Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty - Chapter 602: The Ace (Double-Length)
The timeout ended. San Juan returned to serve.
“Tweet!—”
Oikawa Tōru tossed the ball high, took his approach, leapt, and smashed it!
BOOM!!!
The timeout had no effect on his rhythm—his serve flew over the net in a low arc before plunging straight down!
SMACK!
Paweł dove forward and managed to save it, the first pass flying diagonally toward the net.
Christensen quickly filled in, and the ball was perfectly set to the left wing. León soared to spike!
“Double block!” Taichi and Ramos leapt up in unison.
Two blockers in front—León’s straight-line shot was completely shut down!
—BOOM!!!
But the ball slipped just over Taichi’s outstretched block.
Smack!
It was received!
Santiago dug it out, and Bruno stepped in to set. Conte launched a back-row quick!
“Fast transition!”
Jakub and Kurek crossed steps to the right, jumping to block.
BOOM!!!
A sharp diagonal!
Conte’s back-row spike was aimed precisely at the left deep corner of Lublin’s court!
SMACK!
The ball squeezed past the left side of the block, striking Christensen’s arm and flying out of bounds!
Paweł couldn’t get to it in time.
Conte scored!
[San Juan 24 – 21 Lublin]
“A crucial point! San Juan snatches set point!”
“What a smooth counterattack from San Juan! Conte stayed remarkably composed—he’s maintained his stellar form from previous matches!”
“With three set points in hand, things aren’t looking good for Lublin this set!”
San Juan continued to serve.
Oikawa Tōru served for the third time!
BOOM!!!
The pressure from his heavy serves didn’t let up!
Ushijima Wakatoshi barely managed to receive it—the first pass only half-connected.
Christensen moved in and set. Lublin launched a triple front-row assault!
San Juan’s blockers were spread thin. Taichi and Ramos had to defend across a three-point front with only two men.
“This is tough—they’re covering three points with just two blockers. That’s nearly impossible.”
Whoosh!—
BOOM!!!
The ball flew toward the right. Kurek avoided the block and hammered it down for a clean score!
[San Juan 24 – 22 Lublin]
“Don’t worry about it!” Conte shouted. “We still control the game!”
Lublin even used León as a decoy runner-up in that play, which proved that San Juan’s blocking was working—Lublin could no longer rely on sheer individual force to break through.
Service changed hands—Lublin to serve.
León walked to the service line.
“This may be Lublin’s last chance to catch up. León is in the back row, and Taichi still has two rotations up front. With San Juan holding set point, León’s serve is absolutely critical!”
“Tweet!—” The whistle blew.
BOOOM!!!
The ball surged through the air, rippling with power.
León’s serve dropped between Bruno and Conte!
“Mine!”
Smack!!!
Conte took the ball, but the pass went awry, flying diagonally out of bounds.
Santiago chased it down and barely bumped it back toward the net.
Taichi jumped for the spike!
“Triple block!” Jakub, Kurek, and Ushijima leapt simultaneously.
The set was too tight to the net—Taichi had no angle for a full-power spike. Instead, he brushed the ball off Jakub’s arm, sending it flying out of bounds.
“Off the block?!”
But León suddenly appeared from behind the block, perfectly cushioning the ball and passing it back to Lublin’s side.
Christensen leapt from the back row and swung hard!
“Naive.” Ramos leapt alone to block.
A back-row attack from a setter? Mere child’s play—
BOOM!!!
The ball bypassed the block and slammed into San Juan’s court!
“—?!”
“Wait, what?!”
Christensen had switched to his left hand at the last second!
He not only avoided the block, but also completely faked out San Juan’s back row defenders!
Christensen scored!
[San Juan 24 – 23 Lublin]
“He’s ambidextrous too?! There was no game footage of that from the Club World Championship!”
“Taichi, ever since that loss to you back in high school, I’ve been training like hell,” Christensen said, eyes locking onto Taichi, who had rotated over from the right. “Just so I could give you this little surprise.”
“It’s definitely a surprise,” Taichi nodded. “For a setter, that was a nice spike.”
“Just a setter?” Christensen smiled cryptically.
“Mm.” Taichi didn’t blink. “Just a setter.”
—–
Lublin continued serving. San Juan kept a five-man reception formation.
Although León’s first serve hadn’t scored directly, it had successfully disrupted San Juan’s offence—and his excellent dig afterwards helped launch the team’s counterattack.
Even beyond the points scored, his performance was nearly flawless.
“Tweet!—”
León tossed the ball, took off, and smashed it!
BOOOM!!!
SMACK!!!
The ball slammed into Taichi’s arm and bounced high into the air.
Clean reception! Perfect pass!
Oikawa Tōru jumped to set—Bruno and Ramos were up front, Conte coming from the back.
Lublin reacted quickly—three blockers moving to match them man-to-man!
Whoosh!—
The ball went right—Ramos rose to spike.
—BOOM!!!
He swung over Ushijima’s block—tooling the block!
Paweł dove and saved it!
“Damn!”
