Seeing that no one objected, Ushijima nodded in satisfaction.
"Next is the second lineup. The second lineup emphasizes offense more, so I hope we won't have to use it midway through the practice match.
"Sakusa, Middle Blocker. Bokuto, Middle Blocker. Hoshiumi, Setter.
"Yaku, opposite hitter. Ryosuke, Libero. Kageyama, outside hitter."
"? I'm in both matches?" Ryosuke was a little confused. Why was he in both lineups?
Everyone looked at Ushijima, then at Ryosuke. With that small frame of his, playing both matches would probably be too much for him.
Ushijima sighed.
"Neither of the two Liberos can play the Libero position. Among the middle blockers, you're the best at receiving. If we switch to someone else, we might not get the same effect."
"I can do it."
Keiji Akaashi raised his hand enthusiastically. In his own team, the coach forced him to practice fundamentals every day, so his serve receive was also pretty good. And today, there were no positional restrictions. They could switch however they wanted.
Ushijima hesitated for two seconds, then nodded. There was no room for muddling through in this kind of match. Still, someone personally trained by the Fukurōdani Alliance should be reliable enough in a match, even if Bokuto was sometimes a little undependable.
It was not that Ushijima had not arranged anything for Keiji Akaashi. He simply did not know how to arrange him. Being familiar with Bokuto did not mean he was familiar with Bokuto's setter too. Now that Keiji Akaashi had volunteered himself, Ushijima did not need to worry about it. He had been concerned that his arrangement might be unreasonable and that someone would object. Now he could relax.
"Then for the second lineup, when Ryosuke can't hold out anymore, Keiji Akaashi will go in. The two of you will rotate when we substitute. For the starting lineup, I'll lead."
"Yes!!"
"Everyone." Ushijima looked around at them. "Don't embarrass yourselves in front of our seniors."
"Let's go!!"
"Yeah!!"
"They're pretty fired up over there, hahaha."
Asano looked at them and smiled. That kind of passion reminded him of his own high school days, when the captain would lead everyone in pumping themselves up before every match. It was exciting, and it made him nostalgic.
"Alright, you should get on court too."
Hibarida stood in front of them with his hands on his hips.
"All of you had better play properly. Don't let these kids make the national team look bad. If you ruin the national team's reputation, you're all finished!"
"Yes, yes."
"We know."
"Okay."
Everyone answered perfunctorily. They really could not get fired up for Hibarida, because he would only laugh at them afterward for acting too dramatic. Sigh. What were they supposed to do with a coach like this?
"You… you lot!"
Hibarida was furious. These little brats had no respect for their teachers at all.
"Beep."
The whistle sounded. Both sides faced each other across the net. Ushijima and Ran Takahashi's eyes met. This match felt like a duel across time.
Lineups.
Training Camp Team
Hirugami, outside hitter. Atsumu Miya, Middle Blocker. Ushijima, Middle Blocker.
Komori, opposite hitter. Ryosuke, Libero. Wakatsu Kiryu, Setter.
National Team
Ran Takahashi, outside hitter. Shoma Tomita, Middle Blocker. Motoki Eiro, Setter.
Yuji Nishida, opposite hitter. Tomohiro Yamamoto, Libero. Kento Asano, Middle Blocker.
Whether in Miyagi or even across all of Japan, both lineups were incredibly luxurious. The coaches from both sides brought their temporarily selected captains forward for the coin toss.
The training camp team had chosen Ushijima as their captain, while the national team's captain was Ran Takahashi.
Ryosuke looked at the situation, then leaned close to Bokuto and whispered,
"Bokuto-senpai, let's make a bet. We'll bet tonight's cilantro, okay?"
Recently, the training meals had cilantro every night, and these two happened to hate cilantro. Every dinner turned into chaos because of it.
Keiji Akaashi overheard and also leaned over.
"Let's bet on serve possession."
"Okay, okay. I bet our side gets the serve."
Bokuto nodded without the slightest suspicion.
Ryosuke smiled in victory. He fell for it, hahaha. Ushijima-senpai's luck was truly mystical. Looks like tonight's cilantro had found a home.
"Then I'll bet we don't get the serve."
Keiji Akaashi shook his head helplessly. The one doing the coin toss was Ushijima-senpai. Since Ryosuke spent every day with him, he must know him very well.
"Serve goes to the national team!"
"Aaaaaah! I lost!"
As soon as the words fell, Bokuto howled and clutched his head.
Keiji Akaashi smiled helplessly. Bokuto-senpai really was easy to trick.
"Let's go. Onto the court."
After Ushijima came back, he led everyone onto the court.
Both sides bowed, and the match began.
Hosho, Nakagaichi, and Hibarida stood below the court with their arms crossed, carefully watching this match between two generations.
