Fabio had never been this exhausted in a single set of volleyball, not even in the World Championship finals or last year's club world finals.

San Juan's offence felt like a hand wrapped tightly around his throat, wave after wave, without a single pause.

Zaytsev, Alexander, Kageyama—Trentino was already going all-out on offence. And yet, neither side could pull away!

Fabio had been under high tension for twenty minutes straight. This set felt like a personal trial; he knew that if he loosened up for even a moment, given the situation on court, Trentino would have no chance of catching up.

Serve switch—San Juan to serve, Kaedehara Taichi rotated to the front row.

Conte tossed the ball high and launched a powerful jump serve!

BOOM!!!

Fabio received it steadily; the pass was halfway to ideal.

Kageyama filled in and set from the front row; Alexander and Zaytsev both went for the attack!

Loser and Taichi watched them closely at the net.

BOOM!!!

Alexander dodged the block and scored!

[San Juan 18 - 18 Trentino]

Serve switch—Trentino to serve.

Kageyama stepped onto the service line.

"Kageyama, don't rush," Fabio said softly. "Even if it's tough, I want us to take this first set solidly."

San Juan was by no means an opponent they could easily dispatch; they had to play solid, fundamental volleyball. Fabio believed that in terms of pure strength, Trentino wouldn't lose to any team in the Club World Championship.

"Yeah, I know," Kageyama replied calmly.

Trentino's players were in great form, even better than on the first day. That was why they were shocked San Juan could fight them so evenly head-to-head.

But Kageyama wasn't surprised.

Oikawa-senpai and Taichi had always stood before him like an insurmountable wall.

If they weren't this strong, he wouldn't be so obsessed with defeating them.

"This first set…we're going to win it!" Kageyama declared firmly.

Kaedehara Taichi was just as strong as he'd imagined—no, even stronger. But even so, Trentino hadn't fallen behind!

This had never happened before in Kageyama's battles against Taichi!

So, climb over that wall! Today!

"Tweet!—" The serve whistle sounded.

Kageyama tossed the ball with both hands, took calm steps forward, and leapt!

BOOM!!!

His serve motion was clean and crisp, with no hesitation at all!

SMACK!!!

The ball struck Bruno's arm and shot out of bounds—

Kageyama scored with a service ace!

[San Juan 18 - 19 Trentino]

—"The first service ace of this match has just been made! From Trentino's Kageyama Tobio!!!"

—"This point also gives Trentino their first lead over San Juan in this set!"

"Beautiful serve!"

"King! King!"

The long-repressed home crowd immediately roared to life. This point felt like the rallying cry for their counterattack!

"Another one! Another one!"

Trentino continued to serve.

Kageyama's second serve was just as sharp!

BOOM!!!

"I got it!"

The ball was closer to Bruno, but Kaedehara Taichi shifted over to receive it proactively.

Smack!

Taichi received it steadily; the pass was halfway to ideal!

Oikawa quickly filled in to set; Loser jumped for the quick middle attack!

"Double block!" Alexander and Zaytsev rose to seal off Loser's hitting angles.

BOOM!!!

The ball hammered into the block and flew far out of bounds.

Fabio dashed after it.

Smack!

The ball barely made it back toward Trentino's baseline—but that was enough.

Kageyama jumped from the baseline and cleanly underhand set the ball.

Whoosh!—

The ball shot high to the right wing, fast and precise!

Launching a quick attack all the way from the baseline, Zaytsev leapt to spike!

"Loser!"

"Got it!"

BOOM!!!—

The ball slammed into Loser and Kaedehara Taichi's double block, popping high!

Santiago saved it back in; Oikawa slowed down the offence's tempo.

"He's coming again!"

All of Trentino knew what that meant—Kaedehara Taichi pulled back for a long run-up.

Whoosh—!

Thud!

Kaedehara Taichi soared up on the right side.

"Triple block!" Boro, Alexander, and Zaytsev all went up together.

Fabio, Yuri, and Kageyama all locked onto Taichi.

—BOOM!!!

A high-overhead spike!

"He didn't choose a tight cross!"

Fabio, who had been covering the left three-meter line, quickly dropped deeper.

Perhaps because of the triple block and Fabio's sharp read, Kaedehara Taichi opted for a high straight shot instead. Right in front—

Smack!!!

