Capítulo 5: Volleyball
The noise from the game being played right before the two girls in the bench filled the entire gym. Their conversation was interrupted by a very loud spike that hit the floor of the gym. A few other spectators are watching and some of them also turned to the source of that heavy hit.
"Oi, Hiro, don't burst the ball bakayaro!" Maki yelled from the court. Apparently, that loud one was made earlier by Hiro.
"Let it go, Maki-san, Hiro is just mad I think. Probably remembered something unpleasant again." Kouen was now poking fun at him.
"If you are angry with something, don't take it out on the ball." And with that statement, the captain turned the other way and resumed his position.
From the bench, Kayo saw Hiro approach Kouen and said something inaudible. The latter probably replied with something equally amusing, as a vein popped from Hiro's forehead and he looks seriously riled up by whatever it is they just conversed.
The score reads, 5 – 7, and they have no idea which side is ahead so she shamelessly asked the person who manages the scoreboard. Earlier, she was introducing to Megumi the guys who were playing on the court. The unit with the siblings seems to be ahead but it was now the captain's side who's serving.
"Say, Megumi-chan. I really think you should focus on the match now. If, you know, you might wanna join."
"I'm sorry Kayo-san! I was just really curious about your job, that's all!" Megumi replied.
The serve was received and Kouen tossed the ball to his brother who was already jumping from the right. Hiro looked like he knew this too well. His eyes says that the bane of this quick are the blockers who got really used to it. And looks like he is definitely sick of these attacks that he obviously wanted to block it. And that, he did. The ball landed with a thud on the floor. 6 – 7.
"Nice block, Hiro." The captain complimented him.
"That was seriously amazing. That was an impressive block by number 5." Megumi commented. "Our school's team is good. Better than my expectations of them." She followed up after her eyes observed the practice closely now. "I don't know much about volleyball, but I can tell they're really strong."
Kayo smiled. "So, you should know this. Watching them right now, Kouen is a setter, Kouha is an opposite hitter, the captain, Maki and that brunette, Toshiro, they're outside hitters. The tallest guys on that court like Hiro are middle blockers, and those short guys are the liberos."
Kayo is actually a superfan of sports, especially basketball. Shiroshikata already has two managers for the basketball club though, so she joined the volleyball club instead, since she had few ideas about the game. Her knowledge in volleyball actually comes from her father's current occupation in the JVA.
Megumi: "Wow, you sure know your volleyball. I'm not actually very familiar with the jargon just now."
Kayo: "I see. I only know general terms. The setter is the one who tosses the ball to the spikers. It is usually given to the one with the best game sense and ball control to shake away blockers, as well as to facilitate the offense of the team. The opposite hitter is the wing spiker diagonal to the setter. Er-diagonal, eh- that's quite technical, I need to draw it so you can understand since it involves the rotation system." She flipped her notebook to another page to 'draw' these rotations.
"There are 4 main positions in volleyball: The setter, the wing spikers, the middle blockers and the libero. I already explained what a setter does. We go now to the wing spikers, which are classified into two – the outside hitters and the opposite hitter. As I said, the OPP is positioned diagonal to the setter in the beginning of a new rally. He is usually positioned on the right side of the court when the game is in play, and must be stable in both offense and defense. The outside hitters are the wing spikers to the left. The ace usually fields this place since they are the main artillery. But I think, for our team, it's unique since the ace is Kouha, the OPP. Hmmm.... here, let me show you how they are positioned."
She then started to draw 7 circles, with labels S, OPP, OH, OH, MB, MB and L. The L was positioned near the sidelines. She made the same drawing just below the first one, but with no labels. When she finished, she pointed to the first illustration.
"See here, we have the setter…" she pointed to the S and made an imaginary diagonal line connecting the S and the OPP. "and here, is the opposite. They are diagonal at the start of each rally. The other players should also be diagonal to their teammates who play the same role as them." She pointed again at the drawing. "See? The two OH are diagonal to each other."
Megumi: "Hmmm 'kay I get it. But why are the MBs not diagonal? You said the other players should also be diagonal to their teammates who play the same role as them. But the MBs don't look diagonal to me, in your drawing."
Kayo: "That's when the rotation system comes in play. At every side out, or when the non-serving team gets a point, it becomes their turn next to serve the ball. When that happens, the rotation shifts one unit clockwise to determine which player will serve. See here."
