The Birth of A Volleyball Legend-Chapter 393 : Preparation for the Next Game

"Koji-senpai, stay there! Spread the blockers thin! Asa-senpai, cut to the middle!"

BAM!

"SHIT!"

"Ha! Not that easy, Senpai! Now, push-up twenty times!" Yuki smiled giddily as he watched four offensive players drop their bodies down to the floor to receive the punishment.

It was a day after the break, and the team was back in full spirit. It seemed Akira's decision to give a day off was successful here as it looked like everyone just came back after getting a second life from the deities above. If two days ago, everyone was still in extreme tension due to their eagerness after watching Konan High's game, now the air was a bit fresh among the team, most of them chatting and laughing relaxedly with each other.

As for the training session itself, Akira decided to put his eyes on the team's offense. While he was confident that his team was one of the best defensive teams in the tournament, offensively, they were lacking. They only had Koji as the heavy-hitter, and the ace himself was not that confident in his own ability. Honestly, if not for Riku's trickery and his combination attack with Yuki, Akira was sure that his team would meet its end in the game against Tsukiji High a week ago.

"Riku, come here!" Akira called his nephew after he did his punishment.

The setter looked confused for a second before shrugging a little, coming to his uncle. "What is it, Sensei?" Even though they were family, Riku still had to call Akira 'Sensei' to maintain professionalism here.

"Listen, I know that you might not notice it, but you've made a habit to always pass the ball either to Yuki, or Koji, or you dump it yourself. That wouldn't do, Riku." HE shook his head.

Riku himself was startled when Akira suddenly pointed out his habit out of nowhere. Still, he couldn't blame the coach here. After recalling his memory of the team's last few games, he gasped in horror as he realized that he would only pass the ball to Hirano or Asahi when he was cornered with a bad ball, and other than that, he basically ignored his two senpai and only used them as another distraction to make his trick worked.

"You've noticed that too, right?" Akira nodded, satisfied with his nephew. "In fact, I don't blame you for only using those methods. We lack offensive talent in the team and I know about it. Still, that would only work in the early phases of the tournament when most of the teams didn't know their opponent too well. Now that we are entering the top 16, I am sure all the teams would have already had their eyes on your habit and started thinking of a way to handle it."

"That will be a problem, indeed." Riku heaved a sigh. "Fine, I will try to incorporate the others more in our offense."

After that, the training session continued once again, and just like what Riku promised, he started to distribute the ball evenly. However, Yuki and the other defensive players seemed to be on fire today. Under Yuki's command, Kaede, Okamura, and Hirano managed to block most of the attacks coming from Yuki, Ogawa, Koji, and Asahi, forcing the four offensive players to receive punishment one after another.

Still, even though this was just a normal training, two players shone the most here, and everyone could notice that even from afar. Those two were Yuki and Riku who played vigorously, hustling every ball like it was the last thing they had to do in the world. They injected new spirit into the team, making everyone give their 120 percent even in an ordinary training like this.

"Damn, Riku! Slow it down, will you?!"

"Yuki, don't be too serious! Let us offensive players score once or twice, okay?! Our fragile egos cannot bear this humiliation!"

Akira just shook his head in amusement as he watched his players' antic on the court. He didn't say anything, though, believing this would be good to bond the team. Still, there was a tingling feeling in his gut that told him there was something different about his two freshmen, and honestly, he couldn't make a single guess about it.

'Oh, well… Maybe, they will talk to me if it is important enough…'

-0-

Two days later, all the members of the Tsunemori team gathered once again inside the gymnasium. However, this time, they were not there for training, but to talk about their next opponent, Oyama High. They were currently sitting on the floor, listening to Megumi's explanation as she played a video of their opponent's game in the last round.

"They are a pretty solid team with a balanced strategy. In offense they attack with all six players moving forward, in defense, they are fighting to keep the ball alive also with the same six players. No one is sitting leisurely while waiting for the next offense when they have to defend and vice versa. Just like us, their playing style requires top-level endurance from all of their players, and they have it"

"So, another troublesome team that could drag us down to hell, huh?" Okamura groaned.

"What about their individual skill?" Riku asked.

"Well, just like us, you can expect a resilient defense from most of them. However, offensively, you have to watch their captain, the middle blocker with jersey number 3, and their opposite hitter with jersey number 7. Those two are Oyama High's pillar, so you can expect most of the ball would go there." Megumi answered while pointing her finger toward the two players she mentioned.

"So, two blockers, huh?" Akira hummed, staring at the screen interestedly. "Are you sure there is nothing worth mentioning about their offense?" He asked once again for confirmation.

"!00 percent, Sensei," Megumi replied with a firm nod.

They stared at each other in silence for a moment before Akira nodded, saying, "Thank you for your hard work, Megumi-san. Now, let's move on to the next topic." Most of the players there straightened their backs immediately. "Since this is still the top 16 round, we are still playing in a home or away format, not in the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. Fortunately, our luck is pretty good that we got the home-court advantage the next game, so we don't have to travel far the day after tomorrow."

"YES!" Most of the players there jumped excitedly at the prospect of playing in front of their supporters. "That is what I am waiting for!"

"I will also talk to Sugawara-san from class 3–B so that she can mobilize the crowd just like in a game against Tsukiji High." Akira continued.

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The news was getting better as most of them still remembered how crazy the support shown by the students gathered by the former school president was. If she could do that in the away game, they couldn't wait to see what kind of surprise the girl would give with almost 500 people ready to back her up.

"So, now that we have been blessed so much like this, I expect nothing but a win for the next game, can you all do that?!"

"Yes, Sir!"

"I cannot hear you! CAN YOU ALL DO THAT?!"

"YES, SIR!"