April 3rd, DESEO Hornets hosted EJP Raijin at their ho court.
Interestingly, due to regular season rankings, the Final Four had lined up into quite a curious pairing: Black Jackals vs. AD, DH vs. EJP—both of which had seen the first team sweep the second during the regular season.
But AD's victory over Black Jackals two days earlier had reignited hope among EJP fans.
Right—who cares about the regular season? What really matters is who's stronger in the playoffs!
Even though EJP, last season's champion, had embarrassingly lost ho-court advantage, their fans still flooded Toyota Arena en masse to show their support.
For the first ti, a DH ho ga saw a packed stadium.
"Let's give it everything we've got out there!" Coach Nick bead.
"No pressure—we're a damn strong team."
-----
"BEEP—!"
The warm-ups ended, and both teams walked onto the court.
EJP Raijin's starting lineup:
Front row—Setter Sengoku Chisato, Middle Blocker Washio Tatsuki, Outside Hitter Akutsu Ao.
Back row—Outside Hitter Evan Krauss, Middle Blocker Suna Rintarō (Libero: Komori Motoya) and Opposite Hitter Kitō Yūkan.
DESEO Hornets' starting lineup:
Front row—Outside Hitter Kujō Reiji, Setter Iizuna Tsukasa, Middle Blocker Tom Wilde.
Back row—Middle Blocker Nitta Asahiro (Libero: Kubo Wataru), Opposite Hitter Yoshii Hiyu and Outside Hitter Kaedehara Taichi.
Match begins—DH to serve first.
Kaedehara Taichi stepped up to the service line, eyes scanning the EJP back row.
Sure enough, the opponents had already set up a five-man receive formation.
Komori Motoya—Receive 96
Kitō Yūkan—Receive 96
Sengoku Chisato—Receive 92
Akutsu Ao—Receive 90
"Not bad," Taichi mused to himself. "Let's treat this like a dress rehearsal for facing AD."
A sly smile curved on his lips. At the whistle, he tossed the ball lightly into the air.
BOOM!!!
He went full power from the very first serve!
The ball rocketed straight at Komori Motoya!
Taichi was attempting to overwhelm him with raw speed and power!
SMACK!!!
Motoya was blasted backwards, rolling to absorb the impact as the ball shot high into the air!
"Save it—!"
Evan Krauss chased the ball toward the sideline, managing to hook it up with one hand just before crashing into the sponsor board.
"Damn it!"
But the ball veered behind the advertising board—out of bounds.
Ace! Direct point off serve!
[DH 1 – 0 EJP]
—"ACE!!!"
—"Kaedehara Taichi opens the match with a service point!"
"As expected of you, Motoya," Taichi chuckled, "but do your best with the next one too, okay~?"
Komori's heart sank. What the hell…? Is he seriously targeting right from the start?
"Tweet!—" The second serve whistle blew.
Taichi served again.
BOOM!!!—
SMACK!!!
The mont the ball made contact, Komori's body locked up. He dropped backwards onto the floor.
The ball bounced straight past him toward the baseline—no chance for a save…
Back-to-back service points for Kaedehara Taichi!
[DH 2 – 0 EJP]
"Damn it!"
Komori pounded the floor in frustration. He'd seen the trajectory, knew he could reach it—but he just couldn't manage the force Taichi packed into each ball.
"Fufufu~"
Kaedehara Taichi gazed at him with keen amusent.
These so-called "geniuses"—already with one foot in the spotlight as soon as they went pro…God, I really want to break them.
"Tweet!—"
Taichi tossed the ball high—
One step, two, three—
Then leapt and slamd it down.
—BOOM!!!
A blur flashed across the court.
THUD!!!
The entire arena fell silent.
"A—C—E—!!!"
The ball landed right on the baseline behind Komori, then bounced out.
No one touched it.
Third consecutive service point!
[DH 3 – 0 EJP]
"121 km/h!"
"???"
The EJP coach and manager stared at each other in disbelief.
