Itachiyama scored the last point so it's Boichi who's serving this time. Unluckily for him, his serve went out.
Shiroshikata called for a substitution. Their number 7 was sent out and he was replaced by a shorter guy wearing the jersey number 14. The guy was bouncing up and down the sidelines, excited to go in.
"Do your best." Toshiro said to Genji.
"Aye-aye, you go take some rest, Toshiro-senpai!" He replied enthusiastically.
Coach Soma massaged his temples in the bench. "Uhm, do you have any idea on how that kid serves?" His members shook their heads in answer.
"Just ordinary." Kayo, who watched over their practices most of the time, said. Coach Soma was now having second thoughts on why he sent that kid over.
Genji walked with a big smile towards the service line. 'Finally!' He tossed the ball in the air and hit it without jumping. The ball went over the net without any particular fashion.
But it seems that Itachiyama was bracing themselves for a serve other than a normal one. This game has been raining unique serves the entire time, aimed specifically at their setter, so they were caught off guard by that seemingly ordinary serve.
Boichi and Suki looked at each other when the ball was sent to the direction between them. It seems that they are both expecting the other to make the receive. As a result, in the end, they were dumfounded as both of them did not move an inch to raise the ball.
"Nani?!" The two awkwardly said at each other. "I thought it was yours?" Then they realized their stupidity.
Back in Shiroshikata's bench, everyone was silenced by that unexpected error by Itachiyama's back court. Coach Soma's eyes widened in astonishment. A very easy serve finished as an ace. You don't see that everyday.
"That ball was so easy to receive! Focus, boys!" Coach Hondo of Itachiyama yelled at his players on court.
"Nice aim! Asuma-kun!" Megumi cheered from the bench. 18 – 17, Shiroshikata.
However, Genji did not aim that one. 'The ball just went there'. But he dare not say it. In fact, he was also shocked that the receivers weren't able to get that one. He was never spectacular at serving, and this has been said to him over and over throughout his middle school years. This does not change the fact though, that the recent ace he just scored pleased him very much.
He served another one, but Itachiyama was prepared this time. The ball was received cleanly by Boichi, and it arced towards Shinya, who made a perfect toss to Jao.
"One touch!" Kakuzo said after the slight deflection. Maki bumped it next but the ball crossed the net.
"Boichi-san!" Shinya screamed and their captain understood. He met the ball and did a direct, which made the score tied again at 18 – all.
Komori went out for Toyambi and Garuma served. The ball was received by Maki and he passed it to Kouen. The setter tossed it to his brother, but Kouha was blocked by Toyambi. Before the ball hit the floor, Gaito dived for the save. "Kouen!"
Kouen got the ball. He was about to set it to Kakuzo this time, but a loud kick on the floor caught his hearing. In his peripheral vision, he saw the newly minted shrimp jump from the back, so he reflexively, unintentionally, tossed the ball his way. 'Oh crap, can he reach it?'
Apparently yes. Genji's jump didn't start to fall when Kouen thought it would. It went higher, until his palm reached the ball's apex and he launched a straight from the back row. The ball travelled so fast to the other end that no one was able to keep up with its speed until it hit the floor. 19 – 18, Shiroshikata.
"That was fast." Komori, who's currently benched, commented with his eyes open wide.
Hiro's eyes went wide too. It's the first time he's seeing the squirt jump from the bench. Though if he was to say something, that jump was even more shocking up close. He also remembered the diagonal jump that the rookie did one time during their practices.
In the upper box, Ushijima Wakatoshi's eyes twitched a bit, after seeing that familiar jump. He remembered someone else from that vision.
"That was an excellent jump. And it's from the back row, mind you." Juichiro said.
"I didn't think their setter meant to toss to him." Hibaraki said.
"That's true. And that's what makes that attack even more impressive. The sound of his jump made the setter aware of him, so he reflexively sent the toss to the jumper that commanded his attention." Ushiwaka replied.
"Well, who would've thought that Shiroshikata had such a surprising player?" Juichiro added.
"Shiroshikata indeed had something else up their sleeves." Ushiwaka finished.
"YOSHAAAA!! NICE KILL, GENJI!!" Gaito gave the rookie a high-five, which he returned happily.
"WAAAAHHH THAT WAS BECAUSE OF YER NICE RECEIVE, GAITO-SENPAI!!"
While the two shorties of Shiroshikata were vibing with each other, Kouen's thought went somewhere else. He remembered that spike the squirt did when they were doing his tryouts.
"Ya recall that diagonal spike before?" His brother asked him, figuring out his thoughts.
"Of course, I'm the one who tossed that to him."
"Say, yer itching to see if that was just a fluke, right? Ye wanna try that move again, right?"
Kouen hates sharing the same braincell with his brother. He walked away from his smirk.
It's Shiroshikata's turn to serve again and now, it was Kouha's turn to get it across. The ball was aimed at Shinya, who wasn't prepared to bump it since he was flabbergasted by the last hit as well. As a result, the ball bounced to the sides when he received it and went out of bounds.
