Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Point that Changes the Momentum

EVERYONE COULD TELL THAT NEITHER KARASUNO NOR Seijoh was going to give up in any way during this last set. They were all fired up since this was the match that would decide just who was going to move on. Any little mistake that was made by the teams could be crucial in their loss.

In the stands, Sakura was thoroughly invested in this game. More invested than she might admit. Sure, she was paying attention to the game for her brother's sake. However, now things were getting far too interesting for her to look away even for a moment. Her brown eyes were bouncing back and forth while watching them. Before she was focused on Shōyō, but now she was pinpointing where the ball was going at all times.

Shimada sighed, "This rally is going on forever."

"Overall, Seijoh's better at everything, but…" Takinoue said as they watched Nishinoya save the ball, "…their libero has far better defensive skills."

Each of these team's tenacity to win just this rally was tiring to watch. Sakura was nowhere near playing and she even felt fatigued by all of this. Though she was getting plenty of perfect photos of this match. The intensity in the eyes of the boys was portrayed perfectly as well as the desperation every time they fought for each and every point.

While each team fought valiantly during this one rally, thanks to Seijoh's libero setting for Oikawa, they were able to get a point. The score was then made to be 8-10 with Karasuno behind.

Sakura's eyes widened at the play, "their libero was a setter?" A play like that is quite impressive, and not really seen in high school games. Those types of plays are usually saved for the big leagues. Just goes to show how advanced Seijoh is as a team.

The next rally was played with Oikawa serving it once again. It was received by Daichi who sent it to Kageyama to set it to Asahi. Though even if the ace did his best to spike it over, it was saved. The ball was heading back over the net after Hanimaki saved it, though before the ball could get over the net, Oikawa was there to save it and set it to Iwazumi. Aoba Johsai was about to get another point that way. So a timeout was called by Karasuno to slow the game down a bit.

The crows all grouped together, eager to hear what their coach had to say about the game. "All right! You're all fighting well!" Ukai exclaimed, "Keep cool!"

All the boys nodded their heads, "Right!"

"It looks like they're getting used to attacks that cut into the middle, so use the sides of the court as much as you can!"

"Right!"

Endo glanced over at Seijoh as they were in their own huddle. Oikawa was talking to his team, no doubt giving them his own encouraging words while bragging in some way. If there was one thing that Endo admired Oiakwa about, it was his way with words. Endo knew that sometimes Oikawa could make the most vile words sound like honey to anyone. He just hoped that today would be the day he could see that smirk wiped off his face because of his team.

"Let's go!" Ukai broke him out of his thoughts.

All the boys nodded, "Right!"

So they dispersed and headed to their spots again. Endo waltzed back over to his spot to the sideline with the rest of the bench-warmers, clapping as his friends jogged back onto the court. To be honest, Endo wasn't sure whether or not he actually liked being on the sideline. He is athletic, but he's also not the type of person to constantly want to be playing sports or partaking in a physical activity. He's not lazy… he just doesn't like to sweat all that much. After all, sweating just messes up his hair. So he's glad to see that he still had a front row seat to Oikawa's possible downfall today on the court. Oh, it was quite delightful. Sure, it would be quite fulfilling to see Oiakwa knocked down a peg, though Endo would be quite proud to say that his friends and teammates were the ones to do it!

The match continued with the usual push and pull between the two teams. The score became 13-10 with Seijoh in the lead. Though thanks to Tsukishima and his feint, the crows got another point, hopefully bringing them closer to the lead and win for this match. On the sidelines, Shōyō was obviously stuck in his own head, hyper focused on getting put back on the court. That was obvious from the intense expression on his face as he kept his brown eyes pointed at the game. 

"Hinata." Suga said as he broke Shōyō out of his thoughts.

The younger boy jumped slightly before turning to his upperclassman. "Yes?"

"Do you remember what Ukai-san said?" He asked.

Shōyō tilted his head, "About attacking both sides of the court as much as possible?"

"Right. That's the best attack." Suga stressed, "We haven't used that much this time around." It took a second, but Shōyō realized what he was saying.

Endo patted Shōyō on the back, "you've got this small fry. You and Kageyama are some of the most annoying tools we've got for this team." The group of boys just chuckled at Endo's words, knowing that he was pretty much right. The troublesome duo was going to be difficult for Seijoh to really slow them down, at least at first.

