The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

After the game was stopped due to the sudden cheers exploded from the stand, the referee finally managed to calm down everyone in the building. It didn't take a long time before he gave the nod to the players, asking them to get ready to restart the game. The next one to serve the ball was Hirano, waiting for the referee to blow the whistle.
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After a moment, he served the ball quickly, trying to aim at Sawada. However, Arizawa covered Sawada's position quickly and picked up the ball for the setter.

"Thanks, Arizawa-senpai!"

"Nobu! Here!"

Seeing Lucas asking for the ball, Sawada was tempted to do the same play he did before which fooled all the players on the court. However, he suddenly felt a shiver down his spine, and when he glanced for a moment, he could see both Yuki and Riku eyeing him hungrily.

'It seems I am not the only one who got fired up right now.'

This time, his rational side won the battle, so instead of risking the play under both Yuki and Riku's eyes, Sawada decided to take the safest side by sending the ball to Lucas. The Brazilian boy took off from the ground immediately, flying high to reach the ball.

"Jimmy, jump with me!" Yuki shouted. A second later, Ogawa ran straight in his direction ready to form a wall with him. "Come on! One! Two! Now!"

*BAM!*

"Shit!" Ogawa cursed out loud when his hands were thrown forcefully by the spike's impact. Lucas aimed the ball perfectly to the spot where it would bounce out of the court and resulting in a point for Konan High.

However, Kaede saw this intention from afar. His short feet moved at an abnormally high speed, pouncing the ball like a cheetah before it could fall to the ground.

"Oh! Nice save, Kai!"

"Cover!"

"Rano, I got this!" Riku waved his hand at the blocker as he went to get the ball. He jumped immediately, wanting to spike the ball directly. However, the moment he hit the ball, a pair of hands suddenly popped up in front of him.

*BAM!*

"Ha! Don't think you can forget about me, Bastard!" Akihiro grinned.

"Shut up, Take! Move! It is still not over!" Shimada shouted from behind.

Indeed, even though Akihiro managed to block the spike, he couldn't kill it directly. As a result, the ball flew to his back, which was still good enough for his teammates to initiate a decent counterattack.

"LUCAS-SENPAI! STRAIGHT!"Sawada shouted while sending a quick toss.

Everyone was taken aback when they heard Sawada raise his voice. It wasn't even five minutes ago that the others suggested he should be bolder to take the command, and now it seemed the setter took it to his heart. Of course, Lucas who was the first to give the advice grinned the widest, knowing this was the fruit of his words.

'Well, Nobu, since this was your first-ever command, I will make sure I score this one!'

*BAM!*

Just like what Sawada asked, Lucas sent a sharp straight spike close to the sideline. Kaede tried his best to save the ball. Unfortunately, even if he dived and extended one of his hands far to reach it, he wasn't quick enough to save it, resulting in a point for Konan High.

"Good job, Nobu!"Lucas turned around quickly after he landed on the floor. "That is a good observation!" He praised his kouhai genuinely.

"Yeah, who would have thought you could raise your voice like that? Good job, Nobu!" Akihiro added, sending a thumb-up at his fellow freshman.

Sawada's face flushed red in embarrassment. "No, Senpai. It is because you are willing to follow my lead that we can do this."He tried to be modest.

"No need to downplay your involvement, Nobu! Just accept the praise, you deserve it." Matsumoto also grinned at him.

Somehow, this little interaction touched Sawada's heart. While he had been on the team for almost two months, this was probably the first time he heard everyone showed their support for him. Even though he didn't have any complaints about the team's situation before, he liked the current atmosphere more than ever.

As the game went by, the atmosphere shifted dramatically, especially when the usually timid Sawada found his voice, orchestrating plays with newfound confidence. With each strategic set and powerful spike, Konan who was behind in the beginning of the second set due to Yuki's serve began to gain momentum, scoring one point after another.

As the scoreboard displayed an ever-widening gap, Tsunemori's confidence began to falter, replaced by a growing sense of panic. Miscommunication led to uncharacteristic errors, with players fumbling serves and missing critical plays, their once fluid movements now marred by hesitation.

All the people in the building could sense the tension rising from the opponents, who exchanged worried glances, their determination wavering as they struggled to regain control of the game.

"Man, what are they doing? They fumbled it hard!"

"Hey, no need to be harsh, man. They face Konan, after all. To get double-digit points in the first set is already an accomplishment for them."

"Well, I cannot help it. They showed promise before, so how could they suddenly get panicky and play like a bunch of drunkards?!"

Honestly, that was also what all the Tsunemori players wanted to know. They couldn't figure out how Konan High suddenly got better by miles, leaving them in the dust. Little did they know that it was all because of their coach who suddenly gave them a signal to end this game as quickly as possible.

'You have already shown a lot today, don't give more intelligence to your opponent in the stand.'

However, their opponent didn't have the intention to go down so easily. Although their situation was bad, the two freshmen on the team still had their eyes full of determination. "Come on, everyone! We are getting closer! Don't give up yet!" Riku shouted, trying to encourage his teammates.

"Yeah!" Yuki also tried to do the same. "And we are still down by five points! Remember, Akira-sensei only permits us to give up when the lead is more than ten, so move your ass and get ready for the next play!"

"Come on, Tsunemori!"

"Yeah! You can do it! Don't give up!"

"Come on!"

Seeing the team tried their best to encourage each other, the spectators were touched and willing to share their support for them. This somehow also managed to raise the team's morale even for a bit. However, it was still better than nothing.

When Riku saw his teammates' expressions brighten one by one, he grinned widely. "Good! That is the reaction I want to see! Come on, we still have this unfinished business; we cannot give up yet!"