The ball slammed into Kageyama's arm and shot out of bounds!

"Counterattack!" Fabio shouted, already chasing the ball.

It was a bold gamble—and he won!

Smack!

Fabio barely kept the ball in play.

"Final attack!"

Alexander took a step back, turned midair, and spiked!

BOOM!!!—

—SMACK!!!

The ball hit Kaedehara Taichi's arm and was smashed back into Trentino's court.

"—?!"

"Why?!"

Zaytsev failed to save it.

Kaedehara Taichi scored with a block!

[San Juan 19 - 19 Trentino]

"Who told you…you could score on a counterattack?" Taichi smirked with a mocking edge.

Serve switch—San Juan to serve.

"Ah~ What a shame, you couldn't seize that last chance."

Oikawa stepped onto the service line, his playful smile gone.

"Tweet!—"The whistle blew.

Oikawa tossed the ball high, ran up, jumped, and hit!

BANG!!!

A jump float serve!

The ball dropped toward Trentino's front row; Zaytsev stayed composed and underhanded it before the ball could break.

"As expected…this middle blocker's reception skills are solid."

Alexander followed up and jumped to spike.

Kaedehara Taichi leapt for a solo block.

"Always sticking around like a ghost!"

Whoosh—!

Alexander faked the spike, tipping the ball upward; Yuri jumped from the back row for the spike!

BOOM!!

The ball avoided the block and flew to San Juan's back row; Santiago received it.

Oikawa moved fast and set to the middle; Kaedehara Taichi jumped!

"Triple block!"

BOOM!!!

"Huh?"

The ball hit Zaytsev's arm and deflected out of bounds!

Off the block!

Kaedehara Taichi scored!

[San Juan 20 - 19 Trentino]

"Left hand again?" Zaytsev frowned deeply. And the feeling was completely different from before.

Trentino knew Kaedehara Taichi was one of the rare few who could attack with both hands. But from all the matches analysed by the coaching staff, he still mainly used his right hand. His left-handed spikes usually only made up about 10% of his attacks, never exceeding 20%.

Only on serves did Kaedehara Taichi tend to use his left hand more often.

This was the normal case—even for ambidextrous attackers, it was impossible to freely switch hands in a real match. Otherwise, not only would it fail to trick opponents, but the spiking angle and touch would also be affected. Furthermore, it demanded extremely high precision from the setter, since the contact point for left-handed and right-handed attacks differed.

Yet, in this first set, over half of Kaedehara Taichi's spikes had been with his left hand!

"Why? Did he coordinate in advance with Oikawa to use his left hand as the main attack this set? But…what's the point of that?"

Zaytsev hated this foggy, unpredictable feeling.

San Juan continued serving. Oikawa served his second ball!

—BANG!!!

It was still a jump float serve, this time aimed toward Trentino's back row.

"I got it!"

Kageyama actively moved forward to receive.

Smack!

The ball struck Kageyama's arm and rebounded sharply downward.

"What?!"

Thud!

The ball hit the floor.

Oikawa scored directly with a serve ace!

[San Juan 21 - 19 Trentino]

"The ball's spin…it was vertical? Oikawa-senpai has mastered another type of serve?" Kageyama frowned. In this case, only an overhead reception would be stable enough.

Oikawa, still smiling, served a third ball.

BOOM!!!

A sudden, powerful jump serve!

Alexander faced it directly, but the ball swerved at the last moment!

"Such heavy sidespin!"

Alexander tracked the drop direction and dropped his centre of gravity completely.

SMACK!

The ball popped high; Alexander rolled sideways to recover.

Kageyama quickly filled in.

Whoosh!—

Thud!

Zaytsev ran up from the right and leapt!

"Double block!" Loser and Taichi were perfectly positioned.

—BOOM!!!

The ball passed just over the block, crashing into San Juan's left back corner.

Smack!!!

It struck Oikawa's arm and flew out of bounds.

Zaytsev scored!

[San Juan 21 - 20 Trentino]

Serve switch—Trentino to serve.

"Tweet!—" The whistle sounded.

BOOM!!!

"After Zaytsev's explosive diagonal spike, his serve is equally fierce!"

