Creak!
With Wakatsu Kiryū's spike scoring, Keisuke Unnan rotated to the back row for Mujinazaka once again!
Keep pushing!!
Don't let the fact that Karasuno just took two consecutive points fool you—everyone on Mujinazaka is under intense pressure right now!
They absolutely can't let Karasuno keep scoring!
Because, according to the rotation...
If Karasuno gets another point—
Then the next time they serve, it'll be Akira's turn in the back row!!
Even though Karasuno's formation loses some offensive power when Akira rotates to the back—
They still have to be able to withstand Akira's serve!!
If they let themselves be crushed by another 10-point streak like Inarizaki was yesterday, then what's the point of even playing??
Even if Karasuno's front-row strength dips a little, their overall team strength is still solid!!
There's no way Mujinazaka could erase a ten-point deficit out of nowhere!!
...
Picking up the slowly rolling volleyball outside the court, Keisuke Unnan walked back in, took a deep breath, and stared at Karasuno's defensive formation across the net.
In a match like this, the serve can be a massive weapon!
And he's a player who values his serve immensely!!
Looking into the focused eyes of everyone across the net, he had already decided on his serve target in his heart.
Creak!
The referee's whistle blew from the sideline!
Without hesitation, Keisuke Unnan tossed the ball straight into the air!!
Bang!!
A powerful jump serve shot toward Karasuno's back row!!
He was targeting the staggered positioning in the back row—specifically, Tobio Kageyama!!
Because Kageyama is a setter, he usually avoids serve receives in the back row.
But right now, he's rotated to the back, meaning he has to move up to the front once the opponent serves!!
And Keisuke Unnan had perfectly aimed for the spot where Kageyama would be mid-transition—right where he'd be crossing paths with his teammates!!
But in that moment, Kageyama's run obstructed Yū Nishinoya's line of sight behind him!
Nishinoya couldn't see the ball!!
At this rate, Karasuno would lose a point to Keisuke Unnan's serve!!
What Keisuke didn't expect, though, was that Kageyama had already anticipated this!!
As a setter, Kageyama had faced this tactic multiple times before!
So, the moment Keisuke Unnan served—
Kageyama suddenly stopped dead in his tracks!!
He crouched slightly, planting his legs in a horse stance, and cleanly received the ball!!
But the pass wasn't ideal.
The ball wobbled unsteadily in Akira's direction!!
"Careful!!"
Seeing Kageyama's unstable pass, Akira jumped, extending his hands in front to set the ball!!
On the other side of the net, the players from Mujinazaka tensed up!
They hadn't forgotten Akira's silky-smooth set earlier!!
And right now, Karasuno still had two Spikers in the front row!!
Who would Akira set it to?
Seeing Akira's setting posture, Asahi Azumane and Ryūnosuke Tanaka both started their approach runs!!
While Mujinazaka's players focused closely on their movements—
Akira suddenly struck!!
It wasn't a set!!
It was a second attack!!
Before anyone could react, Akira's hand shifted form midair!!
From setting to spiking!!
Boom!!
A lightning-fast spike!!
Before Mujinazaka could organize a block, the ball had already slammed into the floor!!
Creak!!
The referee's whistle blew!!
Karasuno scores!!
...
"Damn!"
"Mujinazaka totally got tunnel vision!!"
At that moment, Kamomedai's team had also arrived in the stands to watch the game.
The one speaking was their captain and setter, Aikichi Suwa.
He rested his chin on his hand, sighing a little:
"They assumed Akira would set again just because he set last time?"
"The opposing ace is in the front row, and they didn't even jump to block him getting a clean set..."
"This is just... man..."
He couldn't even find the words.
"It's not just about the ace. Honestly, I bet anyone would want to go for a second attack in that moment."
Izumi Nozawa added from the side:
"I mean, if I saw no one on the other side preparing to block, I'd definitely want to go for a surprise spike!"
"Exactly."
Suwa nodded in agreement.
"But that's because we're on the sidelines, and we can see everything clearly."
"If we were the ones on the court, I doubt we'd be thinking that deeply in the heat of the moment!"
...
Just like Kamomedai's players said—Mujinazaka, caught in the moment, didn't see it coming at all!
Their minds were still stuck on Akira's beautiful set from earlier!!
But this time, he went for a second attack and scored!!
They didn't even realize what had happened until the whistle blew!!
But by then, it was already too late!!
...
"Here it comes! It's happening!!"
"That serve's coming again!!"
Atsumu Miya was watching the court with growing excitement.
"As long as I'm not the one receiving it, it's ridiculously exciting to watch!!"
His twin brother, Osamu, gave him a side-eye:
"You're the kind of idiot people can't even find with a lantern."
"What's that, Osamu?" Atsumu turned toward him with a grin.
"Don't you want to see it too??"
"I..."
Osamu hesitated, but didn't say anything.
The rest of the Inarizaki players looked at them with exasperation.
Even though the Miya twins always seemed to be at odds...
At their core, they were practically the same person.
"But honestly," Aran Ojiro chimed in after a pause, "I really want to see Akira's serve too."
"Yesterday, when we were in the ring with him, he scored on us."
"But now that we're on the sidelines, I want to see if there are any flaws in his serve."
Hearing that, everyone on Inarizaki paused.
Then, realization hit them all at once.
"Right! There's still a chance we'll face Karasuno again in Spring Nationals!"
"We can't afford to be as unprepared as we were last time!"
...