Then she proceeded to label the second illustration, shifting each role in a clockwise direction. She guided Megumi by drawing arrows also to the first illustration, for a before-and-after imagery. "Voila! The MBs are now diagonal to each other after one unit rotation!" And indeed, they are.
Megumi: "I see. So that's how it is. So what about the L? Libero, right? The one with the different uniform? The one outside the line?"
Kayo: "Okay, let me continue. The middle blockers are the annoying bunch that well, blocks the spikes. They are also go-to guys when it comes to a quick attacks because of their positions. The Libero, or this guy here…." She pointed to the circle with the L label at the side of her drawing. "frequently switches place with the MBs. He's a guy who specializes on receives to keep the ball in play. He is quite a unique player who's restricted with a lot of rules. He can't serve, he can't spike. Only in very limited ways can he possibly participate in offense. He just specializes on digs and saves. He can switch with an MB anytime, as long as not during a rally. The usual case is that, he switches when it's one of the MB's turn to serve. It's quite complicated and it's hard to get the first time." She shows this by scribbling arrowlines in her drawing.
Megumi was speechless, though she though she gets it, nonetheless.
Kayo: "Sorry, if you find me a nerd."
Megumi: "No. Actually, you sounded so cool just now. I think a manager's job is really interesting."
Kayo: "You think so? Then are you willing to join now?"
Megumi: "Bu – But I have no iota of volleyball."
Kayo: "Nonsense, I can guide you through it. I'm really thinking ahead and I want someone else to be there to support the team when I'll be gone."
Megumi (furrowing her eyebrows in confusion): "You're not dying, are you?"
Kayo: "Silly." And both of them laughed at that.
Megumi: "Where did you learn all these stuff, Kayo-san?"
Kayo: "From my dad. And well, my cousin plays on a team and I watch his matches sometimes. Honestly, I thought it was boring. When I told him about it, he just laughed it off and said that there's more to it than just volleying the ball. I think I kinda get him now."
'Its true, though. Volleyball isn't a sport that really piques my interest as well. To be honest, I find it so simple and straightforward - just bump the ball back and forth, don't let it fall, or else, you lose. It's not as famous as basketball and football, but the excitement from seeing the game's action does not fall short compared to these more celebrated sports.' Megumi thought to herself.
Looking at the guys playing right now, she agrees with Kayo's cousin that there's more to volleyball than meets the eye. It's not as simple as it looks, nor as easy as it seems. It's a sport built on connections and constant motion. It involves deep analysis, creative maneuvering, clever strategizing and constant communication. There's passion there, even for the most disinterested kind of players and spectators. Truly, by listening to Kayo, she enjoyed learning a little from her more about this sport.
Megumi: "Fine, I'll give it a try."
--
Kouen and Kouha's team won the practice match at 26 – 24. It was just a one-set game. Asuma glared daggers at Kakuzo, who only looked down on him with a huge smirk on his face. "Our unit won. And you weren't of any help for your team, ya shrimp hehe."
"As if you were of any help either, you lump of meat!" Asuma wanted to say more, but he held back his words because he too was frustrated. He wasn't really able to spike that much during the practice match. The setter they had didn't toss to him, but focused more his sets on their senpais.
When the practice was over, Megumi was accompanied by Kayo to approach the team's coach, Soma Yage. She was introduced to him as an applicant for a managerial position in the team, someone who'll help Kayo around to whatever the needs of the team may be in relation to volleyball.
"Really? Megumi-chan, you're joining?" Kouha enthusiastically said when the introductions were finished.
"Yeah, dumbass."
"And another goddess has blessed this team! Allelujiah!" Kayo jabbed his side for that remark.
"That's nice, we get a manager." Kouen joined the conversation.
"H-Hai! My name is Kamiya Megumi from Class 2-A. I look forward to working with you soon!" Megumi bowed nervously when she felt overwhelmed by the members suddenly appeared.
"Can she really do it though? Does she know anything about volleyball?" Hiro asked their manager, his eyes narrowing towards Megumi's direction.
"Hiro, you jerk! Of course, she knows what she's doing! And I'm here to guide her you baka!" Kayo fired back.
"Whoa, calm down. I didn't mean to antagonize." Hiro then walked away from the scene, picked up his towel and went to the storage area to retrieve the mop for his cleaning duty.
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