The Birth of A Volleyball Legend-Chapter 473: A Slight Miscommunication
Right after the intermission was over, all of the players from both teams were ready to continue the game. Just like what the old man said before, all the players came with a new determination in this game. There was no trace of excitement in Shirayuki High and depression in Shimo High players. They came here as if this were a new game, moving on completely from the first set. However, there was no way the supporters would do the same as them here.
"Come on, Takumi-kun! Yuya-kun! Lead the team to semifinal!"
"Tsubasa-kun, keep up the good work!"
"Matsuena-senpai, don't be so stressed! Just stay relaxed, okay?!"
All the cheers were still coming from Shirayuki High's supporters. After all, they were the winner of the first set, so their supporters were more confident about them right now. Being cheered and praised like this, even the most self-disciplined player on the team couldn't help but feel flustered.
"Ahaha… I thought that we didn't have that many supporters coming today." Tsubasa scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
"Well, yeah, not a lot of students come here," Shun commented, glancing around the building. "Most of the supporters here are not from our school, so their support for us is definitely more genuine here."
"Okay, don't get distracted over something superficial like that! Let's put our focus back on the game! Don't forget that our opponent is Shimo High, a team that two years ago was dubbed as one that could challenge Konan High and Matsuyama Kita High!" Takumi did his role as a captain by reminding everyone to be careful.
Right after that, the referee finally asked everyone to get ready. Not a lot of people noticed the subtle change in Shimo High's formation if that could even be considered one. After all, it was just an exchange position between Ezaki and Senki, and for most of the people there, they even thought that those two boys just changed it casually, as if they were switching seats in a classroom. However, the old man who sat in front of the Tsunemori players narrowed his head suspiciously, then he widened his eyes in realization before nodding his head repeatedly, satisfied with what he saw.
"What's wrong, Old Man?" Riku, who noticed that couldn't help but ask.
"Well, listen, boy. After this, you will see that it wouldn't be so easy for Shirayuki High to get through Shimo High's defense."
"Ah?!" All of the Tsunemori players were taken aback by the sudden bold statement. However, when they saw the confidence coming from the old man, they couldn't help but to take this seriously, knowing that this mysterious old man had a unique perspective about this game.
"Come on, Hideo! Forget about the first set, start it with a bang!"
"Don't be so tense! Come on, we have your back!"
A small section on the stand that was filled with students wearing purple uniforms could be seen cheering for Shimo High. It seemed those were the students who were willing to come to support the team. Seeing them, Hideo was touched, determination burning more inside his heart.
'I cannot mess this up! Come on!'
BAM!
Right after the referee blew the whistle, Hideo launched a cannon straight at Shirayuki's right side. There, Tsubasa and Kubota were standing, watching the ball zooming in their direction in surprise. They didn't expect that the first ball would go in their direction.
"Shit! Kubota!"
"Don't worry, I got this! Let me cover this!"
Those two showed good communication skills as Tsubasa stepped back quickly, giving his friend space to receive the ball while he himself also started watching around, getting ready to launch a counterattack. Even though Kubota's receive was a bit sloppy, Tsubasa reacted quickly, rushing forward to get the ball. Some of the Shirayuki players also moved, trying to open up their way to attack the opponent. In the end, Tsubasa decided to be conservative and pass the ball straight to their captain and best attacker on the team, Takumi.
"Senpai!"
"Oh! Nice pass, Tsubasa-kun!"
Of course, Shimo High players didn't stay idle. Senki, who saw this in front of him, also reacted, jumping straight to cover the lane spike. However, to his surprise, not a single one of his teammates came and covered the cross spike, letting the opponent's captain hit that area with his strongest spike.
BAM!
"Oh, hell yeah!" Takumi roared, clenching his fist tightly. "We got the first blood!"
"Yeah! Nice hit, Captain!"
"Damn, Senpai! Your spike is awesome!"
While all the Shirayuki players celebrating with each other, on the other side of the court, Senki stared at the player next to him confusedly. Coincidentally enough, Ueno who was there also stared at him in confusion. The miscommunication in the last play was fatal, and they needed to solve this quickly.
"Why won't you jump?" It was Senki who asked first.
This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.
"Why would I jump?" Ueno answered it with another question. Some of the players there also stared at each other confusedly before it was Ezaki who realized it first.
"Ah, I got it!" All the eyes suddenly turned to the boy. "It is like this… Usually, I am always in the position next to Ueno-kun, and I will cover the cross spike while letting the lane spike route open because Hideo-senpai is there, so that Ueno doesn't have to jump and can put his focus on counterattack. Meanwhile, you, Senki-kun, always have Genta-senpai next to you, and he is more flexible compared to you. That is why your task is always to cover a lane attack and let Genta-senpai cover for the cross one. So, when you both are next to each other, this miscommunication finally happened."
Everyone widened their eyes in realization after listening to Ezaki's explanation. After all, they all thought that the subtle change that their coach made wouldn't affect the team that much. Who would've thought that this would bring chaos to the team like this?
"So, what should we do?" Senki asked, frustrated. After all, there was no way they could change the order of the rotation in the middle of the game right now. The referee would definitely not allow that.
"Well…" Ezaki pondered for a moment before finally speaking again. "Right now, we still don't know how many holes we open up for our opponent due to this change, so the only thing we can do is to close the hole that we can see first. Senki-kun, when you are on the right side, always aim for the opponent's cross spike. Hideo-senpai will be on your back to cover that area. As for when you are on the left side, coordinate with Hideo-senpai to protect Ueno-kun. Make sure that he is not targeted by the opponent, okay?"
"Sure!"
Even though some of them doubted this problem would be solved so easily, right now, they could only trust the adjustment that Ezaki proposed. It didn't help that Ezaki was the first one who realize the problem here, giving him more credibility compared to the others. They didn't know that inwardly, Ezaki was sweating hard while praying, 'Kami-sama, please, help our team in the next turn and don't let our opponent expose this weakness again. We really need a point to boost our morale right now, so please, make it easier for us in the next play! Amen!'