The ball flew toward the baseline—Christensen raced to keep it in play.
“Don’t panic!” Taichi called.
Though the spike hadn’t scored, Ramos’s attack had effectively disrupted Lublin’s counterattack rhythm.
Christensen had no time to organise a multi-point attack—making it much easier for San Juan to defend.
Whoosh!—
The ball flew high to the left. Jakub leapt for a spike!
“Double block!” Taichi and Ramos jumped together.
Jakub swung—but missed! León appeared behind him!
“Knew it.”
Taichi and Ramos jumped again—second jump block! They had anticipated Lublin’s tiered attack!
“Oh?”
A glint of excitement flashed in León’s eyes. His arm suddenly accelerated mid-swing.
—BOOOOM!!!
The ball soared over the double block and smashed near Santiago’s feet in the back row!
“Too fast…”
León scored!
[San Juan 24 – 24 Lublin]
“Lublin strings together three straight points to tie the score!!!”
“They used a decoy in the tiered attack, but León still managed to spike past Taichi’s block from the back row!”
“And the speed—132 km/h!”
“Lublin! Lublin! Lublin!”
“León! León! León!”
Lublin’s comeback electrified the arena. Even while trailing, their composure had never wavered.
“León is fully activated now. The real battle for Set 1 begins here!”
Lublin continued to serve.
“Before this Club World Championship, I thought Trentino’s Alexander was already quite the surprise,” León muttered, slowly spinning the ball in his hands. “Still a bit raw, but with time, he’ll rise to our level.”
“But you,” his gaze zeroed in on Kaedehara Taichi, now standing in the back row, “you’re the one who truly excites me.”
“Tweet!—” The whistle blew.
León tossed the ball high.
“N-Not good—”
BOOOOOM!!!
The ball crashed into Santiago’s shoulder and shot out of bounds…
Monstrous service ace from León!
[San Juan 24 – 25 Lublin]
“W-Whoa! So strong!”
“León changed his serve target and scored directly!”
“138.3 km/h!!!”
“San Juan’s libero Santiago couldn’t react in time!”
“Yes!!” Coach Nicola shouted, fist clenched on the sideline.
Lublin had taken the lead—now they held set point!
“What will you do next?” León grinned at Taichi. “Come on. Show me what makes you different from the rest.”
“Tweet!—”
León launched his fourth serve!
BOOOM!!!
“We’ve got to receive this one!”
SMACK!!!
Santiago caught the ball but fell backwards—the pass floated high and drifted back toward Lublin’s side.
“Nice~”
León gently bumped the ball into perfect position, then charged toward the net!
“All in!”
Christensen shouted, not overly focused on León.
Lublin launched a full triple front-row assault!
“Right side’s mine!” Taichi shouted to Ramos, quickly moving between Jakub and Kurek.
“Taichi?”
Ramos fell silent when he caught a glimpse of Taichi’s expression. Without another word, he shifted all the way to the right, taking on Ushijima Wakatoshi in single coverage.
Christensen cast a quick glance across the net.
“In that case—”
Whoosh!—
The ball flew toward the far left—it was a quick attack!
Just one step short.
Taichi took his final stride and arrived in front of Jakub, who had already leapt.
Thump!
“Watch out!”
The instant Jakub’s palm struck the ball, Taichi’s block was already up!
“Such explosive lift!”
Jakub’s pupils shrank as he twisted his wrist sharply.
The ball zipped toward Taichi’s right side—
BOOM!!!
—but it didn’t get past!
Taichi’s arms dropped just in time to seal the angle—a clean block!
The ball slammed back into Lublin’s court.
SMACK!
León dove to cover it!
“How’s he already there?!”
San Juan’s players collectively tensed.
Christensen moved in and set.
Whoosh!—
Another quick—this time hand-to-hand—and right to the centre!
Kurek jumped in place for the spike!
BOOM!!!
“No way!”
SMACK!!!
Taichi stepped across and blocked again!
“Touch!”
“He’s stopped it again! Kaedehara Taichi’s blocking is unshakable!”
Santiago steadied the ball and passed it perfectly.
Oikawa Tōru jumped to set. In front were Bruno and Ramos; from the back, Conte surged forward.
“Who’s getting the ball?”
Lublin’s front-row blockers spread out, eyes locked on Oikawa.
“He’s not setting?!”
Oikawa slowed the pace instead of feeding the three attackers—he waited.
Taichi adjusted, took his approach, and leapt!
Whoosh!—
The set dropped precisely in front of him—the timing perfect!
“Triple block!” Jakub, Kurek, and Ushijima all jumped.
Oikawa’s choice was absurd—three attackers were ready to go, yet he passed to the one adjusting after two consecutive blocks?
But all doubt was shattered the moment after.
Taichi’s spike tore through the air, smashing off Christensen’s arm and flying out of bounds!
Paweł couldn’t reach it.
Kaedehara Taichi scores!
[San Juan 25 – 25 Lublin]
The score was tied!
“These two—” Kurek stared in disbelief at the duo who had just pulled it off. “How can they pull something like that when they’re one point from losing?”
