The Birth of A Volleyball Legend-Chapter 404: Riku & Ogawa’s Experiment! (I)

With Koji back on the right track again, Tsunemori's game became smoother instantly. Slowly but surely, they started pushing their opponent to the edge of the cliff, gaining every advantage their opponent gave. Even without Yuki defending their back, in this set, all the Tsunemori players showed that they are not just a one-man team, but everyone could contribute the same or even better than the glasses boy.

Here, in this set, Kaede took over the back line and commanded the whole team to defend like a veteran. It seemed he was a man on a mission after his horrible performance against Tsukiji High in the last round. Even though his game-reading ability wasn't as good or as quick as Yuki usually did, he made it up by constantly communicating with each other to close any leak that the opponent could potentially target.

Asahi also started to get into his rhythm after his disastrous performance last set. This time, he didn't try to show off and just did his best in the supporting role. When it was time to defend the back, he would join Kaede there, and when Hirano needed him the most, he would rush forward to form a wall with the middle blocker. While his offense wasn't there yet, the team didn't lack the raw power to get through the opponent's defense, so they were not worried about that.

The MVP of this set, though, if it could be given to two players, Riku and Ogawa should receive the honor. They both showed a performance that exceeded everyone's expectations, leading the team in this second set.

For Ogawa, the boy who Sekine dubbed as 'plain' and 'ordinary' just like his nickname, Jimmy, really showed his improvement as an all-around player. Hell, he even had a topspin serve in his arsenal, adding more depth to Tsunemori's rich service strategy. He could also do everything the other players could do even to a lesser extent, such as defending like Yuki, being a backup setter for Riku, leading the line of blockers when Hirano wasn't there, and even attacking directly when the team needed to score the most.

However, his role was nothing compared to what Riku showed. The blonde boy really showed that he was one of the best setters in the tournament by dictating the tempo of the game the entire time. Even though Oyama High wanted to speed up or slow down the tempo, without Riku's permission, they wouldn't be able to do so.

This was not something that most fans could see with the naked eyes. For them, the highlight of the game was a powerful attack or crazy resilience defense. However, for those who understood the sports better, they all knew that Riku single-handedly carrying the team's offense with his control.

"Come on, everyone! We are up by five points! Keep it up!"

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

"Let's fucking go! Bring the win for Yuki too!"

As the game progressed, it was clear that Oyama High was one level below the home team. They started to struggle to keep up with the pace of the game, and Riku saw that too. Then, a bold idea suddenly came into his mind, followed by a mischievous smile on his face. At first, no one knew what he was planning to do. However, he turned to Ogawa and gave a subtle signal, and the opposite hitter widened his eyes in surprise before a similar smirk formed on his face too.

'Well, our team only has eight members, and only Yuki and I could be the setter. It would be bad if a scenario when either one of us is forced to leave the game happened in a crucial situation, so it is better for us to prepare now.'

Of course, it was a big lie with a capital L in it. Since the game was already within their grasp, Riku just wanted to use this rare opportunity to experiment new combination attack. Still, this was also a good reason since something like this could happen again in the future.

"Come on! Asahi, give me a good one!"

Asahi who was on the service line took a deep breath before sending the ball toward the left back of the opponent's court. There was nothing special in his serve, and Oyama High's player picked it up easily. Then, a quick attack was formed by the away team, which once again was blocked by Hirano. However, this time, the ball slipped through the tight area between his body and the net, and even though he managed to kick the ball high to let it stay in the air, it still flew far toward the outside of the court.

BAM!

"Damn! Riku, cover!"

"I got it!"

Riku rushed outside while keeping his eyes on the ball all the time. Unfortunately, since the ball was about to land in a difficult spot, he could only save the ball before it could land on the floor, yet not being able to give a good pass to his teammates.

"Sorry, Koji! Finish it!"

"Okay!"

Since the ball was too low for Koji to spike it, the ace didn't try to force his way, sending the ball with a gentle underhand pass. However, he managed to send the ball to the setter, which killed the opponent's chance to attack for the second time in a row since all the Tsunemori players knew their opponent didn't have any emergency setter on the court. As a result, the ball went back to Tsunemori's side once again in the next few seconds.

"Oh! Good job, Koji! That is a good decision!"

"Jimmy! Now!"

While everyone was still appreciating Koji's decision-making, Riku was already on the front line, leaping forward as if he was about to receive the end of the pass. At first, everyone was confused as they didn't know what he was trying to do. They knew Riku was capable of doing this, but without a proper setter like Yuki, it was impossible for the blonde boy to take advantage of this chance.

However, when they saw Ogawa who was covering Riku's original position even though just a second ago, he was still on the left side, everyone widened their eyes, dumbfounded. Just by now, they understood that Ogawa was trying to fill Yuki's role as Riku's partner in crime for this kind of combination attack. And when he sent the quick ball that was so similar to Yuki's quality, Riku couldn't help but grin, swinging his arm with his full strength.

"Ha! Eat this, bastards!"