Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty-Chapter 510: All Liberos?!
Hoshiumi Kōrai served for the third time.
Bokuto Kōtarō received the ball and quickly pulled back to start his approach.
Miya Atsumu sent a high set toward the right wing—Bokuto leapt from the back row and went for the spike!
"Double block!" Matia Bottono and Sokolov Tatsuto rose in unison.
BOOM!!—
The ball shot past the left side of the block.
A vicious diagonal smash!
Smack!!!
Heiwajima Toshirō and Tsunotate Kazuki were both guarding the corner—
The ball struck Heiwajima's arm and popped high into the air!
"Save it!"
The ball veered out across the opposite sideline.
"I got it!"
Hoshiumi Kōrai dashed in from outside the right sideline and tossed the ball back in front of the net.
Sokolov Tatsuto leapt and spiked!
BOOM!
"First touch!"
The ball deflected off Adriah Thomas's block and popped upward.
Miya Atsumu jumped from the three-meter line—Bokuto leapt again from the back row for another attack!
"Double block!" AD's front row rose again, anticipating either another second-touch from Atsumu or Bokuto's rapid attack!
Whoosh—!
But Atsumu sent a back set to the far left—Sakusa Kiyoomi pounced and spiked it down!
BAM!!!—
Smack!
The ball struck Tsunotate Kazuki's arm and ricocheted downward—
Out of bounds!
Smack!
Heiwajima Toshirō dove and just barely saved it in time!
Matia Bottono set the ball high over the middle—Ushijima Wakatoshi came soaring in from the back row.
Pipe attack!
"Triple block!" Sakusa, Adriah Thomas, and Miya Atsumu all jumped together!
BOOM!!—
The impact knocked Atsumu's arm wide open.
"First touch!"
The ball shot upward.
They held on!
Inunaki Shion calmly received the ball and deliberately slowed the tempo.
Atsumu called out a signal and adjusted the pass.
Sakusa and Adriah were ready at the front, Bokuto and Oliver Barnes lined up from the back—
Black Jackals launched a full four-point attack!
AD left two blockers at the net while the other four spread out in a wide receive formation.
—BOOM!!!
Oliver Barnes struck from the back row—facing a solo block from Matia Bottono, he slammed a high over-the-block spike!
Smack!!
Ushijima dug it cleanly!
"AD's defence is unreal!!!"
The ball flew out from the front-left corner. Tsunotate Kazuki chased after it and smoothly sent it all the way across to the far right.
"This guy's setting is no worse than a real setter!"
Atsumu's eyes narrowed.
Even with a poor first touch, AD adjusted through their second contact and still kept a fluid rhythm in offense!
Sokolov Tatsuto jumped for a spike from the left.
"Double block!"
WHIFF!
He swung and missed—it was a feint!
Suddenly, Hoshiumi Kōrai emerged behind him!
—BOOM!
The ball soared above the collapsing block and smashed straight into the centre of Black Jackals' court.
Hoshiumi Kōrai scores!
[Black Jackals 22 – 25 AD]
"What the hell…AD's too damn strong…"
"Even Black Jackals can't break through AD's defence?"
"Beeep—!"
The long whistle sounded.
Set One is over.
Winner: Schweiden Adlers.
-----
"Taichi…you don't think Black Jackals is actually going to lose to AD, do you?"
Even Tom Wilde was a little stunned by the result of the first set.
Black Jackals hadn't made any obvious mistakes—it was just that AD's defence was impenetrable.
"It's hard to say," said Kaedehara Taichi, "but one thing's for sure—Black Jackals definitely won't be winning this as easily as the media predicted before the match."
After all, Black Jackals was the strongest offensive team in the league. AD could handle their attacks, but that didn't mean they could defend every single time.
Between the two teams, AD's clear advantage was in receiving, while the more noticeable gap lay in the setter position…
"I remember Atsumu is one of your acquaintances, right?"
Tom Wilde gestured subtly toward Miya Atsumu and whispered, "He seems scarier than Tsukasa. How do I put it…it feels like every ball he sets forces the attacker to go all in and score."
"Yeah…Best Rookie Setter of the season is definitely going to be Atsumu."
Taichi sounded slightly impressed.
