Not only her—even everyone from Mujinazaka was extremely shocked!
Just now, that serve actually hit the position at the very end of the libero's coverage!
But since libero had just moved to the left...
That led to—
He completely missed the ball!!
"Akira continues to score with his unreadable serve!!"
The voice of the commentator echoed from outside the court!!
Everyone could clearly see what kind of defensive setup Mujinazaka had just used!
But Akira merely glanced at it—and instantly unraveled their entire strategy!!
It was just...
Indescribable!!
So strong!!
And beside the first commentator, another followed up immediately:
"Mujinazaka's strategy..."
"Doesn't seem particularly effective!!"
"So, will they be able to make some adjustments in the remainder of the game?"
...
After that unbelievable scene, even those who hadn't quite understood Mujinazaka's movements began reacting one after another!
"What a novel method of ball reception!!"
Komoya also watched the situation on the court with his eyes sparkling:
"We should try it in the future!!"
"Sigh…"
Kiyoomi Sakusa sighed helplessly beside him.
"Are you seriously going to go rolling around in floor bacteria again...?"
...
"This..."
The players of Mujinazaka stared blankly at the libero's zone, their thoughts grinding to a halt.
And Bishin himself also stood stunned, watching the volleyball soar far away, completely speechless...
If only he hadn't moved—he would've caught that ball!!
But now, their own formation led to an empty zone!
The rest of Mujinazaka was now plagued with hesitation and inner turmoil!
Akira's serve had clearly seen through their tactics and immediately countered it!!
Usuri felt heat rise to his face.
He had just confidently claimed that even if Akira noticed their formation, he wouldn't be able to respond!
But now it seemed—Akira had found a counter instantly!!
Tweet!
Just as everyone on Mujinazaka stood frozen, unsure of what to do, the referee's whistle rang from the sidelines!!
Their coach, Michiko Kusumi, had called for a timeout!!
...
"Don't panic, everyone!!"
As an experienced coach, Michiko Kusumi knew well:
The top priority right now is stabilizing the team's morale—they couldn't afford to unravel from within!
" Coach…"
Usuri was speechless.
After all, this defensive tactic had been his idea!
Now that it had been so thoroughly dismantled by Akira—it had completely lost its effectiveness!
"Sigh."
Michiko Kusumi let out a long breath, then said:
"It's okay."
"There's not much anyone can do against that kind of nearly unsolvable serve!"
"However, judging by Akira's last serving placement, we can make some improvements!"
Hearing this, the rest of Mujinazaka perked up and turned to her!
It could be improved??
That means—
They still had hope of receiving that serve??
"Coach Kusumi, what else can we do?"
Hondo couldn't help but ask.
"Ahem!"
Michiko Kusumi cleared her throat. She knew their timeout window was short, so she cut to the chase:
"Since Akira is aiming at the original positions of our players—then don't move!"
Before anyone could raise a question, she added:
"I don't mean don't move at all!"
"What I mean is: some players move as usual, but others stay put!!"
"This way, some players will change position while others remain stationary…"
"That'll throw Akira's read of our formation into confusion!!"
"Because he won't know who's going to move and who isn't!!"
"It's just that…"
Kusumi said regretfully:
"This reduces the probability of receiving his serve successfully even further…"
Originally, it had been a gamble—a battle of luck.
But now, with some moving and others not, it turned into complete guesswork!!
Under the previous system, they could at least be sure Akira wouldn't serve directly to a player's current position.
The spot they had to cover was the open space where no one stood. That was still only a part of the court!
But now…
Akira's serve range had expanded to the entire court!!
And the area they had to defend also expanded to every corner of the court!!
Because everyone on Mujinazaka was sure that if they changed their coping strategy—
Then Akira would definitely adjust his serve in the next round!!
Always targeting the blind spot!!
And as for how he'd serve...
Everyone on Mujinazaka could already imagine it!
It would be exactly what they feared the most!!
...
Tweet!!
As the timeout ended, both teams returned to the court.
The match resumed!
Serving—Akira!!
After the referee's signal, he tossed the ball directly into the air!!
On the other side of the net, every player on Mujinazaka tensed up!!
Just as Akira's serve came down, each of them responded in their own way!
Some stayed in place, adopting their ready stance, unmoving!
Others dashed quickly toward a different zone, preparing to intercept Akira's serve!
But this time, Akira's chosen target was still the back end of the libero's zone!!
And again—Bishin had just left that exact spot, moving to his left to cover!!
Which meant...
He missed it again!!
Boom!!
The ball slammed onto the floor!!
Tweet!
The referee's whistle rang out once more!!
Karasuno scores!!