The Birth of A Volleyball Legend-Chapter 362: Tsukiji High’s Frustration! (II)

Ishida bit his lips nervously, staring at the scoreboard once again changed for Tsunemori High. It was not the first time in his life that he cursed his limited role as a libero. Oh, don’t get him wrong. He liked being a libero, being the last gate to defend his team. However, he hated how his minute play would always be affected by rotation or he couldn’t contribute more in offense. For him, having to sit on the bench while watching his teammates struggling to score a point from Tsunemori was another level of torture that he never thought he would suffer.

’Come on, Reiki-senpai, Wang-kun, just dunk the ball or send it far to the back! Kiyotake-senpai, stop hesitating! Neito-san, you can also do a dump or something like that! Move! Don’t just freeze on your spot! Oh, come on!’

BAM!

"YOSSHAAA!"

While all the Tsunemori players celebrated another point they scored, Ishida groaned in his seat as this was the fifth time in a row his team lost points after a super long and exhausting rally. His groan was drowned by cries full of disappointment from the supporter, and when he turned around, he could see most of them had their hands on the back of their head, moaning about another missed opportunity.

"Man, am I the only one who just realized how suck our offense is?"

"I know, right?! I mean, look at them! Our opponent didn’t even set up a wall, yet we couldn’t take advantage of that! This is so ridiculous!"

Ishida winced unconsciously at the mocking tone he heard from his own supporters. This was also one of so many bad sides of having such a group of crazy supporters for the team. When the team was on the right track, they all would be hailed like they were the second Jesus incoming. However, one time they were defeated, the mocks and criticism coming from the supporters would also be merciless, just like what happened today.

BAM!

"Oh, come on! Another one?!"

"If that Chinese boy couldn’t score, just sit him down on the bench! We don’t need a useless player!"

’Oh, how the table turns.’ Ishida could only smile wryly when he heard the supporters start booing Michael Wang. Just a few minutes ago they all were chanting and shouting his name, and now they treated the boy as if he was a mistake made by the team. The supporter’s change of heart was really something he could never understand.

Speaking of Michael Wang, though, Ishida had to reassess his view toward the boy. Oh, don’t get him wrong, he knew that Michael Wang was an amazing player. His athleticism was no joke, the best on the team. His instinct was also top-notch, saving the team several times when he pulled an impossible play out of nowhere. However, Ishida knew about that beforehand, yet the boy’s weakness Tsunemori exposed today was something new for him and the rest of the team.

He relied too much on his instinct, which was proven to be ineffective when the opponent had a devil duo like Yuki and Riku who knew how to be creative. The boy also lacked experience playing in a high-level competition kike this. The fluctuating performance he showed today told everyone that he was still easily affected by the noises around him. Not only that, he was also a one-dimensional hitter, only knew one technique to attack and didn’t know how to adapt. Experience more on novelbuddy

Overall, while Michael Wang was still a good freshman player, Ishida realized he couldn’t rely on all of his hopes of beating Yuki and Riku on the Chinese boy’s shoulder.

BAM!

"Oh, yeah! Finally!"

"Nice spike, Captain! Keep it up!"

"Come on, we can do this!"

The sound of the ball hitting the floor violently followed by the first cheers exploding from Tsukiji’s supporters snapped Ishida from his thought. He turned his attention back to the court, only to find out that one of the Tsunemori’s players made a mistake. The player with jersey number 12 failed to receive the ball perfectly, getting thrown away by Reiki’s attack. However, there was still a concern raised by the more observant supporters on the stand.

"Damn, they sure know how to defend, huh?! This is the… What? Sixth? Or is it the seventh time they dragged our team into a long rally like this?! They should be collapsed sooner or later!"

Ishida saved the information in the back of his head as he started stretching his body a little. After waiting for about five full minutes, Tsukiji’s formation finally rotated, and it was time for him to go back to the court again. He replaced Juzo who except for helping Michael Wang form a twin tower at the beginning of the set hadn’t contributed much to the team.

"Neito-senpai, get ready to join the attack. Whenever I am not receiving the first ball, I will be the one who sets up the attack." He whispered at the setter before the game restarted. Neito just nodded, giving him an ’OK’ sign before going back to his position.