Even from so far away, Sakura could see the look in her brother's eyes. She snapped a photo of the boys laughing together. A perfect time capsule of this happy moment between friends. Something that Sakura obviously loves capturing! Especially if it was a happy moment for her brother's. She loves seeing those moments. It would make it even better if Karasuno won this game, she just knows that there would be plenty of happy moments to capture if that happened. Still a pretty big 'if' from her perspective though.

Shōyō was switched back onto the court, to the cheers of his friends and others. Nishinoya made sure to give him a hard high five as they past, which Shōyō returned just as hard.

They all lined up on the court, with Karasuno serving the ball. Thanks to a well placed block by Kageyama, it gave the crows a chance ball. From his spot on the court, Oikawa could already see that the little ginger was going to jump for a broad cross.

Everyone watched as the little number 10 used his near supersonic speed to rush across the court. Of course, Kageyama's pin-point toss set the ball perfectly into Shōyō's awaiting palm. They were able to get a point thanks to Shōyō's broad cross, since Seijoh wasn't prepared for that at all.

"Nice shot, Hinata!" Everyone cheered and jumped on the sidelines. Now the score was 14-13. Seijoh was still in the lead, but now with Shōyō fired up, who knows what will happen now.

Things were going to start swaying from here, no doubt. With Shōyō being extremely motivated now, Karasuno wasn't going to go down with out a fight. Not only that, but his fire was infectious. The rest of the crows on the court were going to end up being just as enthusiastic about this game as he was. That was evident from how even if they were starting to become visibly tired, none were willing to slow down.

"That ball's not coming down." One of the girls besides Sakura said, "So amazing."

Another girl gasped, "That little guy's amazing." 

Sakura couldn't help herself but smirk a bit. Yea, it was a bit satisfying to hear other people be impressed by her brother. Sue her for being proud of him!

"Volleyball, more than anything," Shimada started drawing all of their attention, "is a sport where you keep jumping continuously, so I believe it's also a battle with gravity. Jumping as a decoy, jumping to block, and jumping to spike. As the rally keeps going, fatigue sets in and your mental faculties decline. To be honest, you want to skip the blocking, and I've had times where I hoped someone else would spike it."

Sakura took a deep breath, knowing what he was saying. They're tired, which of course they would be after so long. Though she knows her brother. He wouldn't let something like fatigue get in his way. He'll keep going. Keep pushing. Until he's down. Until he no longer can jump. He will do everything in his power to be the best. Do everything he can to stay on the court for as long as possible. Even then if he gets tired, he'll do what he can to push through it. Shōyō would never give up. Even in the face of an impossible opponent while running on fumes, he wouldn't find an excuse to stop. Perhaps it was a talent in itself to have that sort of tenacity. Though whatever it was, Sakura found it more than impressive.

Takinoue nodded his head in agreement, "When long rallies continue and I get deprived of oxygen, I think, 'Hurry up and drop, ball… Preferably on the other side.'"

"Shōyō won't stop." Sakura said, earning all of their attention, "He'll never stop. He's a bit annoying like that." Was it annoying? Or perhaps admirable? His determination could not be rivaled in her eyes. He's just so... amazing! More often than not, when he sets his mind to something, there's very little that will stop him from achieving it.

Back on the court, Kageyama appeared to start setting the ball to Shōyō, but there was a perfect opening for their ace! So like any good decoy, Shōyō did his best to get all of their focus onto him, even though he has done it time and time again during this game.

It seemed like Seijoh fell for it as Asahi only had one blocker in his way. That blocker was Oikawa, who didn't seem all that happy when Asahi's spike went right through him. Yea, Endo was more than smug about that happening from his spot on the sidelines.

"Pipe concentration!" The two alumni cheered.

Sakura clapped lightly, slowly but surely starting to grow excited about the outcome of this game. After all, they had caught up! They didn't have the lead just yet, but there was still time. There's no telling what will happen now.

Eventually, a timeout was called now that the teams were tied up. All of the boys came off the court to grab a towel and a water bottle. They were all tired, that's for sure. Though their determination was palpabile to everyone in the gym.

As Endo finished handing off a water bottle to Asahi and joking with Nishinoya, he walked off to the side and noticed something. Yamaguchi was staring at the group of their teammates who were trying to cool down a little bit before going back on the court. There was a look in his eyes that Endo somewhat recognized. He appeared to be… envious of them. "You alright there, Yama?" He asked while walking up to the olive-haired boy.

