Damn it!"
When Kiryu Hachi's serve came flying at them, although the Aoba Johsai High School players had anticipated it, they still felt a thunderous impact.
Especially Aoba Johsai High School's Libero, Watari Shinji, who at that moment had an urge to just run away.
Because he had never expected that one day, outside of a practice match, he would receive a serve from Akashi Asuka that felt like it was trying to kill him.
However, in the end, Watari Shinji still forcefully suppressed his inner 'fear' and moved sideways to get directly in front of the volleyball's flight path…
Thwack!
Accompanied by a crisp and pleasant sound, Kiryu Hachi's serve flew perfectly back into the sky.
"Huh?"
The Mujinzaka High School players' expressions instantly changed drastically, their pupils dilating.
"How is this possible? Hachi's serve was received?"
Not only the other Mujinzaka High Schoolplayers, but even Kiryu Hachi himself was shocked for a moment; he understood the power of his serves, and according to his pre-match scouting, Aoba Johsai High School's Libero's skill level should only be average, so he shouldn't have been able to receive his serve so easily.
"Oh oh oh oh~~~~"
"Unbelievable, Kiryu's serve was received by Aoba Johsai High School's Libero on the very first ball! Player Watari Shinji, number 7, has been performing ordinarily from the start of this National Tournament until now. Who would have thought that at this critical moment, he would save the team and successfully interrupt Mujinzaka's advance."
"Mr. Oda, what do you think of Player Watari Shinji's receive?"
"Hmm! Ah… this… perhaps it's because… hmm, it's pretty much like that…"
Not to mention Mujinzaka High School, even the two commentators in the stands were bewildered by Watari Shinji's sudden receive. After all, as commentators, Oda and Ota considered their eyesight to be quite good, but this time, they were truly stunned.
The perfect receive landed in Oikawa Tooru's hands. Oikawa Tooru immediately used a visual decoy to fake out the opposing Setter, then passed the volleyball to Akashi Asuka. Akashi Asuka directly hit a cross-court shot, scoring the point.
3:3.
Facing a huge disadvantage, Aoba Johsai High School surprisingly managed to tie the score.
Then, the next point.
It was finally Akashi Asuka's turn to serve for Aoba Johsai High School.
Thump!
Accompanied by a thunderous hitting sound that echoed through the sky, the volleyball, deformed by immense force, roared like a slime monster as it flew towards the Mujinzaka court.
And Mujinzaka's Libero, Oshin Haruma, who was directly facing this ball, was stunned when he saw this incredibly familiar serve flying towards him.
"Damn it!"
At this moment, Mujinzaka's Libero finally understood why the opposing Libero had received Kiryu's serve so easily.
So they were kindred spirits!
Just as Watari Shinji feared Akashi Asuka's serves, Oshin Haruma also feared Kiryu Hachi's serves.
After all, with cannonball-like serves like these, whether they are easy to receive is one thing, but they really hurt when they hit you!
Akashi Asuka's power attribute was not as high as Kiryu Hachi's, but only in serving, his efficiency in utilizing his own strength was enough to compensate for the attribute gap.
And although Mujinzaka's Libero, Oshin Haruma, was afraid internally, he ultimately made the same choice as Watari Shinji.
Thwack!
"Oh oh oh oh~~~~"
"An amazing receive! Mujinzaka's Libero, Oshin Haruma, just like Aoba Johsai High School's Libero, Watari Shinji, facing Akashi Asuka's cannonball-like serve, was actually able to perfectly receive it on the first contact… Uh!"
The commentator in the stands was speaking when he suddenly felt something was off and quickly couldn't continue.
If he hadn't reacted to the first point, with this second perfect receive, even the most foolish person, if they knew a little about volleyball, would have realized what was happening.
"Hahahaha… Interesting, this is truly too interesting."
At the end of the spectator stands, Keiji Akaashiand Motoyasu Kotaro, who had returned home yesterday, came back to the gymnasium today to watch the match again. When they arrived, they happened to witness this dramatic scene on the court.
"Speaking of which, I hadn't noticed before, but Akashi and Kiryu's serves are actually so similar. I bet the Defense players on both teams are probably sick of receiving these cannonballs during their team practice matches!"
…
After this dramatic turn of events, the score returned to 3:4.
Aoba Johsai High School was trailing.
And from then on, Aoba Johsai High Schoolfailed to gain an advantage for several consecutive rallies.
Because after Akashi Asuka rotated to the backcourt, their frontcourt offense dropped a notch, and the points they barely managed to catch up on were all due to Oikawa Tooru's and Akashi Asuka's serves.
Other than that.
In a direct confrontation, Aoba Johsai High School clearly had a significant gap compared to Mujinzaka.
…
7th minute of the match.
The score was 6:9.
The gap between Aoba Johsai High School and Mujinzaka was gradually widening.
…
13th minute of the match.
Relying on the continuous cooperation between Akashi Asuka and Oikawa Tooru, Aoba Johsai High School barely managed to keep the score difference with Mujinzaka unchanged, but they were consistently unable to narrow the gap.
13:16.
…
21st minute of the match.
Kiryu Hachi exerted himself again, continuously breaking through Aoba Johsai High School's block with powerful spikes, further widening the score difference.
17:22.
…
Finally, at the 27th minute of the match, the first set completely ended.
Mujinzaka easily took the first set with a score of 25:20.
Both teams' players left the court to rest.
Aoba Johsai High School's substitute players quickly brought water cups and towels to everyone. Everyone drank a few sips of water, their sweaty faces shadowed with a hint of gloom.
"Ah! It seems Aoba Johsai High School's situation in this match is looking a bit grim!"
"On the offensive end, Mujinzaka High School's Player Kiryu has completely broken through Aoba Johsai High School's Defense, and on the Defense end, Mujinzaka's 'Twin Towers' are even making Aoba Johsai High School's 'Ace' feel quite troublesome."
"It seems that compared to an established powerhouse like Mujinzaka, Aoba Johsai High School still has a bit of a gap."
"That's right, Mr. Ota! However, this is Aoba Johsai High School's first time participating in the National Tournament, so achieving their current match results is already very excellent."
The two commentators in the stands, as the match progressed, had gradually discerned Aoba Johsai High School's unfavorable situation.
To be precise.
Not only the commentators, but even the audience in the stands who didn't understand much about volleyball could now see the gap between Aoba Johsai High School and Mujinzaka.
Because apart from the beginning of the match where Aoba Johsai High School barely managed to contend with Mujinzaka for a few rallies, throughout the entire first set, Aoba Johsai High School was almost entirely suppressed by Mujinzaka High School, without even a single chance to counterattack.