Tom's instinct in this area was even sharper than that of Kindaichi Yūtarō.
Just a year into his pro career, Miya's setting stat had already risen to 97—and Taichi hadn't seen a higher number yet.
But Atsumu's 88 in receiving still made him the obvious target in Black Jackals' rotation.
That's probably why Black Jackals would eventually need Hinata Shōyō—with the team's current composition, someone like Hinata, who was technically complete, would be far more effective against a team like AD than Oliver Barnes, who had clear strengths in offence and blocking but wasn't as well-rounded.
And meanwhile, AD was already planning to bring in Kageyama Tobio next season.
Once that happened, their core defence would remain intact, while both Tsunotate Kazuki and Hoshiumi Kōrai could be fully unleashed on offence…
Compared to that, DH hadn't made any major transfer moves so far…
-----
[MSBY Black Jackals 22 – 25 Schweiden Adlers]
[MSBY Black Jackals 30 – 28 Schweiden Adlers]
[MSBY Black Jackals 25 – 22 Schweiden Adlers]
[MSBY Black Jackals 20 – 25 Schweiden Adlers]
[MSBY Black Jackals 17 – 19 Schweiden Adlers]
Final score: Schweiden Adlers defeats MSBY Black Jackals 3–2 and advances to the finals!
To be fair, it wasn't quite an "upset," but the match had certainly been dramatic and filled with suspense.
In Sets 2 and 3, Black Jackals had gone all-out on offence, showcasing a dizzying array of attack combinations.
Bokuto Kōtarō stepped up in the second set, spiking 18 times and scoring 14 points, plus 2 direct points off his serve—16 points in a single set to lead Black Jackals to a win.
In the third set, AD's offence faltered.
Black Jackals gradually adapted to AD's rhythm, applying pressure at the net and managing to take another set.
From 0–1 to 2–1—
The momentum shifted in an instant.
But then, the fourth set took another turn.
Coach Suzaku of AD decisively reduced Tsunotate Kazuki's attacks and shifted the formation into a "double setter" system, giving more offensive touches to Hoshiumi Kōrai.
The key moment was when Ushijima Wakatoshi held his ground against both Bokuto Kōtarō and Sakusa Kiyoomi.
Even without talking about the fifth set, Black Jackals' scoreline in each set had been gradually declining:
From 30 to 25, then to 20. Under the relentless pressure of AD's defence, their attack efficiency had clearly dropped, and their scoring capacity had been visibly diminished.
The scoreboard didn't tell the full story—
Each set (except the fifth) had lasted over forty minutes.
---
[Ushijima Wakatoshi—Outside Hitter:Height: 192 cm
Serve: 94 | Receive: 92 | Dig: 90 | Set: 88 | Spike: 96| Block: 90
Spike Reach: 358 cm /Block Reach: 335 cm.]
[Matia Bottono—Setter:Height: 190 cm
Serve: 89 | Receive: 90 | Dig: 92 | Set: 94 | Spike: 88| Block: 85
Spike Reach: 340 cm /Block Reach: 318 cm.]
[Hirugami Fukurō—Middle Blocker:Height: 197 cm
Serve: 92 | Receive: 88 | Dig: 92 | Set: 88 | Spike: 94| Block: 95
Spike Reach: 355 cm /Block Reach: 333 cm.]
[Sokolov Tatsuto—Middle Blocker:Height: 201 cm
Serve: 90 | Receive: 85 | Dig: 90 | Set: 88 | Spike: 92| Block: 95
Spike Reach: 352 cm /Block Reach: 339 cm.]
---
"Three liberos? Honestly, the entire AD team plays like liberos," Kaedehara Taichi muttered in amazement.
Even though both of AD's middle blockers had slightly weaker receiving skills, they made up for it with exceptional agility and digging ability.
Throughout this match, AD's off-the-ball defence, coordination, and transition plays had been absolutely mesmerising.
It reminded Kaedehara Taichi of something—
Though DH had successfully avenged their loss to AD back in February, looking at AD's form now…half of DH's spikes in that game wouldn't have scored.
"Winning the championship…might not be as easy as I thought."
Taichi stood up, a flicker of excitement rising in his chest.
"But before that—let's take down EJP properly!"
_________
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