The Date Tech and Karasuno players took their positions on the court to start the game, which would kick off with a serve from Futakuchi.
"We made it in time!" Shimada said, joined today by Takinoue, Saeko, and Akiteru.
"We had to fly here in Saeko's car, but we did it!" Takinoue added as the four of them gathered near the Karasuno cheering section.
"No way in hell I'd miss my Ryu's game like that!" Saeko said confidently after speeding all the way to make it on time.
"Oh, looks like after the third-years graduated and that Kamasaki guy left too, he's the best server they've got now…" Hinata observed.
"Kamasaki… I'm not sure I remember who that is?" Kageyama said thoughtfully, trying to recall who Kamasaki was until he snapped out of it as Futakuchi jumped for a jump serve that rocketed toward Hinata.
"I've got it!" Hinata shouted, charging at the ball and carefully angling his wrist to hit it hard with his arm, successfully receiving it and sending the pass to Kageyama.
"Nice! Their defense isn't ready!" Shimada cheered after Hinata's solid receive.
"Yeah! But they still have to get past that wall!" Akiteru commented, watching Kageyama position himself under the ball for a set while the rest of the Karasuno team started running for a synchronized attack. It first went toward Tanaka, who faked a spike and let it pass, tricking Aone into an early jump. Aone landed and watched the ball head for Tsukishima instead, forcing him to jump again quickly alongside Koganegawa and Obara. They faced Tsukishima, who tipped the ball just past Aone's delayed block, sending it flying to the back of the court.
1-0 Karasuno
"AWESOME SPIKE, KEI!" Akiteru yelled, unable to hide his joy at seeing his little brother score, though he quickly regretted it when Tsukishima shot him an annoyed look.
"Tsk! Is he seriously gonna show up to every game from now on?!" Tsukishima grumbled with a displeased expression.
"Looks like it! HAHAHA!" Tanaka teased, enjoying Tsukishima's frustration.
"Hey, Ryu! I wanna see you score a ton in this game, got it, you idiot?!" Saeko shouted, annoyed by Tanaka's lack of points in the last game against Wakutani.
"Got it!" Tanaka replied, slightly embarrassed as he glanced at Saeko in the stands.
"Damn it! She wants me to score big against a team famous for blocking!" Tanaka muttered, sounding fed up.
"Seems that way!" Tsukishima taunted with a sly grin.
In the next play, Kageyama leaped and smashed a powerful serve toward Date Tech's court.
"It's mine!" Sakunami called, rushing to where the ball would land and managing a shaky receive.
"Tsk!" Kageyama grunted.
"Almost! Let's focus on defense!" Daichi warned, watching the ball head toward Koganegawa.
"Aone-san!" Koganegawa said energetically, jumping to set the ball high for Aone, who then leaped and tried to slam it hard toward Karasuno's floor—until Nishinoya dove in for a skillful receive.
"Nice receive!" Kageyama praised, getting ready to set.
"Tanaka-san!" Kageyama called, tossing the ball to Tanaka at position four.
"I'll use my special move—the straight spike!" Tanaka thought, jumping sideways to the left and facing a triple block led by Aone. As Tanaka went for his over-the-line shot, Aone swiftly and firmly moved his hands, pulling off a clean block that sent the ball crashing to the floor.
1-1 Tie
"Damn it! It's always a pain facing these guys!" Tanaka complained, staring at Aone, who looked calm and unshaken.
"It's just the first attack! You're still warming up," Daichi encouraged.
"You're thinking about that set, aren't you?" Hinata asked Kageyama, who was staring at Koganegawa, deep in thought.
"Yeah… the spike came from a really high point, making it tough for our block…" Kageyama analyzed.
"Something like that happened in Tokyo when I played setter and set one for Lev, but I couldn't keep that kind of precision going all the time," Hinata reflected.
After Date Tech's point, Koganegawa served clumsily toward Karasuno's court.
"I've got this!" Hinata said, easily receiving the serve and passing it to Kageyama, who watched another synchronized attack take shape. This time, it went to Daichi, who faked a spike but let the ball pass—though it didn't fool anyone. The ball then flew to the back of the court toward Hinata, who took a powerful leap, facing a triple block forming in front of him.
"BOOM!"
After smashing the ball hard, it zipped past Aone's arms—he couldn't block it—and exploded off Futakuchi's arms as he tried to receive.
2-1 Karasuno
"That's the Karasuno ace's first big moment!" an excited fan shouted.
"Is it just me, or do their spikes seem stronger than before?" another fan wondered, impressed by Hinata's hit.
"I'm not losing, Aone-san!" Hinata declared, staring at Aone.
"Neither am I…" Aone replied firmly, startling Hinata and even his own teammates, who rarely heard him speak.
"I didn't know that guy could talk!" Tanaka said with a grin.
"Well, you knew he could block—like he did on your last attack!" Tsukishima mocked.
"Shut up! We're teammates here, you know!" Tanaka snapped, annoyed.
"Both of you, quiet! Tsukishima, it's your turn to sub out!" Daichi said, mildly irritated, pointing to the bench.
Substitution: Tsukishima out, Yamaguchi in (serve)
Substitution: Nishinoya out, Asahi in