"Conte receives it—but it rebounds over Trentino's side!"

"Kageyama sets up the attack; Boro goes up to hit—no, a feint! The ball goes to Alexander on the right!"

Smack!

"Alexander pushes lightly, hitting Taichi's blocking hand!"

"The ball drops onto the top of the net—tipping toward San Juan's side!"

"My god! After landing, Kaedehara Taichi manages to dig it up in a miraculous pose!"

"Oikawa sets to the left; Loser jumps to spike!"

"Zaytsev defends it! Even without a libero, Trentino's defence is flawless!"

"Kageyama to the quick in the middle; Alexander against Taichi one-on-one at the net!"

BOOM!!!—

"The ball is blocked right back! Kageyama barely saves it with one hand!"

"Boro sets again, ball to the right; Zaytsev smashes!"

"Will it work?!"

THUD!!!

"No!!!"

"Trentino can't break through the wall in front of them! Kaedehara Taichi's third block completely shuts them down!"

"The ball lands; point for San Juan!"

[San Juan 22 - 20 Trentino]

"This monster…" Zaytsev muttered unwillingly as he swapped places with Fabio, stepping into the sub zone. "He's creating more and more impossible situations…"

Serve switch—San Juan to serve.

Loser with a powerful jump serve!

BOOM!!!

Yuri received it steadily, perfect pass.

Alexander ran from the middle, soaring up; Taichi jumped for a solo block.

Whoosh!—

Kageyama set to the left wing.

"We have no choice now."

Ryan smashed a high-overhead spike right over Bruno's head!

—BOOM!!!

The ball ricocheted off Loser's arm and flew out of bounds.

Ryan scored!

[San Juan 22 - 21 Trentino]

Trentino was still biting closely at the score.

Serve switch—Trentino to serve.

"You should always keep your guard up against me. That's what you must do."

"I…am Trentino's ace…"

"Tweet!—"

BOOOM!!!

Alexander tossed the ball and launched a powerful jump serve!

The ball skimmed the net at low altitude, then dropped sharply!

Oikawa rushed forward —

BANG!!!

The ball slammed into the ground right in front of Oikawa, bouncing high!

"I…am Trentino's savior…"

Alexander scored a service ace!

[San Juan 22 - 22 Trentino]

"126 km/h!!!"

"Trentino ties the score!"

"This is the same serve Alexander used to provoke Taichi before…" Oikawa's expression turned serious. "It really is hard to receive…"

Trentino continued to serve.

Kaedehara Taichi and Bruno retreated to the back row. San Juan shifted into a five-man W-shaped receive formation.

"That's more like it!"

Alexander scanned the San Juan back row, finally locking onto Kaedehara Taichi.

"Now I'll show you…who is truly the strongest of this new era!"

"Tweet!—"

Alexander tossed the ball and served again!

BOOOOM!!!

The ball flew straight at Kaedehara Taichi, leaving an afterimage in the air.

In the next instant, it was right in front of Taichi's chest—unavoidable!

"Taichi!"

Kaedehara Taichi stepped half a pace back with his left foot to stabilise, planted his right leg in a bent stance, and leaned his upper body back almost parallel to the floor. At the same time, his arms scooped up from both sides.

SMACK!

"He…caught it?!"

The ball popped high; the horizontal force wasn't fully absorbed and it continued flying toward the baseline.

Oikawa sprinted out of bounds, leaping to set.

Whoosh!—

The ball arced from outside the baseline back to the net. Conte jumped from the back row to attack!

"Double block!" Yuri and Ryan went up together.

BOOM!!!

Conte avoided the block and spiked cross-court.

Alexander picked it up!

Kageyama quickly filled in, jumping to set from the front row.

Whoosh!—

Ryan jumped to spike.

Taichi was already waiting at the net.

"What an oppressive presence!" Ryan tensed up inside, swinging quickly!

Swish!

"A miss?!"

Ryan's arm swung through empty air; he missed the ball entirely!

Thump!

Alexander soared from the back row; the ball, still travelling toward the right wing, was now right in front of him!

—BOOM!!!

The ball passed over Bruno and Ramos' double block, crashing inside San Juan's court!

Alexander scored!

[San Juan 22 - 23 Trentino]

Lead change!

_________