Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty - Chapter 607: A Serious San Juan (Double-Length)

“San Juan takes the second set! The match is now tied at one set apiece!”

“Both teams have each won a set—and even the final scores were identical.”

“The third set begins!”

LUK Lublin’s lineup:

Front row—Setter Micah Christenson, Middle Blocker Jakub Kochanowski, Outside hitter Wilfredo León.

Back row—Outside Hitter Ushijima Wakatoshi, Middle Blocker Mateusz Bieniek (Libero: Paweł Zatorski), Opposite Hitter Bartosz Kurek.

CA San Juan’s lineup:

Front row—Outside Hitter Facundo Conte, Middle Blocker Martín Ramos, Setter Oikawa Tōru.

Back row—Opposite Hitter Bruno Lima, Middle Blocker Agustín Loser (Libero: Santiago Danani) and Outside Hitter Kaedehara Taichi.

“Both teams have made major adjustments going into the third set!”

“For the first time, Lublin places León in the conventional ace position at the left-side No. 4 spot. Meanwhile, San Juan has mirrored Lublin’s previous rotation by starting Taichi’s powerful serve from Position 1!”

“‘Mirrored’…? Come on, this is our usual rotation.” Loser muttered under his breath.

“Lublin didn’t win with this lineup in the last set, but San Juan still chose to use it. Seems like they’re more confident in this system than Lublin is.”

—–

“Tweet!—” The whistle blew for the serve.

San Juan served to open the third set. Kaedehara Taichi stepped up to the service line.

BANG!!!

Amid the roaring cheers of the arena, Taichi launched a floating jump serve with his left hand. The ball dropped right between Lublin’s front row—between Jakub and León.

“I got it!”

León quickly lowered his stance and lifted the ball with his hands.

“Nice receive!”

Christenson stepped up and set a high ball. Jakub ran in and leapt for the spike—a quick attack through the middle!

BOOM!!!

The ball struck Conte and Ramos’ double block and dropped down.

“What—?!”

Smack!

“Lublin’s first attack was blocked, but Paweł is there for the cover!”

Christenson quickly repositioned and sent up another set. León jumped from the right wing to spike!

“Double block!” Conte and Ramos shifted and jumped in sync.

BOOM!!!

The ball blasted past Conte’s left side, slamming into the centre of San Juan’s court!

SMACK!

Santiago Danani made the save!

The receive wasn’t ideal, but Oikawa and Taichi moved simultaneously.

Thud!

Taichi ran along the right sideline and leapt from the back row—the ball flew right into his hitting zone.

“Triple block!” Christenson, Jakub, and León all jumped up.

BOOM!!!

SMACK!

The ball struck León’s arm and flew out of bounds.

Touch out!

Taichi scores with a back-row spike!

[San Juan 1 – 0 Lublin]

“San Juan picks up right where they left off, taking the first point of the set!”

San Juan continued to serve.

Taichi stepped up again for his second serve.

BOOOM!!!

“As expected, Taichi’s powerful jump serve is still a huge threat!”

WHAM!!!

Christenson shanked the receive. Paweł scrambled to cover, managing to get the ball back into the front court from outside the baseline.

“Lublin’s offence is falling apart again!”

León jumped from the right side for another spike!

“Double block!”

—BOOM!!!

Smack!

The ball barely made it over the block. Santiago picked it up once again!

“Great dig!” Oikawa called out.

He quickly set the ball. Taichi ran along the right sideline and jumped again—almost identical to the last play!

“Triple block!”

Whoosh!—

But the ball soared to the left wing high in the air—a back set from Oikawa!

Bruno launched from the back row on the left, spiking into an open net—a clean point!

“San Juan scores again!”

[San Juan 2 – 0 Lublin]

—–

“Hahaha, a left-side back-row attack! Brilliant!”

“Conte and Ramos hadn’t rotated up yet—I didn’t expect a fourth offensive option.”

“Oikawa’s court vision is absolutely superb.”

“What do you know? It’s Oikawa we’re talking about.” Takahiro Hanamaki took a satisfying gulp of sake, laughing cheerfully.

Yahaba Shigeu stared at the screen in confusion. “Is Lublin’s offence getting shut down…? I can’t believe León failed to score on two straight attacks.”

“It’s not just that León hasn’t had clean hitting opportunities. San Juan’s receive formation has clearly improved compared to the first two sets,” Nobuteru Irihata explained. “Taichi’s serve disrupts their rhythm, and then—”

“I see. So San Juan’s going for a defensive formation on purpose!”

Coach Irihata suddenly understood: San Juan’s back row—Bruno, Santiago, and Taichi—was their strongest receiving lineup.

