Chapter 234 : Winners
On the court, hearing the thunderous cheers from outside, everyone from Karasuno High snapped out of their daze as if waking from a dream.
Sugawara and the others who had been watching from the sidelines rushed forward excitedly, pulling their teammates into tight embraces.
"We really... won??"
In the finals against a powerhouse like Mujinazaka High, no one had dared to confidently believe they'd come out on top.
Even yesterday, Daichi had mentally prepared himself for the possibility of defeat.
But what none of them had expected was that today, due to Mujinazaka's strategic misstep in the first two sets, Karasuno had pulled off a blitzkrieg-style victory in the third set and clinched the win!
Among them, the most dazzling performance came from Akira.
He had single-handedly withstood Mujinazaka's targeted attacks.
With his explosive serves and powerful spikes, he racked up point after point without relenting!!
...
Across the net, the players from Mujinazaka, having just lost, stared blankly at the celebration on the opposite side.
Glory always belongs to the victor, and though this loss didn't carry any long-term consequences for Mujinazaka, it still stung. Their style of volleyball would likely continue unchanged in the future.
But how could high schoolers, still in the throes of youth, be expected to view victory and defeat so rationally?
As they exited the court, Usuri couldn't hold back his sobs.
Seeing him like that, the rest of Mujinazaka felt their own eyes sting with tears.
"Ahh..."
Kiryū sighed softly, stepping forward to place a hand on Usuri's shoulder.
"You did a really good job today."
"There's no need to beat yourself up anymore…"
"But…"
Usuri's voice trembled slightly.
"If I hadn't made that call before the match, maybe we wouldn't have lost this badly…"
Everyone knew he was referring to the strategic plan he had crafted for the team.
Kiryū shook his head.
"If not for your plan, things might've turned out even worse."
"Every team needs someone who can think critically, someone to be the brain of the team."
"And Usuri, that person is you."
"In previous matches, your strategies led us to success time and time again…"
"You can't just deny yourself because of one failure."
"I…"
Usuri faltered under Kiryū's words, then quickly wiped his tears.
"A loss results from many factors! It's not yours alone."
"If you want to make up for it, then train hard when we return."
At that, a spark of hope lit up in Usuri's eyes.
" Kiryū Senpai, you mean the Spring High tournament...?"
"That's right. When Spring High comes, we're going for the championship!"
...
"Hey! Hey!"
"Awesome match!!"
As the Karasuno players walked off the court, they were greeted by the enthusiastic cheers of Bokuto and the others waiting for them!
Bokuto waved his arms energetically and shouted:
"Congratulations!"
"First time here and you took the IH championship right off the bat!!"
"It was just luck!"
Daichi laughed, scratching the back of his head.
"If it had gone to a fifth set, we might not have held up against Mujinazaka."
Kuroo, standing nearby, disagreed:
"If it was only luck, you wouldn't have made it this far."
"Think of all the past champion teams—none of them won on luck alone."
His words drew nods of agreement from the others.
"Alright, alright!"
Yaku chimed in from the side:
"You guys should be heading off to rest now, right?"
"Isn't the award ceremony coming up soon?"
"Yeah!"
Daichi nodded with a grin.
"But the ceremony will happen after the third-place match finishes!"
...
Not long after Karasuno and Mujinazaka's match ended, the third-place playoff between Inarizaki and Kamomedai began.
After a fierce battle, Inarizaki emerged victorious with a 2:1 score!
They secured third place in the tournament!!
Kamomedai, despite their efforts, settled for fourth.
Following that came the nationally broadcast Inter-High Tournament's Volleyball Men's Division Award Ceremony!
The tournament's organizing committee presented awards to the top teams one by one!!
With this, the five-day IH tournament came to a triumphant close.
After the award ceremony, the Karasuno team had just stepped outside the venue when they were met by Saeko Tanaka and the others waiting there.
"That was amazing!!"
Saeko ran up and threw her arms around Ryūnosuke Tanaka in a big hug, while Udai Tenma and Akiteru Tsukishima followed close behind.
"Hahaha! Kei! You've totally outshone your big brother!"
Akiteru clapped Kei Tsukishima on the shoulder with a huge smile on his face.
"I still can't believe my little brother is the IH champion!!"
Nearby, Udai Tenma was gazing in awe at the massive trophy Sugawara held in his arms.
"Whoa! Is this the Inter-High champion trophy? It's so beautiful!!"
"Haha!"
Coach Ukai laughed and said:
"When we get back to Miyagi, I'm definitely showing this off to my old man!"
"Right!"
Hearing that, Udai Tenma seemed to remember something. He looked up and asked:
"Coach Ukai, what's the plan now?"
"Are we heading straight back to Miyagi?"
"Well…"
Ukai scratched his head.
"We're going to spend a bit of time around Tokyo first."
"We got invited by the coach Nekomata—so we'll be doing some intensive training before heading back to Miyagi."
"Should be about two weeks."
"Yep!"
Hearing that, Hinata added excitedly:
"Bokuto-senpai just mentioned it to me!"
"The intensive training's gonna be held at Shinzen training facility!"
"So next stop... Saitama!"
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