And Seijo's number 16 is the most typical slow starter; he needs at least the second set to start finding his rhythm.
Miya Osamu let out a sneer. "Yo, finished getting scolded?"
Shut up, I'm innocent," Miya Atsumu rolled his eyes. "It's all Oikawa-senpai's fault.
Looking at the empty space beside him where Miya Atsumu should have been, Miya Osamu asked in confusion, "Where's Hinata?"
How did we lose another one? Is he not eating anymore?
Miya Atsumu's expression soured even more: "He ran off with the people from Itachiyama."
Coach Himegomiya, who was with Xiaoxia, happened to pass by, so Hinata followed her without hesitation.
But Coach Himegomiya refused to bring Miya Atsumu along, so in the end, he returned all alone.
With Coach Himegomiya there, the stadium staff ultimately turned a blind eye to the fact that Hinata had returned.
After all, Oikawa Tooru's main target for reporting was Miya Atsumu, not Hinata.
Standing by the court again, Hinata looked down at Xiaoxia beside him: "Can you see?"
The railing was still a bit high for Xiaoxia at this age.
Hinata Natsu tilted her head. "Do you want to hold me, big brother?"
Hinata Shoyo really wanted to agree immediately, but in the end, he shook his head instead: "I don't think I can today, but I can carry you on my back."
The pressure of the afternoon match will be just as great, he must conserve the strength in his arms.
Carrying it on his back is relatively effortless; he definitely has no problem with that.
Xiaoxia put her hands on her hips. "In that case, forget it. I can see that way too."
Anyway, everyone playing volleyball is very tall, the ball is flying up high, so it shouldn't cause too much of a delay.
In the first set, Seijo suffered a regrettable defeat with a score of 25:23, they were now preparing to switch sides for the second set.
As Oikawa Tooru swapped sides under the net while holding his sign, he caught sight of the orange-headed boy standing by the sidelines at a single glance.
Having mistakenly thought that Miya Atsumu was making a comeback once again, he was just about to raise his hand to report a second violation when he saw two orange-headed individuals standing side by side by the sidelines, cheering for him.
Watching Oikawa Tooru's expression shift through several different emotions, Iwaizumi Hajime was a bit dazed. "What's wrong with you?"
Oikawa Tooru smiled and greeted the two people on the sidelines: "I suddenly feel like the whole world is a much more beautiful place without Miya Atsumu."
Iwaizumi Hajime gave a wry smile. "Then go out there and get ten points back for me through your serves."
Having said that, he turned his head and looked at Coach Irihatsu with an expressionless face: "Coach, Oikawa says he wants to start first."
Coach Irihatsu, who was just about to put Kyokutsu in Position 1, paused and instead put Oikawa Tooru there.
Coach Irihatsu patted Oikawa Tooru on the back: "Try to pull ahead during the opening, Oikawa."
Oikawa was in pretty good form today. Although he failed on his opening serve in the first set, he managed to close the score gap during his final service turn by relying solely on his serves.
Patting his own chest, Oikawa agreed readily, "Don't worry, I guarantee I'll complete the mission."
Iwaizumi Hajime also raised his hand to pat Oikawa's shoulder: "If you don't get ten points, you're treating everyone to ramen later."
Double chashu.
Dumplings, I want dumplings.
And Dan Noodles!
Oikawa Tooru protested, "Can't you guys wish me something good for once!"
Even though he would end up treating everyone in the end, this request was just too harsh!
Everyone from Aobajohsai raised their fists at the same time to cheer for Oikawa Tooru: "Go for it!"
Iwaizumi Hajime continued to add fuel to the fire: "This time, Miya Atsumu's average points per serve in Haruko is higher than yours, they're playing against defensive powerhouses like Municipal Kobe and Nekoma.
Although Seijo's own opponents' defensive skills aren't weak either..
Oikawa Tooru's expression turned serious in an instant. "Don't worry, I'll overtake them immediately."
A mere ten points, he could take it with ease.
In this Haruko arena, he is the most handsome server!
“Ngh—Hyah!”
The volleyball flew over the net in an instant, its extreme speed making the ball itself almost disappear in everyone's eyes.
By the time Gao Yuan, the Libero, could react, the volleyball had already slammed into the floor and bounced high up into the third-tier stands.
"So cool! Oikawa-senpai is so cool!" Hinata cheered along.
Watching the volleyball smash down from above, Miya Atsumu hurriedly stood up and raised his hands to slap it away, preventing himself from being hit directly in the face by the ball.
What the hell is going on now!
After scoring a beautiful ace on the opening serve, Oikawa Tooru held his head high, his chin practically touching the sky amidst the cheers from Hinata beside him.
Iwaizumi Hajime felt an itch in his hands: "I really want to punch him."
If Oikawa Tooru doesn't get ten points from serves today, he can expect to treat all hundred members of the Volleyball Club to a meal.
Fortunately, Oikawa Tooru did not choke; he used his serves right from the opening to build a three-point lead.