The game was resumed again, and it was Neito’s turn to serve. The setter didn’t have a quite strong serve in his arsenal, but after all the accuracy training he had as a setter, he could at least send the ball precisely to any spot he wanted.

Thud!

"Move, Jimmy! Get the ball!"

Tsunemori’s number 12 managed to receive the ball easily due to the instruction that was coming in time from Yuki. Ishida shifted a little, changing his focus on Riku. Even though he knew the opponent’s setter could switch roles with Yuki, since that 12 sent it straight to Riku, Ishida didn’t have any reason to believe there would be a fake play from those two in this sequence.

WANG! LEFT! COVER FOR STRAIGHT!" Ishida shouted at the Chinese boy when he saw Tsunemori’s ace was about to attack. Even though he couldn’t speak English proficiently like Michael Wang, at least he learned enough to communicate with the Chinese boy in the middle of the game.

BAM!

"SHIT! Another block-out?!

"No! Wang managed to save it! Let’s go, Wang!"

Even though the block-out strategy from Tsunemori’s ace was effective, Wang managed to recover from his failed block, and fortunately, since the ball slipped through the small area between his body and the net, it was quite easy for the boy to save the ball.

Seeing it fly to the back of their own court, though, Ishida reacted quickly. He tracked the ball while it was still in the air, using his peripheral vision to also keep his eyes on his teammates’ movement. When the ball was finally ten centimeters away from his body, he finally made a move, swinging his arms to change the direction of the ball toward his teammates.

"REIKI-SENPAI!"

Normally, this was a decent strategy. When the formation turned chaotic from the opponent’s action, sending the pass that was bound to be sloppy toward their ace was always a good idea. Unfortunately, since Reiki was a speedster who didn’t pack a lot of power inside his body, it was easy for Tsunemori’s number 12 to save the ball once again.

BAM!

"Oh, come on! It is him again?!"

"Just drug test him! His reaction speed is not real!"

As that number 12 – Jimmy – saved the ball again, Ishida scowled internally, yet trying to maintain his poker face. Honestly, there were so many curses and questions appeared inside his head, ready to get unleashed.

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’Are we really sure he is just a bench player?! This shouldn’t be possible, right?’

Unfortunately, no matter how much Ishida complained, the fact remained the same; Tsunemori’s number 12 who was called Jimmy by his teammates suddenly came up solid for his team. He might not be a game-changing player like Yuki or Riku, but his ability to support his teammates was very valuable, especially in a tight game like this.

BAM!

"Are you kidding me? Now, it is the four-eyes again?!"

"Come on, Ref! Just do us a favor and drug test them!"

It was clear that the supporters started to get impatient with the iron wall defense shown by Tsunemori. All the Tsukiji players were also feeling the same, and only the reminder of Neito’s scolding a few minutes ago kept them from rushing foolishly.

However, that didn’t mean they could hide their exhaustion. After a few long rallies, even though physically, they were okay, their concentration started to wear off, and it resulted in their reaction time getting slower as time went by. It seemed this was what all the Tsunemori players had been waiting for, since in the next second, they finally took serious action.

"Yuki! Send it to the front!"

"I got it!"

Ishida widened his eyes when he saw Riku rushing forward. This was the combination he watched so many times when he started learning to be an emergency setter and to say he knew the ins and outs of this pattern would be an understatement. Unfortunately, knowing was one thing, but handling it was another.

As he was about to react to the attack, Riku had already delivered a powerful attack that no setter should have, sending it straight in his direction. As the ball zoomed into his face, Ishida was thankful for his quick reflex as he managed to dodge it. Unfortunately, by doing so, he let the ball get through his area, and in the next second, the sound of the ball hitting the floor resounded throughout the building.

BAM!

"HELL YEAH!"

"Damn, good job, Riku! That is one hell of an attack!"

"Come on, one more point, and we will tie the game! We can do this!"

"Hell, yeah! Let’s go, Tsunemori!"

As he watched his opponent celebrating the last point, Ishida could only smile wryly while saying, "It seems we are in deep trouble, Senpai."