"Today is the final!"
"So many people came! It filled up so fast—good thing I arrived early!"
"I wonder which team will win today?"
"To be honest, I'm more optimistic about Karasuno! Akira's serve yesterday was seriously cool!"
"No way! I still think Mujinazaka has a better shot!"
"After all, they have one of the nation's top three aces—Wakatsu Kiryū from Kyushu!"
...
Shortly after the venue opened, it was already packed.
The crowd buzzed with excitement about the upcoming final.
And the players from both teams had arrived early to warm up!
This final attracted thousands of eyes from across the country.
Everyone watching, anticipating—
What does top-tier volleyball in Japan really look like?
"Hello, audience!"
"Today's match is the Interhigh National Volleyball Tournament! The Men's Final!"
"Competing today are the representative from Oita Prefecture — Mujinazaka High School!"
"And from Miyagi Prefecture — Karasuno High School!"
"What kind of spectacular match will these two powerhouses, who have battled through countless strong teams to reach the finals, present for us?"
"Please stay tuned!!"
...
With the passionate voice of the commentator echoing through the arena, the long-awaited final began.
As the players from both sides officially entered, the match that the entire country had been waiting for kicked off!
In the toss, Mujinazaka won the right to choose sides.
As a result, Karasuno got the first serve!
At the sound of the referee's whistle, Hinata served the ball!
The target was Kiryū in the back row!
But as one of the nation's top aces, Kiryū was formidable both in offense and defense.
Unlike Ushijima, who doesn't participate in serve receive and focuses solely on attacking, Kiryū is a capable defender as well.
Smack!
Hinata's serve was easily received by him!
Usuri then immediately set the ball out to the flank!
And there, Ezota was already on the move!
Their entire offensive sequence flowed with remarkable smoothness—
At a glance, it was clear they'd practiced this play hundreds of times!
But on the other side of the net, Karasuno wasn't about to back down!
The moment Usuri set the ball, three players rushed to the left wing to form the block!!
Smack!
Ezota's spike slammed into their block and rebounded high behind!
"One touch!!" Kageyama shouted.
From the back row, Nishinoya dashed beneath the ball and delivered a solid pass back to the front!
Immediately, Kageyama jumped for a set!
Whoosh!
The ball drew a perfect arc in the air, flying toward Akira!
"Right wing!"
The players from Mujinazaka had studied plenty of Karasuno's match footage—
So they weren't surprised by this first attack sequence.
Three of their front-row players instantly closed in on Akira!
Among them was the 190cm middle blocker, Keisuke Unnan!
A third-year, his blocking experience was top-tier!
The moment Akira jumped, all three blockers jumped with him!!
But Akira spotted a gap on the edge of the block!
Boom!
A sharp straight shot blasted through!!
The defenders in the back row didn't even have time to react—it slammed cleanly onto the floor!
A crushing spike!
Tweet!!
The referee's whistle blew.
Point—Karasuno!!
"Facing Mujinazaka's towering triple block,"
"Akira scores the first point of the match with a powerful straight shot from the right wing!!"
The commentator's voice rang out at the perfect moment!
Karasuno took the early lead!
Serve continues!
Across the net, the Mujinazaka players weren't surprised by that last point.
They had already witnessed Akira's devastating spikes in yesterday's match.
So failing to block it now was within expectations.
However, a flicker of urgency passed through the minds of the Mujinazaka players.
At their tactical meeting yesterday, they had made a clear plan.
In the first set, everyone's mission was to drain Akira's stamina as much as possible!!
And in the semifinal match against Inarizaki, they had seen something else:
Akira had a strange type of spike.
This mysterious spike wreaked havoc on Inarizaki's back-row defense!
They couldn't properly receive any of Akira's spikes for a long time!!
Based on video analysis and team discussions, Mujinazaka's players had come to a conclusion—
That mysterious spike… had spin on it!
A spinning spike—just like Sakusa's!
But the exact mechanics were still unclear.
What kind of spin was it that pushed a powerhouse like Inarizaki to the brink?
Inarizaki is no average team.
Even for Mujinazaka, facing them requires serious strategy and assessment.
But even Inarizaki had no answer to Akira's enigmatic spike??
In the end, they had to use a rare two-setter system to barely stabilize the situation!
Everyone in Mujinazaka was convinced—
If Inarizaki hadn't brought in the double-setter formation to contain Akira's mysterious spike…
Then in the final stretch of that match, they never would've lasted beyond 30 points against Karasuno!!
There's clearly something deeper going on here.
What kind of spike could make Inarizaki so helpless?
That's why—before this final even began—Mujinazaka had already made a plan for the first set:
To completely decipher what Akira's spinning spike is all about!!