This monster's already in full rhythm? What do we even do? Call a tiout? But it's only been two minutes!
Kaedehara Taichi stood at the line, switching the ball between his palms, slapping it rhythmically.
"Tweet!—"
He caught the ball and tossed it again. Approach, leap, swing—impact!
BOOM!!!—
"Move, move—!"
Komori saw the ball coming toward his front left, but his feet felt like they'd been nailed to the floor.
THUD!!!
He dove—
But didn't even co close to touching the ball.
Point four. Scored by DH.
[DH 4 – 0 EJP]
"Beep! Tiout requested by EJP."
Coach Otani couldn't hold back any longer—he had to stop the bleeding.
Yes, calling a tiout this early could crush morale—
But honestly, there wasn't much morale left to protect.
His only hope was that the tiout might just cool down Kaedehara Taichi's blazing-hot service streak.
-----
"Taichi, your serve is just...too insane!"
Tom Wilde ca charging toward Kaedehara Taichi in excitent.
Taichi sidestepped him without a word and walked to a corner of the bench in the resting area, quietly sitting down.
"Tom, give him so space for now," Iizuna Tsukasa called out. "He doesn't look like he's done having fun."
-----
The tiout ended quickly, and both teams returned to the court.
Kaedehara Taichi stood once more at the service line. His left arm extended forward, palm flat beneath the ball, eyes scanning the EJP back row over the top of it.
Not a single player looked away.
The entire EJP lineup stared back at him with unflinching focus.
"As expected of professionals… Their ntal fortitude is solid."
Taichi tossed the ball up again—his fifth serve.
BOOM!!!
THUD!!!
The ball struck Evan Krauss' wrist and deflected violently.
It flew under the net and into DH's court.
Reception error.
Kaedehara Taichi scores again!
[DH 5 – 0 EJP]
Sixth serve.
The ball slamd into the sideline on EJP's right and bounced out.
Line touch! Point for DH!
Kaedehara Taichi's serve scores again!
[DH 6 – 0 EJP]
Seventh serve.
The ball smacked off Kitō Yūkan's shoulder and flew out of bounds.
Reception error.
Another point from Taichi's serve!
[DH 7 – 0 EJP]
Eighth serve.
The ball crashed near Akutsu Ao's feet and bounced back up into the air.
No player touched it.
Another serve point!
[DH 8 – 0 EJP]
"Wait, am I dreaming right now?"
That was the reaction not only from the fans in the arena, but viewers across the country watching the live broadcast.
"Is this…really a professional match?"
"The reigning champs EJP are being toyed with like this?"
And yet—this was a team that had strengthened its reception lineup this season by bringing in Komori Motoya.
He was unanimously voted Best Rookie Libero by the official league site, with not a single dissenting vote.
Even beyond that, EJP still had Kitō Yūkan, a national-team player, and their ultimate ace and last season's MVP, Akutsu Ao...
And still—they couldn't even receive a single one of Kaedehara Taichi's serves after five full minutes of play!
"Tweet!—"
The serve whistle sounded again—
In the ears of EJP fans, it rang like a death knell.
Kaedehara Taichi launched his ninth serve.
BOOOM!!!
Sengoku Chisato braced to et it head-on, but the ball drove his arms straight downward.
WHAM!!!
"—?!"
The ball barely lost any height—just bounced forward a little—then dropped to the floor.
Reception error.
Another service point.
[DH 9 – 0 EJP]
"What else is there to say?! Kaedehara Taichi is the literal god of serving!"
The comntator could barely keep his throat from going hoarse.
Taichi glanced at the digital scoreboard and let out a small laugh.
It seed…now was the ti.
BOOOOOM!!!
Taichi unleashed his tenth serve!
THUD!!!
The ball thundered through EJP's backcourt and rocketed back into the air.
No one touched it.
[DH 10 – 0 EJP]
"132 km/h!!!"
"In bounds!"
Kaedehara Taichi has destroyed the match with his serve.
_________
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