The Birth of A Volleyball Legend-Chapter 388 : Still Far from Over! (I)

Saito, Kyoei Gakuen's head coach, stood in front of his players silently as they all tried their best to avoid his gaze. No one knew what was inside his mind right now, but everyone could guess that he was furious. For all the pep-talk he gave during the intermission and how hard he united the team back after a small crack before the second set ended, it was all useless when Konan High decided that the playtime was over and they decided to be serious.

Now, his team was down by six points in the final set, and if he couldn't come up with something that could change the game, he could say goodbye to this game.

"So… Any words of what was going on there?" He finally spoke, asking a question while his gaze borehole toward Ito. The captain gulped, inwardly screaming that it wasn't his fault. However, he knew full well that half or even more than it was his responsibility for letting emotion take over himself.

"That is my fault, Sensei." Ito finally admitted, his face showing a guilty expression. "I was blinded by revenge that my concentration wasn't fully on the play. For that, I apologize."

The excuse was short and to the point, and all the Kyoei Gakuen players also agreed with that. They all felt that their captain was insufferable in the last two plays where Matsumoto destroyed them from the service line, making it hard to concentrate on the court. However, the coach just shook his head, definitely not agreeing with his point.

"Honestly, there is nothing wrong with how we start this set. We are just a bit unlucky here. However, you make a good point, Ito. It is good that you realize it before you are going too far."

Everyone stopped whatever they were doing and snapped their head toward their coach immediately. "What do you mean we are just unlucky, Sensei?!" Nitta asked incredulously.

"That is exactly what I mean, we are very unlucky here." Saito repeated his words, emphasizing the 'unlucky' part. "I mean, remember how we lost the point this quarter. It was either from Lucas who suddenly acted like he was possessed by the God of volleyball or because of Matsumoto's serve, right? Our defense has been up to our standard, and the only reason we still lose points is because they go beyond our expectations. So, yeah, we are unlucky here."

Well… When they thought about that, it started to make sense. However, it was just a small consolation as they still couldn't do anything about it. If in the end, they were defeated, it didn't matter whether they were unlucky or not, the final product would still be the same, out of the tournament.

"So, what should we do now?" Nitta asked once again.

"Just do like before, but be quicker and tighter when forming a wall," Saito answered. "I call timeout immediately to cut off their momentum, so hopefully, Matsumoto won't pull something outrageous next. But our defense has to change. It is better to overthink rather than get caught off guard again like before, so to receive the next serve, we will treat it as if we are playing against Kobayashi from Tsunemori High. Haruo, Yamada, you both stay back and wait until the ball is saved, and Aki and Ito, you both are responsible for handling the first ball, okay?!"

"YES, SIR!"

"Also, we need to score as quickly as possible and bring back Haruo to the front. So, I don't care about your method, but make sure you score the damn ball on their side of the court!"

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"YES, SIR!"

-0-

After a minute of timeout was over, players from both teams went back to the court to restart the game. The score was still 8- 2 for Konan High's lead, however, there was no sign og resignation on their opponent's eyes. They had already made a record by stealing the first set, so they might as well fight for another record to make history here.

"Come on, Matsumoto! Do your magic again!"

"Kill them all! Make them kneel with your serve!"

"Let's go, Konan High!"

Matsumoto who was standing on the service line closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he concentrated on the game. As the referee blew the whistle, he tossed the ball high in the air, taking about five steps forward before leaping in the air, slamming the ball as hard as he could.

BAM1

"Aki!"

"I got it!"

With only two defenders on the back row, Aki gritted his teeth as he had to cover a wider area than before. Fortunately, the route the ball took wasn't that tricky, so he just needed to lean his body sideway to the left to pick it up, sending it straight to the front line.

"Oh! Nice receive!"

"Nitta! Move back! Get ready!" Yamada shouted.

Seeing the ball come in his direction, Nitta did what Yamada said, giving the setter space to set up an attack while he moved back to start his run-up. Akihiro and Kenta Maeda had already made their move, following Nitta closely while getting ready to stop his attack. However, it was clear that Nitta was determined this time.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

BAM!

Akihiro grimaced as he felt a sharp pain on the spot where the ball hit his hand. The wall itself was blown away by the powerful hit, and for a moment, it looked like Kyoei Gakuen would get a point. However, as the ball flew far to the outside of the court, there was still one person on Konan's side who hadn't given up yet, and it was their best player on the team, Lucas Silva Morais.

"COME ON, LUCAS! YOU CAN DO THIS!"

"SAVE THAT SHIT!"

"BE CAREFUL! DON'T CRASH ONTO THE BENCH!"

"COME ON!"

BRAK!

All the people there winced unconsciously as they saw the hard collision between Lucas and the bench. Fortunately, all the Konan members on the bench had cleared the way right before it happened, so the impact wasn't as bad as everyone thought. Moreover, his sacrifice bore the result as Lucas managed to send the ball back to the court, giving the team a chance to counterattack.

"OH! LUCAS!"

"WHAT A HUSTLE!"

"HE IS A DEFENSIVE BEAST!"

"THAT IS OUR BEST PLAYER, LUCAS SILVA!"

The mood was at its peak on the stand. However, being the villain himself, Nitta was ready to ruin the party. When he saw the ball was so close and even crossed the net, he jumped immediately, hitting the ball the second time in a row just in the last ten seconds. None of the Konan players were ready for it as everyone was looking for Lucas, and as a result…

BAM!