“If that’s the case, then Taichi’s powerful serves might actually be bait—drawing out León’s attacks to wear him down before he finds his rhythm.”

“Is that really the case?” Mizoguchi Sadayuki asked, unsure. Intentionally drawing the opponent’s ace into repeated spikes? León’s performance in the last two sets was no weaker than Taichi’s. That’s a dangerous gamble.

“Look—!” Shinji Wataru shouted.

—–

The ball struck Kurek’s arm and flew far out of bounds.

Paweł dove desperately to save it and managed a high toss to the right wing.

León jumped once more to spike!

“Double block!”

“Is he really going for it again?” León locked eyes with the blockers, a smirk forming on his face.

BOOOOM!!!

León’s arm accelerated violently. Conte and Ramos tightened their block, arms braced downward.

BANG!!!

With a thunderous crack, their block was blown apart. The ball forced its way through the gap and slammed into San Juan’s court!

Santiago lunged forward, reading the trajectory—but the ball deflected off the block at the last second—

SMACK!

Taichi dove and saved the ball!

“Taichi!!!”

“Save!”

The ball flew out of bounds. Oikawa immediately sprinted after it.

“Shut it down!” León shouted, waving his arm.

Momentum shifted in an instant. Although León hadn’t scored, he had completely disrupted San Juan’s tempo.

Lublin held their formation while San Juan quickly tried to rebuild the play.

Whoosh!—

The ball flew high toward the middle. Conte leapt for the spike!

“Triple block!” Christenson, Jakub, and León jumped together.

Ramos and Taichi’s feint didn’t work—the three blockers closed off Conte’s path perfectly!

BOOM!!!—

SMACK!

The ball rebounded off Christenson’s arm, flying back toward San Juan’s side—

THUD!

Out!

It landed outside the left sideline on San Juan’s court.

Block touch out! Conte scores!

[San Juan 3 – 0 Lublin]

“Conte—!!”

“What a spike!!!”

“Once again, Facundo Conte shows us why he’s a technical master!”

“Against Lublin’s ferocious triple block, he used his finesse to win the point!”

“It’s not just Taichi who wants to defeat you!” Conte shouted across the net at León.

“Oh, is that so?”

León looked seriously across the net—surprisingly, every San Juan player’s eyes were burning with determination.

“I see now.”

It was rare. Extremely rare—for every player across the net to be genuinely intent on defeating him.

“What’s so funny?” Conte asked, frowning.

“Hmm?” León only just realised he was smiling.

“Oh, sorry.” He gave a slight nod. “I’m just glad to have opponents like you.”

“Then from here on—” León’s eyes sharpened. “I’ll be coming at you with everything I’ve got.”

—–

SMACK!!!

Paweł Zatorski crashed to the floor after the receive, the ball flying high into the air.

A shanked pass.

León chased it down and sent it back to the net. Kurek jumped from the back row to spike.

“Double block!” Conte and Loser sprang up together.

BOOM!!!

The ball slammed off Loser’s arm and rebounded into Lublin’s court.

Paweł recovered quickly and kept the ball in play. Christenson stepped in for the second touch.

León pointed toward the air.

Whoosh—!

The ball arced slowly toward the high right wing. León sprinted along the sideline and leapt for the spike!

“Double block!”

—BOOM!!!

The ball soared over the block and landed squarely on San Juan’s back line.

Down-the-line. Right on the boundary.

León scored with a pinpoint spike.

[San Juan 12 – 9 Lublin]

“A perfect high-hands spike! Lublin breaks serve and regains the right to serve!”

Lublin to serve.

Christenson launched a powerful jump serve.

BOOM!!!

Santiago managed to receive it, though the pass drifted off-target.

Oikawa jumped in the front row and, with one hand, flicked the ball out to the left wing—Conte leapt for the attack!

“Triple block!” Jakub, León, and Kurek jumped in unison.

BOOM!!!

The ball brushed Kurek’s fingertips and shot far out of bounds.

Touch out!

Conte scores!

[San Juan 13 – 9 Lublin]

“Conte is playing decisively this set—every touch is calculated and sharp!”

“For the first time in this final, San Juan takes the early lead in a set,” commentator Lim announced. “In the previous two sets, both teams saw late-game reversals. Can San Juan hold this lead until the end this time?”

San Juan to serve.

Oikawa tossed the ball, ran up, jumped, and struck it—

BOOOM!!!—

CRASH!!!

“Beautiful!”

The ball landed cleanly between the front-row Jakub and back-row Christenson.

No one touched it!

Oikawa with a service ace!