With Kyokutsu also gradually finding his rhythm, they successfully took the second set 25:21.
In the Third Set, the score between the two sides was neck and neck at the beginning. After Hinata was called back by Kita Shinsuke to grab a bite to eat, the score had already dragged on to 26:27, match point for Aobajohsai.
And the match happened to turn to Oikawa Tooru's serve at that exact moment.
Cold sweat instantly covered Gao Yuan's forehead, his nerves were as taut as a straight line on an electrocardiogram.
Don't be afraid, don't be nervous.
It's just a power serve; there's nothing to be afraid of.
He absolutely cannot let this final point slip away.
As the lifeline of the team, he must receive this ball.
Bring it—
Before he could even finish speaking, Oikawa Tooru, on the other side of the net, abandoned his strategy of timing his serves to the very last second and suddenly raised his hand to toss the ball.
Immediately after, the cheers from the Aobajohsai supporters erupted like a crashing tidal wave.
Ugh—Hey!!
Tireless, fearless.
Like the shadows of a demon, they press down and devour.
The consequence of tension reaching a certain level is the loss of one's most basic sharpness.
Combined with the stamina he had already exhausted throughout the entire match, Gao Yuan, the Libero, ultimately failed to react in time.
The ball hit his subconsciously extended arm, sending him tumbling backward.
The volleyball flew straight off, crashing toward the far sidelines.
A long buzzer sounded, the score jumped to 26:28, Aobajohsai leading Gao Yuan.
Aobajohsai won 2-1, advancing to the quarterfinals.
Cheers suddenly erupted throughout the arena: "Beautiful!!"
The people in the Aoba waiting area also rushed onto the court at the same time, the lively atmosphere as if they had won the championship themselves.
"It wasn't easy," Miya Atsumu said from the stands, unable to help but clap his hands.
To be honest, hardly anyone expected a dark horse to emerge from Miyagi during the Haruko preliminaries, especially one that had fought its way through to this point by decisively defeating Shiratorizawa.
But even so, Miya Atsumu heard many unpleasant voices.
Many people who were unfamiliar with Seijo's strength and had not watched their match footage were secretly saying that they had made it through by luck.
However, these people were actually mostly feeling lucky that they didn't have to face Ushijima.
Compared to facing Shiratorizawa's cannon, perhaps Aobajohsai would find it a bit easier to play—at least, that was the mindset.
The best historical achievement for Ushijima Wakatoshi's team, Shiratorizawa, was reaching the top eight in the nation, now Aobajohsai is standing here as well.
Miya Atsumu leaned back in his chair. "The matches for this afternoon are looking quite clear now."
Itachiyama and Inubushi Higashi in Block A, Shirabu and Fukurodani in Block B, Karasuno and Ichibayashi in Block C, Inarizaki and Aobajohsai in Block D.
Every single match is worth watching.
Since the Men's Volleyball and Women's Volleyball matches were held simultaneously this afternoon, there was only one Men's Volleyball match at any given time, they had enough time to watch every single match.
Very good, we can start studying Seijo more closely from now on.
Coach Himegomiya, standing by the sidelines, stretched lazily. "Our match is the first one in the afternoon, so you guys head back for now. I need to go organize the team."
The morning and afternoon matches of the third day of the tournament were scheduled very close together, it was almost time to begin warm-ups.
Inubushi Higashi, who had defeated both Rakusan and Seito in succession during the Haruko preliminaries, was Itachiyama's opponent, they also had to give two hundred percent effort.
Hinata nodded. "Okay! I'll cheer for Kami-senpai and the others."
He then turned his head to look at Hinata Natsu: "Xiaoxia, say goodbye to the coach."
Xiaoxia jumped up and said goodbye to Coach Himegomiya: "Goodbye, Coach Himegomiya!"
But misfortune always arrives when one least expects it.
During the intermission of the second set between Itachiyama and Iizuna, with Itachiyama leading 18:15, Iizuna was subjected to targeted spikes, an unexpected accident occurred during the defense, resulting in a sprained right ankle for Iizuna.
The whistle signaling the end of the play sounded at that moment, the members of Itachiyama quickly rushed toward the fallen Iizuna.
Captain!
Kai, who had just spiked the ball from across the net, was also a bit dazed: "What's going on? Did he sprain his ankle?"
Inubushi Higashi's setter, Satomi Hideji, raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his face and walked toward the net to watch the chaos unfolding over at Itachiyama.
"He was bumped by someone next to him when he landed after the block, his landing posture was flawed." Satomi saw it very clearly and briefly recounted the scene that had just occurred.
But it didn't seem like anything serious at the time; I suspect he suffered a secondary injury when he was shifting his center of gravity to receive the ball just now.
Coach Utsunomiya frowned, after confirming that Iizuna's foot wouldn't recover in a short time, he turned his head directly toward the first-year substitute setter circling around Iizuna: "Inamoto, warm up and get ready to go on."