The second set of the practice match ended predictably, with Karasuno experiencing a slow but inevitable defeat due to the difference in skill levels.
[Aoba Johsai 25 – 18 Karasuno]
Although they managed to score two more points than in the first set, there wasn't much joy among Karasuno's players.
"Tobio-chan, I won again~" Oikawa's smug expression was almo...
2025-01-14 16:01:06 +0000 UTC View PostAs the match progressed, Nishinoya Yū gradually adapted to Kaedehara Taichi's serving rhythm. However, Aoba Johsai had already widened the score gap, relying solely on the serving power of Kaedehara Taichi and Oikawa Tōru.
The disparity in skill between the two teams became increasingly apparent. It wasn't just Kaedehara and Oikawa—the other Aoba Johsai players also had remarkably agg...
2025-01-14 16:00:17 +0000 UTC View PostKaedehara Taichi had never underestimated Karasuno. In fact, he might have been the player in Miyagi Prefecture who paid the most attention to them.
Karasuno's offence revolved around the lightning-quick attacks of Kageyama Tobio and Hinata Shōyō. With Kageyama's godlike setting adjustments and exceptional volleyball IQ, every player on the team—except for the libero—possessed comme...
2025-01-13 16:11:15 +0000 UTC View PostChallenging Karasuno's libero, the best receiver on their team, head-on?
He had only mastered a powerful jump serve, which was surprising enough, but this level of provocation was on another level.
Tanaka Ryūnosuke glared fiercely at Taichi.
"Kid, you're pretty full of yourself!"
"Ryū, let him try! I want to see just how good his serves really...
2025-01-13 16:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostPractice matches weren't something Taichi could decide on his own, but when he shared the idea with his teammates, they were immediately intrigued.
After reaching out, Coach Irihata arranged a friendly match with Karasuno.
Unsurprisingly, Karasuno's faculty advisor, Mr. Takeda, accepted the offer enthusiastically.
———
A week passed quickly.
For the f...
2025-01-13 16:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostLate July brought the height of summer.
The scorching sun blazed overhead, and the air was filled with a lazy, carefree vibe.
Two weeks into the summer break, Udai Tenma had confined himself to his room, working tirelessly on his manga. His workspace was a chaotic mess—disorganized sketches, pencil shavings, and dog-eared reference books scattered about.
Becoming a ...
2025-01-12 16:01:08 +0000 UTC View PostWith all ten practice matches completed, Team Irihata had only managed to secure that one victory in the end.
Futakuchi Kenji, who had hoped to sound the horn of a counterattack, was left bitterly disappointed. He dreaded returning to his school, where Kaneme Moniwa would undoubtedly make fun of him.
On the final day of the camp, all players returned to their original teams. Just li...
2025-01-12 16:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostFacing Ushijima Wakatoshi's serve at the most critical moments of a match had become something Kaedehara Taichi was thoroughly used to—like a cruel joke that fate kept repeating.
In this instant, the tension on the court felt palpable. The air thickened, and every breath seemed cautious as if the next second would mark the end of everything.
Ushijima exhaled softly, his c...
2025-01-11 16:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe scoreboard displayed: [Team Irihata 14 – 12 Team Washijō].
For the first time, Team Irihata held the lead past the halfway point of a match. The advantage they had built early on gave them control over the game's tempo.
Tendō Satori stepped up to serve.
His serve wasn't particularly powerful, and Kunimi Akira easily received it.
"Hyakuzawa!" Oika...
2025-01-11 16:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostThe serve returned to Team Irihata, and Kaedehara Taichi stepped up to the service line.
Since the second day of the training camp, Team Irihata had lost seven consecutive sets.
No one seemed particularly surprised—that was precisely the biggest issue.
Perhaps the coach only wanted to witness their growth, indifferent to the outcomes of wins and losses.
Or maybe, he wa...
2025-01-10 18:39:59 +0000 UTC View PostWith just one play, they reclaimed the serve from Oikawa Tōru—this was already the best start Irihata had achieved in all their practice matches so far.
"Iwa-chan...and Taichi too..." Oikawa smiled in resignation.
Aone Takanobu stepped up to the service line for Irihata.
Bang!
Aone's powerful jump serve was received by Terushima Yūji.
Without h...
2025-01-10 16:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostSmack!
Kunimi Akira received Futakuchi Kenji's spike, and Terushima Yūji rotated into position, setting the ball toward the right side.
"I got it." Ushijima Wakatoshi called out calmly.
Terushima's set lacked precision, placing the ball too close to the net. If Kindaichi had been the spiker, Tendō Satori would likely have blocked it.
Kindaichi stepped aside as...
2025-01-10 16:00:15 +0000 UTC View Post"Shirabu-senpai!"
As soon as the match ended, Kaedehara Taichi hurried after Shirabu Kenjirō, who was walking toward the rest area.
"Can we talk about offensive coordination for a moment?"
Shirabu's brows furrowed slightly. This first-year from Aoba Johsai...He's the reason Ushijima-senpai didn't make it past the prefectural finals.
"Shirabu-senpai! I want you ...
2025-01-09 16:01:05 +0000 UTC View Post[Team Irihata 19 – 25 Team Washijō]
Taichi's team lost the second set as well, and they still failed to block even a single spike from Ushijima Wakatoshi.
The reason? Oikawa Tōru had begun to exert his influence fully.
When he realized that Irihata's team was focusing too heavily on blocking Ushijima, Oikawa seamlessly brought his other teammates into the ...
2025-01-09 16:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostThis match had clearly been carefully orchestrated. Through the recent exchanges and rallies, subtle truths about both teams' performances swirled in Taichi’s mind. Bit by bit, the fragments aligned like pieces of a puzzle, revealing a clear picture before his eyes.
If volleyball could be boiled down into two elements—offence and defence—then h...