"NICE SERVE, KOUHA-SENPAI!!" 20 – 18, Shiroshikata.
The next serve was returned directly to their side by a receive from Jao. Gaito got it up and sent the ball to Kouen, who tossed to Maki. Maki's spike was received by Garuma, and Shinya got it next.
"JAO!" He called towards the spiker who jumped from the left. The spike was aimed at Genji, who failed to raise it up. He grunted after that play. 20 – 19, Shiroshikata.
"SORRY!"
Jao returned to the service line and the ball was received by Gai, but it was long. "Sorry, cover!"
Kouen was too far from it so it was Kouha who got the ball next. Kakuzo followed and the ball was tossed over to Itachiyama's side, where Suki made the first touch. "Mitsuki-san!" He called for their setter.
The sharp spatial perception of Shinya allowed him to position himself for a perfect position to toss the ball to Boichi. "TAAAKE THIS!!" The captain shouted as he launched his spike.
The ball hit Kouen's shoulders and it bounced close to the net. "Fuuuu-"
Before he could finish cursing, Genji jumped close to the net and gave the crowd a vision so unforgettable – his diagonal jump and wicked inner cross.
There was a moment of silence, before everyone went into a frenzy.
"What was that?!"
"It was a super sharp cut shot!"
"That's so sharp it literaly cut through the air!" Many spectators were voicing out their shock.
"Not only was it wickedly sharp. That was also fast. So fast." Ushijima's eyes now widened and that's all he can do to keep himself from holding the bars of the upper box as his expression showed more than his usual calm demeanor. The others with him agreed.
"That shrimp." Hiro smirked as stood from the bench, preparing to go in.
"Looks like ya don't need to disappoint yerself anymore for a real ugly net toss to take another look at that one, yeah? Kouen?" Kouha snickered from behind his brother.
"He really can hit it from that place." That's the only thing he said.
"NICE KILL AGAIN, GENJI!!" Gaito high-fived with Genji again after that play, before he went out and rotated with Hiro. This time, Kakuzo is serving.
His aim, however, was a bit off this time, when it went to Toyambi.
"Yosh, Toyambi, nice receive!" Shinya said as he got the ball and tossed it to Suki. The latter's spike was received by Maki, and the ball went to Kouen. Now, Kouen wanted to toss to - "Asuma!"
In response to the call, Genji leaped and met the ball that was trusted to him. 'Thank you, Kouen-senpai!'
Three blockers – Shinya, Toyambi and Suki went for the block, but Genji spiked it nonetheless. It hit Toyambi's fingers before it went out.
"YOSHAAA!" Genji pumped his fist in the air in celebration after scoring that blockout. 22 – 19, Shiroshikata.
"That was a nice blockout, Asuma." Maki complimented the freshman.
"Blockout? Eh – er - Thank you, Maki-senpai!"
Kakuzo continued to serve and aimed it properly this time to Shinya, but Jao took the ball and arced it to the side, where it was met by their setter. Shinya is now starting to get pissed off, so the timing of his set was affected and as a result, the ball became too low for Toyambi to spike. He managed to dink it, though.
Genji was there for the ball and it hit his forehead. It bounced lightly but that was enough for Kouen and he was able to toss to Maki, who sent it over to the other side. The ball was received by Garuma, and Shinya got it next. The toss was once again sent to Boichi and his cross was bumped by Kouha. Kouen chased the ball and two spikers jumped for the toss – Hiro and Genji.
Toyambi and Suki jumped in Genji's direction while Shinya committed to Hiro. The ball was sent to a grinning Hiro, and Shinya's single block wasn't enough to hold the power of his southpaw special. 23 – 19, Shiroshikata.
"NICE KILL, HIRO-SENPAI!!" Genji moved to high-five Hiro who awkwardly returned it. "Eh?"
"That's it." Coach Hondo stood up from his seat and signalled a T with his hand. Timeout for Itachiyama.
"Undeniably, since the moment that number 14 entered, he's been the game-changer for Shiroshikata. It's critical that you get the next point, boys. Be wary of the kid, as he can tool the blockers with his wipes, whether he's aware of that or not. Also, I think scoring in the front isn't a good idea, since number 6 (Kouen) and number 5 (Hiro) are ready to bite you there. Spread your offense wider. Try to ace a serve when you get the chance, and launch more attacks from the back to increase your percentage of scoring. Now go." He finished.
They did not need to wait long for the side-out since Kakuzo's serve hit the net. Now, Shinya's back in the service line. He launched a jumper that contained all the ire in the world. And it went out. "ARGH, SORRY!"
Coach Hondo facepalmed and shook his head. 'Didn't I just say to score an ace when we get the chance to?'
Now, Shiroshikata is at set point and it's Maki's turn to serve. He aimed it at Shinya, who caught it with an overhand and sent the ball to Jao. "WAAAAAH!"
His straight was denied by the twin towers of Hiro and Kouen. Hiro, who got the hand on that one, gave the spiker a cold glare and uttered, "That's Jao we do it."
25 – 20, Shiroshikata. Set score tied at 1 – 1.