Miura furrowed his brows deeply as he witnessed this disaster. One serve after another, his team couldn't even react at all, letting it fall to the floor. This was honestly the first time he received the end of such a play, and it would be a lie if he was not afraid.
He turned his attention back to the court once again, looking at who was the one on the back left. Seeing it was an opposite hitter who hadn't done much, Miura sighed, pondering for another few seconds before asking his libero to come.
"Kubo-kun, come here!"
"Yes, Coach!" The libero with a bright, red jersey came.
"I need you to go there and stop this nonsense," Miura said. "Form a two-player defense with Wakamatsu on the back like before and don't let it fall again."
Kubo nodded, trying to fix the corner of his shirt. "So, am I going for Genta again?" He asked.
"No, you are going for Tadano-kun."
Kubo widened his eyes for a moment, surprised by the decision. Usually, he would always rotate with Genta, the middle blocker of the team whenever he was on the back. However, this time, Miura called him to rotate with Tadano, the opposite hitter who was good at blocking too. Looking at the position Tadano was in right now, Kubo understood quickly why the coach did that.
"You only want me to stop the serve?" He asked.
"Exactly." Miura nodded.
What the team needed the most right now was to stop the strange serve from the opponent, and Kubo was probably the best one to do that. After that, when the team managed to win a point, the rotation would occur, and the libero would have to come out once again as he couldn't be on the front line. This assignment was perfect for stopping the opponent's attack while ensuring their next turn would still be as attacking as before.
"Okay, let me do this." Kubo nodded with confidence.
After another one of Yuki's serve that couldn't be stopped by Wakamatsu or Senki, the libero finally came into the court. His presence was enough to send relief to the team, knowing that he was here to cut off the loss.
"Wakamatsu, you are with me. Everyone, move a little bit forward. Give us more space." He instructed.
Everyone nodded, following his command. This was not a strange arrangement for the players. Before, when Riku was on fire at the beginning of the game, the same kind of defensive method was also implemented by the team. However, this time, with the two best defenders of the team there, they were not worried about it anymore.
"Stop the serve for us, Kubo." Hideo patted his shoulder solemnly.
"Don't worry, I will."
A moment later, Yuki served another one into the same tricky route as before. While the same thing happened with the setter's presence affected Kubo's judgment, his reaction was quick enough to save the ball. He leaned his body forward to the point it was almost parallel to the floor before extending his arms, receiving the ball perfectly to let it fly on the spot.
"Oh! Finally!"
"Nice, Kubo!"
"Ueno! Go to the left!"
Excitement rushed as all the players with white jerseys saw their libero receiving the ball. Now, three players rushed forward, waiting for Ueno to send the ball. Without hesitation, the setter tossed it toward the left side where all the strong hitters gathered.
*BAM!*
Hideo spiked the ball hard, trying to pierce the wall formed by Hirano and Asahi. It hit the middle blocker's hand, yet unfortunately for Tsunemori, the ball bounced far outside of the line.
"OOOOH!"
"FINALLY! No more bullshit serve!"
"Damn! Good job, Kubo!"
As the celebration broke, Yuki could only shrug helplessly on the other side. Still, everything went beyond his expectations. At first, he thought that if his serve could at least contribute two or three points, he would be satisfied. But to his surprise, he scored seven points in a row with his serve. To make things better, never once he exposed that he had a floater in his arsenal, making it more difficult for the opponent in the future.
And it wasn't like losing the point here was the worst thing in the world. In fact, the situation was still under Tsunemori's grasp as the mentality of Shimoyawata's players was shaken by his serve. The moment their next player came to serve, it fell shortly into the net, couldn't even deliver the ball across the other side of the court.
"Yes!"
"Come on! Five more points!"
The excitement in Shimoyawata's side moved quickly to their opponent as by now, all the Tsunemori players had this bright face. Not only was it because they reached 20 points first and only needed five more to snatch the first set from the opponent, but also because the next one to serve gave them the confidence to do that.
Yeah, it was the blonde boy who created a nightmare at the beginning of the game.
"Give us a good serve, Riku!"
"Yeah! Score one or two!"
"Don't you dare to mess this up, Agostini!"
Riku walked outside while bouncing the ball on the floor, the grin on his face was full of confidence. He knew this was a crucial time for the team to snatch the first set, and the setter was determined to make it happen in one go.
The moment the referee blew his whistle, Riku came once again with his powerful ace serve. While he didn't have absolute control like Yuki, the blonde boy always had confidence in his serve, and it was justifiable confidence as the ball pierced through the area between the middle back and the left back, causing a miscommunication between the two players guarding that area.
*BAM!*
"OH! THE FIRST ACE SERVE!"
"Come on, Riku! Do it again!"
After that, the serve came again. This time, it went directly to Hideo. Shimoyawata's captain managed to pick up the ball, yet receiving the ball wasn't his strong point. It was a shaky receive that flew in the direction no one was guarding.
"Shit! Anyone, cover it up!"
"I got it"
Senki rushed toward the ball, trying to reach the ball before it could fall to the floor. Unfortunately, he was too slow, couldn't save the ball which added one more point for Tsunemori.
"Nice!"
"Come on! Three more points!"
"You can do it, Riku!"
Meanwhile, Miura on the sideline shook his head repeatedly when he saw the disastrous performance his players showed. While Riku's serve was powerful, they were able to receive it before, and in theory, it shouldn't be a problem too this time. However, they were still shaken up by Yuki's witchcraft serve which made their performance far sloppier than usual.
It wasn't until Tsunemori got another two points and one away from winning the first set that he finally rose from his seat.
"Wakamatsu! What happened?! Are you going to keep closing your eyes on their serve?! Wake up, you fool!"
"Hideo, you too! Where is your voice?! You are the captain, for God's sake!"
"Senki, don't just freeze there like a bloody statue! Move! Do you want me to replace you?!"
Everyone was surprised to see Shimoyawata's coach suddenly roar at his players like that. He always gave the impression of a calm person, so for him to vent out like this, it seemed everything that happened on the court reached his bottom line. Even his own players also had the same reaction, with some bowed their heads in fright as they didn't want to be the next target of his scolding. Unfortunately, it was too late for him to do that, as his player's mentality couldn't be fixed instantly, especially when they still had to face another one of Riku's ace serve.
*BAM!*
The ball's trajectory was a perfect arc, soaring high above the net and plummeting down towards Shimoyawata's court. In the blink of an eye, the ball slammed down onto the floor, its force sending shockwaves through the air as it buried itself into the sand with a loud thud.
The moment he saw the ball fall perfectly into the spot close to the sideline, Riku raised his fist high, his eyes lit up with a triumphant grin on his face. After that, all the players with green jerseys jumped into his body as they screamed in delight.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT, RIKU?!"
"GODDAMNIT, THAT IS AWESOME!"
"WE TAKE THE FIRST SET! WE TAKE THE FIRST SET!"
"COME ON! WE CAN WIN THE GAME!"
Miura on the sideline could only shake his head in disappointment when he saw Tsunemori's players celebrate. While Riku's last serve was amazing, he couldn't help but feel if his players were in their best state, they would be able to receive it. Still, no matter what happened, it had already happened, and nothing would change no matter what. Right now, what he thought inside his mind was how he should get away from this mess as quickly as possible.
"Ezaki," He suddenly called the players with jersey number 11 on the bench. "Prepare yourself. It is time for you to repay all the debts last year."