“It wasn’t reckless,” Ramos, who hadn’t received the ball, said calmly.
“He’s our super ace.”
Serve rotation. San Juan to serve.
Ramos launched a powerful jump serve!
BOOM!!!
The ball struck León’s arm and bounced—half a pass.
“Bad reception?”
“No—he did it on purpose!”
León sacrificed a bit of control to better set himself up for a forward attack.
“Tensen!”
Whoosh!—
Christensen adjusted and placed the ball high on the left wing.
León attacked from the back row!
Taichi and Loser jumped together to block!
BOOM!!!
The ball ricocheted off Taichi’s arm.
“Blocked!”
“Get it—!”
The ball flew far out of bounds. Oikawa chased toward the baseline.
“I got it!” Ramos sprinted as well—judging that it would be difficult for Oikawa to save from that angle.
SMACK!
Ramos jumped and struck the ball back just before it passed the advertising boards!
“What a save!”
Oikawa, back facing the court, sent the ball flying in.
Taichi glanced over his shoulder and tracked its path, then dashed along the right sideline and leapt.
“Triple block!” Jakub, Kurek, and Ushijima jumped.
Paweł stood ready behind Ushijima.
Taichi’s swing came just as the ball, passed from behind, reached his hand.
BOOM!!!
The ball scraped past Kurek’s fingertips!
“He’s insane!”
“He spiked blind—without even seeing the set!”
“Unbelievable! A cross-court shot like that under those conditions?!” Lim muttered, stunned. Having once been a player himself, he all the more grasped how terrifying Taichi truly was.
SMACK!
But León received it.
“Beautiful!”
“Tensen! One more!”
León sprinted forward, loudly calling for the ball.
Taichi landed and immediately shifted to the left.
Whoosh!—
Christensen sent the ball to the right wing.
“What?!”
“He ignored the ace’s call?!”
Even the commentators were shocked by Christensen’s decisiveness.
Taichi skidded to a stop and twisted to leap diagonally for the block.
BOOM!!!
The ball slipped past his hands and slammed into San Juan’s three-meter line.
Ushijima scores!
[San Juan 25 – 26 Lublin]
“Taichi must have subconsciously assumed the set would go to León,” Kuroo Tetsurō murmured.
“He didn’t even read the setter—just rotated straight to the expected spot.”
“That’s how much pressure León puts on San Juan’s defence,” Yaku Morisuke replied. “Any hesitation and you’re a step behind. They’re forced to make decisions on the move.”
“Tensen, you should’ve given me that one,” León said coolly.
Coach Nikola furrowed his brows on the sideline, ready to call the final timeout.
“I don’t mind if you want to challenge Taichi,” Christensen replied without flinching.
“But I intend to secure this first set.”
“You might’ve scored—but my decision had better odds.”
León stared at him for a long moment before his expression relaxed.
“Alright. Your choice wasn’t bad.”
“But don’t make a habit of it.”
Serve rotation. Lublin to serve.
“Hold the line!” Conte shouted.
If they won this rally, San Juan would rotate to Taichi’s serve—tilting the balance back in their favour.
“Tweet!—” The whistle sounded.
Jakub launched a powerful jump serve!
BOOM!!!
The ball dropped between Conte and Oikawa.
“Mine!”
Conte received it—an imperfect pass.
Without hesitation, Oikawa set the ball high to the right.
Kaedehara Taichi jumped to spike!
“Triple block!” Kurek, Ushijima, and Bieniek jumped together.
“Not high enough?” Commentator David’s eyes widened.
Taichi didn’t look like he could reach the ball.
“Setter mismatch?” Lim said in disbelief.
“No, it’s Taichi who jumped low,” Kozume Kenma murmured.
“Low” by Taichi’s standards, that is—which made it look like a bad set to anyone else.
The ball hovered just above the block, but Taichi was only even with their hands.
Normally that would suffice—but this was Lublin’s triple block. And then—
“Wait—!”
“What?!”
In that fleeting moment of airtime—Taichi switched hands and spiked!
The ball flew as the blockers dropped—
and with his left hand, Taichi smashed a diagonal shot!
—BOOM!!!
The ball threaded through above Ushijima, slicing diagonally across the court!
SMACK!
León dug it!!!
“I knew you’d make that shot.”
The ball, spinning from the left-handed spike, struck León’s arm and flew toward the sideline—but he didn’t hesitate.
He ran straight toward the net.
“After all…that’s a setter’s job.”
Thump!
León jumped from the back row. Christensen, from far outside the court, precisely set the ball high to the left.
“Double block!” Loser and Taichi leapt together, directly in front of León.
No way to go over.
“Back to that height already?” León thought in surprise.
“Too bad.”
BOOM!!!
The ball slammed into Loser’s arm and flew far out of bounds.
Conte couldn’t save it.
Off the block—León scores!
[San Juan 25 – 27 Lublin]
“Beeeeep—!”
End of Set 1.
Winner: LUK Lublin.
_________
Source: Webnovel.com, updated by readnovel.co