The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

Chapter 82: Nitta & Ito in Action!

"Ogawa, fall back a little and always cover Kaede. Don't let him receive the end of their spike twice in a row." Akira instructed quickly. "Asahi, Hirano, work together to close down any path of their attack. You don't need to block them directly, just deflect it so the others can pick the ball up easily."

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"Yes, Sir!"

Akira couldn't help but stare at his players worriedly. The moment he saw Nitta playing actively again, he knew he had to take the timeout to cut off their momentum. Fortunately, the tournament rule allowed each team to get two timeouts per set, so even though he had already asked one before when Yuki got hurt, he still had another one which he used right now.

Still, that alone wasn't enough to ease his worry. By the look of Asahi kept rubbing the spot he got hit by Nitta's spike, Akira could figure out how painful it was to receive the end of it.

Even players like Gondo from Matsukita and Ezaki from Shimoyawata couldn't trigger such a reaction, which made Akira wonder once again about how a terrifying hitter like Nitta could go undetected for such a long time.

He didn't show any concerned expression, though. Akira knew that as the coach of the team, his role was to stay calm at any time and not be swayed by how the game went. Once he lost his calm, his team would follow through, and only disaster would wait for them in the end.

After pondering for a moment, Akira added one more thing. "Riku, when we have an opportunity to attack, make sure to use it well. You don't need to always score, but don't let them think we will wait passively like before and gain the initiative. Also, use the wing more to spread their blockers. Your task is to force them running to follow your lead."

"Yes, Sir." The blonde boy nodded.

Akira sighed once again as he stared at his players. Inwardly, he cursed at how quickly the momentum went away from their grasp, especially after their offense was unlocked. Still, the team wasn't without hope. By now, he still waited for the presence of his player who still went out of the building to come back and help him change the direction of the game one more time.

'Let's hope that the team can hold their ground until he comes back later.'

-0-

Thirty seconds passed quickly, and the referee blew his whistle and asked the players from both teams to come back to the court again. However, the moment the players from Kyoei stepped inside the court, the building erupted into a thunderous chorus of boos, echoing off the rafters and drowning out the sound of the game.

All of those boos and curses were directed to one particular player as a retaliation for the provocation before.

"Die, you bastard!"

Even though at this point, sending the ball toward Koji was predictable, Riku still didn't hesitate to choose that path. Not only because Koji just gained momentum earlier, but also because the second-year hitter was also the most versatile player on the team right now.

Even with a blocker in front of him, as long as it wasn't Haruo, Koji would be able to think of a way to gain advantage of his opponent.

And right now, with Haruo one step behind to close down the area in front of him, there was a huge chance for Koji to score a point for Tsunemori.

Or... That was what they thought.

However, the moment Koji swung his arms, he suddenly saw someone flash with a quick speed, taking off the ground on the other side with both arms in the air to block his spike. Koji panicked a little since it was unexpected and he couldn't adjust his spike at all.

*BAM!*

The ball he spiked flew as it hit the wall in front of him. Fortunately, it was still within the court, so the score didn't change for Kyoei. However, the crowds were unhappy that Koji's spike was blocked, especially when they saw the culprit's smug smile.

"Damn, Koji! Be more serious!"

"Kill him! Attack him! Do what you want, but don't let him smile like that!"

Yeah, it was Nitta who just appeared on the front side to block his spike. However, Koji couldn't care less, especially when he saw Kyoei's ace was ready to attack once again. He glanced a little to his side, asking silently for Hirano's help to stop Nitta. The middle blocker nodded silently, starting to move toward his direction to form a two-man block.

However, when they and Kyoei's ace jumped in unison, they knew something went wrong when they saw the smug smirk on Nitta's face.

'Oh, shi – !'

*BAM!*

Instead of going to Nitta, Kyoei's setter sent the ball a little bit higher to the middle, where Ito suddenly rushed from behind to execute the back attack. Since Hirano and Koji were focused on Nitta, it was easy for Kyoei's captain to kill the ball, adding one more point for his team.

Tsunemori High 12 – 19 Kyoei Gakuen