Directly facing Asahi Azumane, who stands at 186cm tall, were Issei Matsukawa at 187cm and Takahiro Hanamaki at 184cm.
Before Akashi Asuka and Yutaro Kindaichi joined Aoba Johsai, Matsukawa and Hanamaki were the team's main blockers.
And even after Akashi and Kindaichi joined… Matsukawa and Hanamaki still remained the main defensive pillars at the net.
Why? Simply put, they're tall.
Aoba Johsai's current starting lineup is truly sothing special. Especially with Shinji Watari rotating to the back row and temporarily subbed out, all six players currently on the court have remarkable height.
Their heights are as follows: 189cm, 187cm, 185cm, 184cm, 184cm, and 179cm.
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While the last player might seem slightly out of place among giants, overall, this starting lineup ranks among the tallest in the nation.
More importantly, all six players have outstanding blocking and spiking techniques.
The wing spikers and middle blockers are responsible for offense and defense at the net, but Oikawa Tooru, despite being a setter, is a true all-rounder.
Because of that, aside from Oikawa as the core setter, the positional boundaries among the other five players are practically blurred.
This is especially evident when it cos to blocking.
Aoba Johsai's rotation allows any front-row player to beco a solid wall.
Take now, for example:
Even though Hanamaki and Matsukawa have taken more of a secondary blocking role since Akashi and Kindaichi joined, they're still capable of shutting down Karasuno's attacks.
The referee's whistle blew, and the scorecard flipped again.
10–3.
This latest block felt like an added boulder pressing down on the already heavy atmosphere surrounding Karasuno.
At the sa ti, both Karasuno and the spectators realized sothing important: as intimidating as Aoba Johsai's serving ga had been, their blocking was proving to be the bigger obstacle.
"What's going on? Didn't Karasuno beat Date Tech just yesterday? Why do they seem so weak today?"
"Idiot. It's not that Karasuno's weak, their opponents are just insanely strong."
"Aaaah~~ Oikawa-senpai!!"
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Oikawa Tooru's fangirls stood at the front of the bleachers, forming what was arguably the most "infuriating" scenery in the entire gym.
Watching the girls cheer wildly for Oikawa, not only did the Karasuno players get irritated, even so of Aoba Johsai's own teammates wanted to smack him.
Unfortunately, mid-match wasn't the best ti for violence.
Akashi Asuka continued his serves. However, this ti he made a mistake. The ball slipped from his grip and flew out of bounds.
10–4.
The error gave Karasuno a much-needed lifeline.
With the serve back in Karasuno's hands, their libero Nishinoya reentered the back row. With his talent anchoring their defense, Karasuno's backcourt felt instantly stronger.
anwhile, Aoba Johsai's offensive power dipped slightly with Akashi rotating to the back.
This led to several back-and-forth rallies.
10–5.
11–5.
11–6.
12–6.
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"I see now… You guys changed your signals right before today's match, didn't you? Was it that sharp-eyed, good-looking guy who subbed out earlier who gave you the tip?"
After another successful Freak Quick attack over Kindaichi's block, Oikawa finally confird his theory.
He had studied Karasuno's match footage before this ga, and in previous matches, Hinata Shoyo always shouted sothing before launching into the Freak Quick.
From that, Oikawa had nearly figured out the code words, "over here" or "give it to ", were Hinata's cues.
But in today's match, Hinata hadn't said anything.
At first, Oikawa thought he'd been wrong. But once Oda Mikki stepped onto the court and he started observing closely, he realized it wasn't his mistake, soone had predicted what he would figure out.
Kageyama Tobio's expression shifted slightly.
Just as Oikawa had guessed, they had changed the signals last night, thanks to Oda Mikki's advice.
But there was one thing Oikawa had gotten wrong.
Oda Mikki didn't predict Oikawa, because at this point, he didn't even know much about him.
The change was simply a precaution.
Recently, Oda had been reading a very interesting novel. The protagonist, while a bit odd, often made rational and strategic choices. Mikki had been heavily influenced by it.
Boom!
Smack!
After a brief exchange, Oikawa and Kindaichi tead up to block Tanaka's spike. Aoba Johsai scored again.
13–7.
They regained the serve, and Akashi Asuka rotated back to the front row.
As soon as Akashi returned to the net, the entire Karasuno lineup felt a suffocating pressure descend on them, making their breathing heavier.
"No need to look so tense. I'm not that much of a demon, am I?" Akashi said with a smile.
At that mont, Aoba Johsai's back-row player sent the ball over the net, landing cleanly in Karasuno's backcourt. Nishinoya received it and passed it to Kageyama Tobio.
Whoosh!
Without hesitation, Kageyama launched into a Freak Quick.
The ball sliced through the air in a near-straight line, flying over the net and landing perfectly in front of a leaping Hinata, who already had his arm cocked back, eyes shut in preparation.
"Ooh~~ that was fast. But after watching it so many tis, I've finally got the timing down."
Akashi's eyes tracked the flight of the ball. Just as it reached Hinata's spike zone, he moved.
With his long 180 cm legs powered by a 185 cm fra, Akashi covered the distance in a single step and arrived right in front of Hinata at the exact mont he swung.
Boom!
Smack!
The sound of impact echoed across the gym.
Sensing sothing wrong with the timing of the ball's landing, Hinata opened his eyes in midair, only to see Akashi Asuka's calm gaze directly in front of him.
Thud~~
Hinata landed.
At the sa ti, the referee's whistle blew for the point. Hinata, still dazed, turned his head toward the scoreboard.
14–7.
For a mont, his mind went completely blank.
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