Yamaguchi jumped slightly before turning to his upperclassmen with a tilt of his head. "Huh! Yea, I'm fine."

"You seemed a little lost in thought there." Endo smirked cheekily, "Or are you admiring our teammates, they all do look kind of attractive all out of breath like that, no?"

Yamaguchi became so red, that he honestly looked like a strawberry for a moment. "Eh!?"

Endo laughed loudly at the flustered state he just brought upon his underclassman, "I'm only kidding…"

It took a while for Yamaguchi to collect his bearings and calm himself down. Though once he did, he blinked up at his teammate, his brown eyes lit with curiosity. "Say, Endo-senpai."

The blond glanced at him with a raised eyebrow, "Hm, yes?"

"You seem ok with not being able to play."

Endo blinked and chuckled, "Well, I think I do a lot better on the sidelines as a cheerleader than an actual player." 

Yamaguchi eyed him, "Do you want to play?" Endo paused only for a moment, considering the question. Why did even Yamaguchi care about it? Perhaps because they were both benchwarmers for the game and most other games. So perhaps Yamaguchi was curious about why a senior wasn't on the court at all. Sugawara wasn't on the court that much, but even then the setter seemed impatient to be put on the court. So why wasn't Endo? The younger boy jumped, now realizing that he may have overstepped his bounds. "S-Sorry, that was a sudden question."

Endo chuckled at the ball of nerves that the younger boy became and answered, "For fun, I suppose. I don't really like being competitive." That's more than true. Endo didn't really care for the tournament itself, just to have fun with his friends.

"...I-I would have thought you would want to be the best there is at everything," Yamaguchi blinked, since he knows that Endo likes to boast about everything. His senpai is quite smug and cocky, any moment he got to put himself above another, no matter who it is, Yamaguchi knows Endo would do it.

Internally, Endo was having a little bit of a conflict, like usual. Was he going to tell him that he certainly does, but doesn't feel like he can prove it? That Endo has felt inadequate when compared to his other friends who were thoroughly passionate about the sport? Was he gonna tell his underclassmen, who Endo doesn't really know all too well, about how he's struggling with finding his passion for this game or anything in general? No, he wouldn't do that.

So he just smugly smiled nodding his head, "I am the best at everything. So there's no reason for me to constantly be on the court!" He exclaimed, "Why play when I've already proven I'm extremely good? I let the others get a chance at attention." It may have been a mildly good vaile to hide behind, and he's used to hiding behind his smugness in the past, though it wasn't as strong as usual. So yes, Yamaguchi might have shook his head lightly at the loud boasting of his senpai and focused back on the game, but he didn't think that it wasn't extremely truthful. Though who was Yamaguchi to say whether Endo was being honest or not? He doesn't know Endo all that well, so he doesn't truly understand how his senpai really thinks.

---

Thanks to Tanaka, the score had been brought back to another tie of 16 points each. It was constantly going back and forth between them no matter what each side tried. Shōyō came running up towards the net and it was quite obvious what was going to happen. "Is he going to do another broad…" Takinoue asked before they all noticed that none of the blockers were moving to block him. "Or wait… Huh? No mark? Did they give up on the block?"

Sakura squinted her eyes as she realized that without the blockers in the way, Seijoh's libero had a perfect view of Shōyō's spike. Sure, it was completely open for Shōyō to spike the ball, but there was an obvious counterattack that Seijoh had in mind. It wasn't too much of a surprise to see that with that clear view, Watari was able to save the ball. With his receive, he lined it up to Oiakwa who faked them all out with a setter dump right over Shōyō.

Everyone was surprised by that, the alumni shouted, "Now a dump?!" That wasn't good, at all. If this continues on, Aoba Johsai may be able to pull far enough ahead in points and leave Karasuno in the dust!

After that, Oikawa was then next up to serve. While he put the same amount of power into it as he normally does, the arch of the ball wasn't high enough and ended up just hitting the net. Though it was just enough for it to tip over onto Karasuno's side, and no one was able to save it. Now they were two points behind again. Oikawa served once more and it was perfect, which let Nishinoya receive it nicely. Though there was some confusion as Kageyama and Asahi both ran over to receive that ball. It would have ended up in a point for Seijoh if they hadn't been quick enough. Kageyama bumped it to Asahi who took the last hit to send it over the net.

Takinoue grabbed his head in anxiety, "That was close!" 