The national team had won the serve, and Kento Asano in position one started serving. Like Ushijima, Kento Asano was left-handed, but his left hand did not have Ushijima's power. He could use his right hand too. This was mainly in terms of spiking. Asano liked attacking with both hands and switching freely between left and right.
As a Middle Blocker, his ball paths were extremely flexible. His only serving advantage was speed. A speed of 120 kilometers per hour sounded ordinary, but against these high schoolers, it was more than enough.
However, for Ryosuke, this serve's left hand could not compare to Ushijima, and its right hand could not compare to Wakatsu Kiryu. Receiving this ball was not troublesome.
When the whistle sounded, Asano tossed the ball, took his approach, and swung his arm in one smooth motion.
"Bang!"
A loud sound rang out.
Asano felt that his condition today was quite good. The muggy, humid weather, the wind blowing down from the ventilation ducts, the open court, and the teammates beside him. Everything was just right.
Ryosuke did not know who this ball was aimed at, but before going on court, he had already said that he would receive all the serves.
This ball was a powerful jump serve with no spin, pure and direct. It flew very quickly toward Komori on the left. Ryosuke reached out, grabbed Komori's shirt, and the two of them switched positions.
Ryosuke quickly crouched down, shifting his center of gravity to his knees, both hands already extended in advance.
With a slap, he received the ball. The force was not too heavy. Wakatsu Kiryu had already moved into position two. Ryosuke glanced over from the corner of his eye, then put a slight force into his wrist and sent a clever first pass.
Wakatsu Kiryu looked up in surprise. This first pass was much better than the ones on his own team. At the very least, he did not need to adjust it himself.
When the ball flew up, Shoma Tomita and Kento Asano's eyes swept back and forth. Then they split up to block, running to the left and the center, each marking one attacker.
Ushijima and Ran Takahashi both moved from the back row at the same time, looking for the right moment to step in and cover.
Tomohiro Yamamoto shuffled left and right in the back.
Yuji Nishida moved up from the right rear, ready at any moment.
Who should this ball go to?
Wakatsu Kiryu thought hard. In that tiny fraction of a second, he had already considered a lot. They had to score the first point to boost morale. If they failed, it might affect the team's momentum.
Kiryu turned his wrist slightly, his gaze landing on Hoshiumi to the left as he prepared to send it over. Hoshiumi had already jumped. Shoma Tomita saw Wakatsu Kiryu's eyes and slid across the net with a swift "whoosh," while Asano watched Atsumu Miya from the other side.
Yuji Nishida sensed something was off and rushed up from the back, appearing in front of Kiryu.
Kiryu's eyes shifted. In the next second, he stopped his wrist, lifted his left hand lightly, and sent over a second attack.
Yuji Nishida frowned and jumped to block. He knew it. There had to be a trick. He stretched both hands out firmly. Wakatsu Kiryu raised an eyebrow. Looks like it was going to be blocked.
With a deft touch, the ball brushed past Yuji Nishida's left hand.
Yuji Nishida smiled. Not bad. An outside hitter who could actually set.
Then he lowered his head, hooked the ball up with his foot, and barely managed to save it.
"That's amazing," Komori said, eyes lighting up as he ran.
"Build the attack!" Ran Takahashi shouted, snapping everyone back to focus.
"Got it, here comes the ball!"
Motoki Eiro set the ball that had just bounced up from Yuji Nishida's foot.
Shoma Tomita and Kento Asano moved in from the front. They did not know who Motoki Eiro would send the ball to, but they had to jump. Only then would the players behind them have a chance to attack.
"I've got it!"
Ran Takahashi bent low and emerged from the back, swinging his arms behind him before jumping like a poplar shooting up from the ground.
"Oh my god…"
Bokuto, who had not gone on court yet, stared until his eyes nearly went straight. Hearing that Ran Takahashi's spike touch was 340 and seeing it in person were completely different things. This live version of that jump had a serious impact.
As Fukurōdani's outside hitter, Bokuto's current spike touch was only around 335. Raising a spike touch by even one centimeter was extremely difficult, let alone the gap between 335 and 340. That kind of difference was obvious at a glance.
"Bang!"
Ran Takahashi jumped up steadily.
"Back-row attack! Fall back on defense!"
Atsumu Miya hurriedly retreated. He did not know whether his position was blocking the view behind him, so he could only move aside while shouting.
Ryosuke and Komori moved the moment they heard it. Komori ran to the front court to receive, while Ryosuke covered the gaps in the back.
Someone suddenly appeared in Komori's running path, blocking his way.
"Move, move!"
Hirugami panicked for a split second when he heard the voice, but he reacted quickly and cleared the path. Komori immediately dove forward.
"Bang!"
