I have to say, this kind of tactic is still rarely seen!
Because to ignore the gains and losses of a single Set, you need an incredibly strong sense of the bigger picture.
You have to consider the entire lineup of possible matches today!
And this also aligns with their observations of Mujinazaka before the game.
This is a team that excels in all kinds of strategies.
They're great thinkers.
If he guessed correctly...
Mujinazaka is probably planning to play all five sets!
But...
Whether they can drag the match to a fifth set is another question entirely!
"How about it?"
Keishin Ukai turned his gaze toward Akira.
"What if…"
"No problem."
Akira shook his head slightly.
"This level of targeting is nothing."
"And besides…"
"If nothing changes, they'll probably stick to the same tactic in the second set."
Hearing this, the others also nodded thoughtfully.
Since Mujinazaka has already committed to this strategy, they're unlikely to abandon it halfway.
"If Mujinazaka wants to wage a long war of attrition against us at the cost of some points…"
"Then we can take advantage of that mindset! Conserve our strength and win the second set with relatively little effort!"
"And then…"
"Go all out in the third set and take the match!"
"Oh?"
Ukai's eyes lit up.
He had vaguely thought along those lines too, but hadn't figured out how to execute it.
"It's simple," Akira said quickly.
"They're definitely going to keep targeting me with their serves and attacks for a while."
"And I'll play along, reduce my jump serves during the match."
"Even pull back on my attacks during the latter half of the set."
"I'll make it look like I'm exhausted."
"At that point, they'll definitely push harder to break me—come at me with even more offense!"
"But as long as I can receive those attacks, it'll actually be easier for the team to score!"
"Because by then, all their attention will be on me!"
"As long as we win the second set…"
A glint of confidence flashed in Akira's eyes.
"Then in the third set, I'll go all in!"
"Bam! We crush them!"
"By then, even if Mujinazaka has energy left to spare, they'll have no chance to use it!"
Hearing Akira's plan, the rest of Karasuno lit up with excitement.
"That's so you!"
Kageyama walked over and gave Akira a firm pat on the shoulder.
"To come up with such a devious evil plan!"
Akira turned his head with a grin.
"You're just slow on the uptake!"
...
On the other side of the court, the entire Mujinazaka team was analyzing Akira's smash!
"Tell me—what kind of Spike did you receive?"
Michiko Kusumi looked at the group in front of her and asked calmly.
"Bishin, Kiryū, and Mami."
"You each received one just now, right?"
"Yes," Haruma Bishin nodded, his expression thoughtful.
"He Spiked with serious power."
"And... it wasn't like a normal spike."
"It felt like… there was a very strong spin to the left!"
As he spoke, he touched his chin.
"It's strange... because he's not even left-handed."
Just as he finished speaking, Mami added,
"My impression was similar."
"Except… I only felt a very slight spin to the left."
He scratched his head, visibly confused.
"It didn't seem like much at all, right?"
Hearing that, everyone on Mujinazaka frowned.
These were all smashes from Akira.
But the two of them—
Why were their perceptions different?
"You sure you weren't mistaken?"
Keisuke Unnan looked at Mami suspiciously.
"It's the same person spiking—why would you and Bishin feel different things?"
"I don't know!"
Mami rubbed his head, still puzzled.
"What about Kiryū?"
"What kind of ball did you receive?"
"Was the spin strong or weak?"
At that, everyone from Mujinazaka turned their eyes toward Kiryū.
But they saw Kiryū frowning deeply.
Seeing his expression, Michiko Kusumi felt a chill run through her.
A very bad feeling welled up in her gut.
"Kiryū…"
"Don't tell me you also…"
"What I received was a right-handed Spike."
"But the spin on it was even stronger than normal!"
Hearing that, the Mujinazaka players all looked at each other.
Now, they were at a complete loss for words.
After all that analysis and observation—
This is what they came away with?
They could hardly believe it!
The Spikes the three of them received… were completely different?
What on earth is going on?
They had been watching the match the entire time.
It was clearly the same player making the attacks—so why were there three different effects?
Three different spins from one player—how were they supposed to target that?
Now, their minds were nearly blank.
They had no idea how to continue this game.
Whew…
Michiko Kusumi exhaled deeply.
She forced herself to calm down and analyze the situation carefully.