"Calm down! Don't lose your cool!" Shimada exclaimed in worry.

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek, more than worried about all of this. They better not lose their common sense after all of this work. It would be quite unfortunate for them to lose this set thanks to a few stupid mistakes. That would be the most anti-climatic thing ever, in her opinion. Also quite sad. After all the work they've put in, to be out done because of a few mistakes. That wouldn't be the best feeling.

"This isn't ending any time soon…" The Oikawa's black-haired fan girl gasped at the long rally so far.

"When you make it through a long rally, you can shift the game's momentum. With this rally, getting that one point will be crucial." Shimada commented, speaking from experience.

After a one touch by Karasuno's number 10, Asahi dove for a nice save of the ball. Shōyō had tried to spike the ball with a set made by Nishinoya, but it didn't work. Aoba Johsai was there with a three man block to stop him. Now, the score was 19-16. Slowly but surely, that small gap that Karasuno had used to catch up was closing. It wasn't that much of a surprise when Ukai called for a time out. There needs to be some semblance of effort made to slow Seijoh down. If it wasn't through Karasuno making points, then slowing them down through timeouts should work.

"Damn." Takinoue grunted, "They've used up their two timeouts."

"It can't be helped. They've got to physically break that momentum with a timeout, or Seijoh's going to take control." Who knows where Karasuno could go from here. They needed some sort of miracle to get them out of this slump. Though as he gathered the team together and thought things over, Ukai glanced up to the stands where the alumni and Sakura were standing, to their confusion. He appeared to have an epiphany right at that moment.

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed, "why does the old man have that weird look on his face?" The two older guys just shrugged their shoulders, just as confused as her.

The teams went back on after the timeout, the last time out that Karasuno could call for this set. Though as they played, the referee blew his whistle. Shimada gave a large sigh of relief, "Seijoh touched net. Thank goodness!"

"But…" Takinoue started to sweat.

"If they miss here, Seijoh will have the advantage at 20 points. If they take the momentum, we won't be able to catch up."

The teenager girl blinked as she watched her brother step up to the back of the court. "It'll be Shōyō's serve too…" Sakura has faith in her brother, most of the time. When it comes to his serves… She has little to no faith.

Though there was a little commotion as it seemed like Karasuno was going to sub a pinch server in. "Hey, Shimada, look at that." Takinoue said as he pointed to who Ukai was subbing into the game. It was the team's pinch server, Yamaguchi Tadash. The poor boy was shaking like a leaf, appearing to be extremely anxious. He walked onto the court like a baby deer learning how to walk for the first time.

"T-Tadashi's the pinch server?!" Shimada shakily exclaimed. He grabbed his head, almost ripping out his hair while hiding behind the railing, "What is Keishin thinking?! He's an idiot! I told him that it's still mostly pure luck!"

"I think he wants even that pure luck." Takinoue said, "You don't know what's going to change the momentum."

'Tadashi…' Sakura thought. Quite a few different emotions ran through her chest in that moment. Worry, excitement, pride were just a few. She's more than happy to see him play in the game. Since he didn't think that he was going to play in this game, she's excited that he got the chance. She's even proud to see that Ukai trusted him enough to try to change the momentum of the game. Though this was his first game, with it being an extremely stressful moment. This is bound to be the most nerve wracking moment for him.

On the sidelines, the rest of the team were staring at the more than nervous Yamaguchi. Endo was certain that he was going to be sick at some point. That's definitely something that he didn't wanna see. Because if Yamaguchi was sick, then Endo was going to be sick, and it just wouldn't be pretty at all.

"Is that all right?" Ennoshita asked, "He already has enough reason to be nervous, but won't there be more pressure from playing with his seniors?"

Suga nodded his head,"Oh, right." He then quickly gathered the benchwarmers together and lined them all up. "Hey, Yamaguchi!"

The frightened boy jumped before glancing over at the group to see them all staring at him with large smiles. Lined up like a kick line, they all pointed at him and shouted, "Hit a nice serve!" Who knows if that helped calm Yamaguchi down at all. Perhaps the absurdity of it had lightened his mood at least a little. That's all they could hope for.

"Dang… He's so stiff." Even Takinoue could see just how tense the pinch server was from up there.