The volleyball did not hit the floor. Instead, it smashed into Komori's hand stretched out against the ground. Komori clenched his teeth, then shouted,
"Ryosuke! I'm counting on you!"
That first touch was only half in position. With someone blocking Komori's path, it was already impressive that he had managed to get it up at all, let alone with the power behind Ran Takahashi's attack just now. It really was a little too much. Fortunately, the ball struck the back of his hand. If his posture had been off and it had hit his wrist bone, the consequences would have been serious.
As for how he still managed to send it into a half-decent position, that was purely Komori's physical reflexes. A split second before the ball struck the back of his hand, he adjusted the angle. That kind of reaction required years of accumulated training. He truly deserved to be called this generation's "number one Libero."
"Hiss… what's going on with Hirugami? I never saw him react like that during training," Hoshiumi said, looking doubtful.
Even if he was playing outside hitter, it should not be that bad, right? The difference between the two positions was not that huge.
"The difference is huge," Keiji Akaashi said, as if he had seen through Hoshiumi's question.
"Huh?! Did I just say that out loud?"
Hoshiumi was startled.
Keiji Akaashi smiled helplessly.
"It was written all over your face."
Only then did he explain to Hoshiumi.
"Training is one thing, but playing an actual match is another. Hirugami hasn't entered the right state yet. He isn't used to the outside hitter position. When Komori went to receive just now, Hirugami subconsciously ran along the route toward position three, where middle blockers usually stand.
"Ushijima-senpai also didn't react in time. When he saw Hirugami's route, he hesitated. By the time he realized it, it was already too late, so he could only stand in position two and wait to switch positions as soon as the ball was picked up."
"Hirugami!"
Sure enough, Ushijima frowned and glanced at Hirugami. Hirugami also realized it, and the two quickly switched positions.
Komori had already gotten up the moment the ball flew into the air, so fast that people barely had time to react. But what was even harder to react to was Ryosuke.
Before Komori's words had even finished falling, he was already in position. If no one had noticed where he had been just now, it would have been easy to think he had teleported there.
"Yo, they're all pretty good."
Hibarida clicked his tongue in wonder. If not for Nakagaichi standing beside him, he would have whistled loudly.
"Mm. Ryosuke and Komori are both excellent. That Ryosuke doesn't look like a middle blocker at all. He looks more like a Libero. He and Komori both share a very obvious trait with Tomohiro Yamamoto."
"Huh?" Hosho scratched his head in confusion. What was the same? Their receiving? Their technical level? Or something else?
Hibarida clicked his tongue.
"Sigh, being a coach really has made you stupid. That little leopard, Yamamoto, and Komori all have one very obvious thing in common.
"They get up the instant they touch the ground and avoid falling whenever possible. If Yamamoto and Komori developed that through years of accumulation, then little leopard is relying on strong natural talent. He uses his muscles very well, and his balance and coordination were cultivated from childhood. You could say that when he was very young, either someone else, or he himself, intentionally or unintentionally, was already developing him toward the Libero position."
"Hiss… no wonder."
Only then did Hosho carefully observe the differences between Ryosuke and Yamamoto.
"Bang!"
Ryosuke bumped the ball directly to Ushijima's hand, completely skipping the setter's step.
Kiryu's running steps paused for a moment. Then he changed direction and ran toward the net, wanting to join in a block.
"Ushijima-senpai! Slam it down!"
Ushijima jumped fiercely. Shoma Tomita and Asano both went up to block him.
Asano had heard of Ushijima too. Reports all called him the "left-handed cannon," and Asano had wanted to test him for a long time. Of course, only a left-hander knew the best way to deal with a left-hander.
Ushijima narrowed his eyes and silently switched to his right hand. This ball had to score. That Kento Asano was also left-handed.
"Bang!"
A spike over the block!
Ushijima actually hit that ball over the hands of the two-meter-tall Asano.
Asano's brows furrowed sharply. Could this guy jump that high? Also, something about that ball seemed off.
"Beep."
Point!
Asano landed and lowered his gaze to look at his own palm.
"Not bad," Shoma Tomita said with a smile, praising Ushijima. Anyone who could hit over Asano's block was a tough one.
"It's fine. We'll get the next ball."
Then he turned and comforted Asano. The first point had slipped away from him, and this kid had too strong a sense of responsibility. He would definitely blame himself.
Ushijima nodded calmly.
"Ushijima-senpai, that was amazing!" Ryosuke praised him, eyes shining.
"Wakatoshi, very impressive."
"Sorry, sorry. I blocked your route just now," Hirugami said apologetically to Komori, scratching his hair.
"It's fine, it's fine. You'll get used to it," Komori said with a bright smile. Ah, just being able to play against the national team was already something to be grateful for.
Ran Takahashi glanced at the thoughtful Asano and called him over.
"Asano, come here for a second."
"Oh! Coming!"
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