[San Juan 14 – 9 Lublin]

“Two powerhouse servers—Kaedehara Taichi and Oikawa Tōru—stretch the lead to five points!”

“That toss looked off, but Oikawa’s serve trajectory was wickedly sharp!”

“He targeted the seam between the middle blocker and the setter. He held back the hit until the last second of descent—Lublin had no chance to react!”

“Eyes up! Don’t dwell on it—next point!” Paweł called out to encourage his teammates. The combined serving pressure from Taichi and Oikawa was clearly rattling Lublin’s reception line.

Oikawa to serve again.

He delivered his second ball—

BOOM!!!

The ball flew between Christenson and Ushijima.

“I’ve got it!”

SMACK!

Ushijima received it—a slightly off-target pass.

Christenson sent it high to the centre court. León leapt for the spike!

“Double block!”

BOOM!!!

The ball hit Ramos’ arm and deflected back toward Lublin’s side—but out of bounds.

Block touch out!

León scores!

[San Juan 14 – 10 Lublin]

“Good thing we pulled ahead early, or this guy would be unstoppable now,” Ramos thought silently.

“Don’t worry, it was a solid block,” Conte reassured him with a pat on the back.

León’s aggressive playstyle worked in San Juan’s favour—it meant Lublin had to rely on him constantly. San Juan had come into this game planning to go all five sets anyway.

Let’s pour everything into this final match—together.

Lublin to serve.

Jakub unleashed a power jump serve.

BOOM!!!

Taichi received cleanly. A perfect pass.

Oikawa jumped to set. All three attackers up front moved at once!

Bruno ran along the left sideline, drawing little attention. But then—

“Watch the left!” Christenson shouted.

Taichi suddenly leapt from behind Bruno!

A decoy!

León scanned past Oikawa and Taichi, read the play instantly, and shifted toward the centre.

Whoosh!—

Conte sprang up through the middle!

“Triple block!” León, Kurek, and Bieniek jumped together.

—BOOM!!!

The ball sailed over Kurek’s hands and struck Jakub’s arm, deflecting out of bounds!

High contact spike!

Conte scores from the middle!

[San Juan 15 – 10 Lublin]

“370 cm!!!”

“Conte again! He’s scored 7 points in just the first half of this set—currently the match’s top scorer!”

“Not only did he go over the block, he perfectly targeted the back corner—Jakub’s weaker receive area. His attacks are cool and precise!”

San Juan to serve.

Ramos tossed the ball, feinted a float serve, then switched to a fast jump serve mid-air.

BOOM!!!

“Tricky move!”

But it didn’t fool Lublin. Christenson held steady and made a perfect receive.

Ushijima set the ball. Kurek charged through the middle and jumped to spike!

BOOM!!!

SMACK!!!

The ball struck Loser’s hands at the net and bounced high—

Free ball.

Taichi calmly sent it to the net. Conte readied for the attack.

“Double block!” Kurek and Bieniek jumped. León stayed on the left, watching for a possible shift.

BOOM!!!

Conte smashed the ball down in a surprise second-touch attack!

It pierced past the left side of the block, targeting Lublin’s back corner.

“You didn’t think it’d be that easy, did you?” Paweł darted in and made the receive.

SMACK!!!

“Huh? That heavy?!”

The ball popped up above San Juan’s side. Conte jumped again for a tip-in!

BOOM!!!—

—SMACK!!!

León blocked it cleanly—a one-man block!

“An insane solo block!”

Taichi dove and saved the ball. Oikawa quickly set it high to the left wing.

Loser went up to spike!

“Triple block!” León shifted fast—Kurek and Conte closed the gap instantly.

No space to swing!

Loser aimed for the fingertips and slammed it!

—BOOM!!!

Out!

The ball flew wide!

“He missed the touch…”

León’s quick pull-back on the block avoided contact.

Attack out.

[San Juan 15 – 11 Lublin]

“That was another top-tier rally!”

“León’s first solo block on the tip, and then his decision to pull his hands back on the final block—textbook-level awareness and control!”

Lublin to serve.

León stepped up to the service line. San Juan adjusted into a five-man reception.

BOOOM!!!

León’s serve zoomed straight at Taichi.

SMACK!

The ball popped high toward the net. Oikawa jumped with one hand to set—Loser and Conte both moved from opposite wings!

“Left side!” Bieniek called out.

Lublin’s three blockers shifted left—

BOOM!!!

Conte spiked into an empty right side!

Wide open. No block.

Conte scores!

[San Juan 16 – 11 Lublin]

“Beep!—“

The technical timeout whistle blew. The gap between the teams remained at five points.

_________

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by readnovel.co