"Wouldn't you be?" Sakura asked, "first ever game he's been put in, and it's a pivotal point in the game. His actions here alone could determine how this game goes." She almost felt defensive of Yamaguchi. He's her friend, so she guessed the protectiveness over him was normal. Like she said, he hasn't been in an official game on this team just yet. Not only that but to be put in the game to hopefully change the momentum left a heavy burden on his shoulders. Sakura knows he can be quite the anxious guy, so she has no idea how he's handling this moment.

"It can't be helped." Shimada said, "Relying on your team is most of volleyball. Serving is the only time you're alone. Everyone will be looking at you, and you've got all the pressure. But when you're standing in the serve position, you're the center of attention, no matter who you are."

Yamaguchi seemed to prepare himself while on the line. This is his big moment after all. What happens if he does make this? He'll be quite the hero to the team if that were to happen. They were in a moment of need and he might just be the piece to pull them towards their win. So he readied himself. He jumped up to serve. A near perfect jump float serve, just like Shimada had taught him. Everyone held their breath, waiting to see just how good of a pinch server Yamaguchi is. However, the ball didn't even make it to the other side. It was just a bit too short, and just ended up falling back onto Karasuno's side. So that was that. The score was now 20-17, Seijoh obviously still in the lead. So they broke to 20 points first, that wasn't a good sign, but still not the end.

Sakura let out a soft, sad sigh while watching the destroyed expression on her friend's face. "Oh, Tadashi." She watched as he headed off the court with his head hung low. No doubt spewing apologies to his teammates for his mistake.

One of the fan girls blinked, "Eh? So he got brought out here because of a punch, but if he fails, he'll be pulled out?"

The other girl sighed sympathetically for the poor boy, "That's sort of sad."

Shimada shook his head while he explained, "That's the job of a pinch server. That one shot has both the game's momentum and their pride riding on it. And Tadashi messed up. But this chance to feel this regret and his own helplessness will definitely make him stronger."

Sakura nodded her head, silently agreeing. She may not have been friends with him for all that long, but even she knew how he would be feeling about this. Sakura could only hope that he looked past it for the time being. It was one mistake, he could make up for it another time.

On the sidelines, Endo greeted Yamaguchi back over to them with a pat on the shoulder. "You did great out there!"

"I'm sorry. I didn't get the point we needed."

"Don't worry about it! You did the best you could. Plus I bet you were super nervous out there. I mean first high school game and you have to get us a point that might make or break us in this set. That's super stressful. I'm surprised you're holding yourself together so well!"

Ennoshita quickly stepped in between the two, separating the now sickly looking Yamaguchi from their senpai. The second-year pinpointed Endo with a small glare, "If you keep talking, he won't be."

Endo blinked, now realizing that he wasn't really helping Yamaguchi calm down all that much. He sheepishly scratched the back of his head, "Oh."

Putting Yamaguchi's little mess up aside, the atmosphere had changed around Karasuno's side. Obviously, this has happened a few times during this game. Though Aoba Johsai knows to watch out when this happens. Each time Karasuno 

"Did the black team cheer up of a sudden?" A fan girl asked.

"It's just like Tattsun says…" Shimada said with a smirk, "You don't know what's going to change the momentum." Even if Yamaguchi didn't get the point, his actions still appeared to change the momentum. They were fired up now more than ever. Their teammates effort had fueled them to some capacity to push themselves harder. They most likely wanted to redeem Yamaguchi, to not make his effort in vain, even if it wasn't successful.

So it was another push and pull between the teams taking and getting points. Even a quick move by Takana kicking the ball over the net to save it had given Karasuno a point. So when Kageyama stepped up to serve, it was 23-22!

It was intense to watch all of this happen. None of them wanted to lose so they were giving their all. Though Karasuno may have put up a fight, but Aoba Johsai was now at match point. This might just be the end of Karasuno journey. Sakura seemed to be more than resigned to 

Tanaka was then up to serve, which he did pretty easily.

"Crap! It's going past the net!" Shimada exclaimed as they all leaned over the railing, "They're going to hit it head on!"

Oikawa was right there to get the ball, more than likely going to smack the ball straight down for the winning point. However, Kageayama was there too! He saved the ball from going over the net and into Oikawa's hands just by a centimeter. Once he did, Shōyō was there to spike the ball over the net. Now Karasuno had another point. Taking away that match point from them was more than satisfying. It also meant that Karasuno was more than capable of catching up to Seijoh. Even if the Great King thought that he could keep them from reaching him at all, but things were certainly changing now.