In the blink of an eye, Wakatoshi Ushijima felt the crisis closing in. His gaze was so sharp it almost seemed capable of killing. Every time he jumped, he scored a point, and that made things even more dangerous for Aoba Johsai, a team that desperately needed every chance it could get.
"As long as I crush you completely, there won't be so many problems."
"You really are impressive, but this is where it ends."
After Wakatoshi Ushijima forcibly broke through Aoba Johsai's front-row block, his expression was filled with severity. He only needed three more points to win this set outright, and once they reached the next set, they would have even more chances.
They would not be as passive as they were now.
That was why they had to win this set no matter what. Otherwise, they would have to say goodbye to the tournament early, right alongside Aoba Johsai.
"Damn it… This guy catches up every single time we score."
"I didn't think he'd be this hard to deal with."
Toru Oikawa was panting heavily, as if his stamina had already reached its limit. He looked at the score on the nearby scoreboard, his eyes razor-sharp. The set score had already reached 22–24. If Ushijima's side scored one more point, then they would lose this set outright.
But now… it was Shiratorizawa's turn to serve, and the one serving was Ushijima.
That alone was enough to show just how terrifying the situation was.
Unless something unexpected happened next, Ushijima's serve would worsen the entire situation.
"Ushijima, finish Aoba Johsai off with this final serve! Cut off their dream!"
"As long as we get one more point, the set score will be tied. Then we'll safely make it to the final set!"
"Keep going! Aoba Johsai has already reached the end. Even if they want to keep fighting, maintaining this situation is impossible now!"
"Ushijima, lead Shiratorizawa to victory again!"
After Wakatoshi Ushijima stood on the service line, the noisy atmosphere around him seemed to have nothing to do with him. It was as if he were the only person left in the entire world. He slowly bounced the ball in place, and after a few breaths, he tossed it high into the air.
His whole body immediately moved forward. He began his approach and takeoff, and in the next instant, the sound of a strike rang through the volleyball court.
The ball had already been heavy and powerful, but while traveling at high speed, it was even trembling slightly in midair.
Without a doubt, this was a jump float serve.
Among serves, it was an extremely difficult one to perform. For an ordinary player, it would be almost impossible to pull off.
But for a player like Wakatoshi Ushijima, serving this kind of ball was not surprising at all. It could even be said to be very easy for him.
And because of his natural strength, his serves were essentially unsolvable.
"Sorry! I couldn't receive it!"
The moment Aoba Johsai's substitute libero received the ball, his whole body actually fell backward. Ushijima's serve had struck him directly in the chest. Watching the serve fly toward the outside of the court, Kentaro, who had originally been rotated into the back row, suddenly started sprinting toward the out-of-bounds area like a madman.
In the end, he threw himself into a diving save and flew behind the barrier set up by the organizers. Even so, at the final instant, he still managed to dig the ball back up.
Although he had taken a considerable impact from it, there was no doubt that the ball had been saved.
After Toru Oikawa received Kyotani's ball, he turned his back to Shiratorizawa's court and sent it back over with a forearm pass.
Although this ball was not a spike, it had still neutralized Ushijima's serve.
(End of Chapter)
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