A match was underway between Karasuno and Nekoma, with the score at 21-17 in favor of Karasuno.
"ALRIGHT, SEND IT OVER!" Tanaka shouted excitedly toward Kageyama, who paused for a moment but then decided to set the ball to Tanaka.
"IT'S TIME FOR THE STRAIGHT SPIKE!" Tanaka thought as he jumped after seeing Kageyama send the ball his way. But mid-air, he noticed a triple block forming in front of him, made up of Kuroo, Kenma, and Lev, who had begged the Nekoma players to let him play as a wing spiker, inspired by Hinata, a tall wing spiker. However, as predicted by the Nekoma players themselves, most of Karasuno's points had been scored by targeting Lev on defense, who had been allowed to play as a wing spiker because Nekomata wanted to show him in practice that it wasn't a good fit for him.
"LEV, CLOSE YOUR ARMS! CLOSE YOUR ARMS!" Kuroo yelled, already slightly irritated with Lev as the match progressed.
"Got it!" Lev said, jumping alongside Kuroo and Kenma to block Tanaka.
"DAMN IT!" Tanaka thought, realizing his attack wasn't going to work. So, he aimed the ball at Lev's hands, trying to send it back to Karasuno's side toward Daichi.
"One more!" Daichi said as he received the ball and directed it to Kageyama.
"You suck, baldy!" Kuroo taunted Tanaka.
"What did you say? KAGEYAMA, ONE MORE!" Tanaka shouted angrily as he watched Kageyama jump and set the ball his way.
"TAKE THIS!" Tanaka yelled, facing the same triple block with even more determination. He executed his Inner Cross perfectly, a diagonal spike that slipped past Kenma's arms and landed near the centerline of the court.
"That spike has such a sharp trajectory..." Kenma sighed after giving up the point to Tanaka.
"Don't underestimate me, you bastard! You're gonna get tired of taking these hits from me real soon!" Tanaka said triumphantly to Kuroo, who just kept his usual smile and ignored him.
"NOW IT'S MY TURN AGAIN!" Hinata said with a grin as he grabbed the ball and headed to the serving position.
"NO! HE'S GONNA TARGET ME AGAIN! YAKU-SAN, HELP ME!" Lev said, slightly panicked, as the last time Hinata served, he aimed all his serves at Lev, who got hit three times in a row before being saved by Yaku stepping in.
"Coach's orders, Lev... If you want to be Nekoma's wing spiker and Ace, you've got to handle Hinata's serves. Otherwise..." Yaku said, making a slicing motion across his neck with his thumb.
"BOOM!"
"BOOM!"
"BOOM!"
"BOOM!"
The game ended with four consecutive aces from Hinata targeting Lev, who watched as the ball hit his wrists twice and the other two times landed quickly beside him on the floor.
"THAT'S NOT FAIR! YOU SHOULD'VE AIMED AT SOMEONE ELSE!" Lev complained, pouting as he approached Hinata.
"You must be crazy. I'm not gonna aim at your team's skilled receivers when I've got a 1.94-meter-tall point farm standing in defense! Go pay your penalty," Hinata said, laughing.
"Well, Lev... now that you've seen what it takes to be a wing spiker, are you still going to pursue this?" Yaku asked.
"No, Yaku-san... I get it now... and honestly, I don't need to be like Hinata! I'll be an Ace, but as a middle blocker!" Lev said, already getting excited as he started running up the green hill.
"Well, at least it only cost us one match for him to come to his senses..." Kenma sighed as he also started running up the hill.
After the friendly matches ended, free practice time began, and as usual, Hinata and Tsukishima went to train with Kuroo and Bokuto, along with Asahi this time. Additionally, Yamaguchi approached Nishinoya.
"Nishinoya-san, could you help me by receiving my serves?" Yamaguchi asked hesitantly, while Kinoshita, who was just watching, joined the conversation.
"Actually, I also wanted to learn how to do a float serve, so I need both of your help..." Kinoshita said, scratching the back of his head.
"Hmm, actually, this could help me too! After getting some tips from Heiwajima, who's a real genius, he quickly pointed out my weaknesses, which I already knew about—my overhead receive or pass," Nishinoya said energetically.
"Is there room for one more?" Daichi asked as he approached.
"What? You also want to learn how to do a float serve, Daichi-san?" Nishinoya asked.
"Yeah! Everyone's working on something new, and all I've got is my leadership and solid receives. I think it wouldn't hurt to at least try to improve my serve a little... I don't think I'll become an expert like you two are planning, but something to at least bother the opposing defenses every now and then..." Daichi said humbly.
"Alright... To do a float serve, the server needs to toss the ball straight and high, and when hitting it, strike it with your fingers together, not spread apart, to prevent it from spinning... and hit the ball while looking where you want it to go..." Yamaguchi tried to explain, still hesitant about teaching others something he hadn't fully mastered himself.
"Like this!" Yamaguchi said as he performed a float serve toward Nishinoya.
"Now... it's mine!" Nishinoya said, but he misjudged the timing, and the ball fell in front of him before he could make the overhead receive.
"Darn it! I get too nervous," Nishinoya said, frustrated.
"Don't worry, we're all here to practice! Now it's my turn to try this float serve!" Daichi said, taking the lead and making Nishinoya focus completely again as he watched Daichi follow the steps Yamaguchi had explained. Daichi hit the ball, which traveled across the court but then hit the net and fell back on their side.
"Tsk! This is tough!" Daichi said in a playful tone, though there was a hint of frustration in his voice.