2025-01-08 16:02:00 +0000 UTC View Post[July 9th, early morning]
The sky was just beginning to brighten.
The teams gathered outside Shiratorizawa’s gymnasium for the day’s training.
The players from Kadokawa Academy had assumed the early start was due to the training camp, but seeing the other schools act as if this were a normal routine made them realise the gap between themselves and top-leve...
2025-01-08 16:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostThe first day of the training camp was filled with continuous matches, with each team playing two sets against every other team.
Shiratorizawa—7 wins, 1 loss (dropped a set to Aoba Johsai)
Aoba Johsai—7 wins, 1 loss (dropped a set to Shiratorizawa)
Date Tech—3 wins, 5 losses (lost to both Shiratorizawa and Aoba Johsai, as well as one set to Jousanji...
2025-01-08 16:00:14 +0000 UTC View PostAs the match between Aoba Johsai and Kakugawa reached its halfway point, Washijō Tanji shifted his focus from Hyakuzawa Yūdai to Kaedehara Taichi.
Even with forty years of coaching experience, Washijō had never encountered a player quite like him. It had only been a month since Aoba Johsai's match against Shiratorizawa, yet this seemingly delicate-looking freshman had undergone noticea...
2025-01-07 16:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe match began with Aoba Johsai serving.
For this practice match, Coach Irihata set up Aoba Johsai's defensive lineup right from the start. The back row consisted of Hanamaki Takahiro, Shinji Watari, and Iwaizumi Hajime—a defensive wall designed specifically to counter Hyakuzawa Yūdai's towering spikes.
"Iwaizumi-senpai, give them a strong serve!"
Iwaizumi launched his ser...
2025-01-07 16:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostThe ability of strong schools to maintain their leading positions isn't merely a matter of luck or coincidence; it's the result of various factors working together. The quality of their coaches and the skill level of their players are just some of the many components of a strong school.
Winning major tournaments and bringing honour to their schools acts like a magnet, attracting talented ...
2025-01-06 16:07:15 +0000 UTC View PostThe weather on this Friday was sunny, yet not a single student was gazing out the window. The classroom was silent, save for the faint scratch of mechanical pencils on paper, the occasional cough, and the sporadic thud of an eraser falling to the floor.
The end-of-term exams were underway—and nearing their conclusion.
Even at Aoba Johsai, a school known for its high promotion rate...
2025-01-06 16:03:47 +0000 UTC View Post[Aoba Johsai High School, Class 1-5]
On the podium, the math teacher wiped the board with slightly teary eyes—Kaedehara Taichi, perhaps the laziest student in his class(as far as anything except volleyball was concerned), was finally not sleeping today and was actually paying attention to the lecture.
It might have been because the final exams were scheduled for t...
2025-01-06 16:02:31 +0000 UTC View Post[July 4th—the day of the National IH Tournament Finals]
Kaedehara Taichi's eyelids trembled slightly before he slowly opened his eyes. He lay in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling for a few seconds, but he made no move to get up. Instead, he closed his eyes again.
After a while, he repeated the process: opening his eyes, dazing out, and then closing them...
2025-01-05 16:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post—BOOM
"That's a shot aimed directly at the sideline! Miya Osamu moved early to position himself, but he failed to dig it!"
"Aoba Johsai's Kaedehara Taichi has suddenly become a force to be reckoned with in the latter half of the second set. His left-handed attacks are particularly striking. Once again, he's a standout from Miyagi Prefecture. Ōtomo-san, d...
2025-01-05 16:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post"Are you okay, Watari?" The Aoba Johsai team was more concerned about Watari Shinji, who had just taken a ball to the face, than about losing the point.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Watari replied, rubbing his face. Thankfully, it wasn't a powerful jump serve; otherwise, he might have ended up with a nosebleed and been forced to sit out for a while.
Seeing that Watari wasn't injured, the team ...
2025-01-04 16:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostBeep—!
The first set ended, with Aoba Johsai taking the victory.
"Ahhh—we lost the first set!!" The audience erupted in groans of disbelief. This result was more unexpected than anyone anticipated.
"Well, it's not that surprising," an older spectator commented. "When Atsumu messed up his first serve, I had a bad feeling. After all, last year, we watched th...
2025-01-04 16:00:11 +0000 UTC View Post"Inarizaki has always impressed fans with their innovative and daring playing style, consistently delivering surprises time and again."
"But this time, their tactics don't seem to be working as well. Aoba Johsai appears to be far more familiar with their own strengths…"
"That's another characteristic of Inarizaki, isn't it? Their matches often feel like an experimental ground for ...
2025-01-03 16:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post"Osamu, Osamu, that was amazing!"
"Osamu, Osamu, you jump so high!"
"What a precisely timed set! Miya Osamu's spike was flawless."
"The synchronization between the twins is on a whole other level!"
Aran Ojiro looked more thrilled than the Miya twins themselves. "Ah, brotherly love is truly something special!"
"Only twins could have such unshakable...
2025-01-03 16:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostIt wasn't some hidden skill—Aoba Johsai's players were equally stunned as they watched Kentarō Kyōtani.
That was the first time any of them had seen him use a tip shot in a match.
"An attack isn't satisfying unless it's at full force!"
During their practice game with Nekoma, even when Tetsurō Kuroo's blocking repeatedly stopped his attacks, Kyōtani had brushed i...
2025-01-02 16:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post"Out of bounds!"
"Oooouuuuut!"
Inarizaki's cheering squad erupted with boos and jeers, their voices loud and relentless. They refused to believe Aoba Johsai's players could maintain their composure under such auditory pressure.
Kaedehara Taichi nonchalantly used his pinky finger to clean his ear, then cupped his hand around it in a mock listening gesture.
... 2025-01-02 16:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post