Hank and the others. If they failed to take this set now, Aoba Johsai High was basically finished.
"The final point. We have to take it!"
Standing on the service line, Hank looked at the six players on Shiratorizawa Academy's side of the court, his face filled with resolve. He could feel that both sides had already reached the final stage of the contest.
During this period, everyone's nerves had been stretched taut.
There was no room for another mistake. And now, it was also time for Hank to focus completely. No matter whether he ended up running out of strength in the end, he had to push himself even harder.
Bang!
A dull impact rang out. Hank leapt high from the service line, then sent the volleyball in his hand flying straight out. Watching the ball arrive in the opponent's back court, a sharp gleam flashed through Hank's eyes.
Sure enough, his accuracy had improved quite a bit now too. Before, he had only been able to aim for a general area. Anything more precise than that had been impossible. But now, things were different. He could actually send the ball directly into the opponent's back court.
There was no sign of it going out of bounds, nor were there any other problems caused by poor control over his power.
Hank was naturally very pleased about that. Any tiny improvement could bring a turning point to the final result. If his serve could break through to the next level as well, he might even be able to score directly through serving.
If that happened, perhaps he would no longer have to rely so heavily on his team's back-row defense.
Screech.
With the sound of rubber soles scraping against the floor, Shiratorizawa Academy's team immediately began to move. Although Hank's attack was powerful, it had to be said that their strength was just as formidable. As one of Miyagi Prefecture's top-class teams, they were not going to lose for no reason.
They understood that very clearly.
So almost as soon as Hank's side received the ball, they rapidly formed their offense. The spike unleashed by Ushijima shot straight into the hands of the libero in the back row, sending the ball flying directly toward the net.
Seeing this, Toru Oikawa quickly jumped up and set the ball back just before it could cross onto Shiratorizawa Academy's side. Kyotani, beside him, instantly moved to cover and sent the ball over.
"Again."
Wakatoshi Ushijima's face showed no change in expression. After saying that simple word, he jumped from where he stood and flew toward the net once more.
Another cannon-like spike.
Its force was enough to make the spectators on the court draw in a sharp breath. It had to be said that Wakatoshi Ushijima truly lived up to his reputation as one of Japan's strongest aces at present.
The power behind his spikes was enough to knock someone unconscious.
"I absolutely won't allow it."
The speed of the ball was not the slightest bit inferior to Ushijima's earlier spike. But this time, Shiratorizawa Academy was not so lucky. Tendō, who had already rotated to the back row, failed to receive the ball and could only let it fly out.
"How does he still have this much strength?"
Tendō immediately felt uneasy. He had failed to receive that ball, allowing Aoba Johsai High to reach set point first. If they could not win from here, then this Spring High preliminaries match would end early for them.
It could be said that both sides had already reached the final moment.
(End of Chapter)
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