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Karasuno Date Tech

Free ball!

Jeez... That was one heck of a block.

Karasuno Date Tech

Yeah... The best thing for you to do...

...is get lost in the crowd, right?

Haikyu!!

Episode 8: Challenger

Free ball!

Wait.

Their #10 isn't jumping up.

Get lost in the crowd.

Asahi-san, nice kill!

Karasuno Date Tech

All right! A round of diving drills!

Daichi, we won.

Oh... Force of habit.

They finally managed to win a set.

Yup.

Seal walk!

It looked like Date Tech hesitated on their last block.

Up until now, whenever Kageyama was the setter,

Hinata wasn't involved with the synchronized attacks.

Because he was attacking one tempo faster.

So everyone else was coming in on a first tempo attack

Minus

and Hinata-kun was on minus tempo.

Everyone is on guard against that freak quick attack.

They'd be on guard as soon as they saw it,

and even more so once they know about it.

The Impregnable Wall of Date Date Technical High School Volleyball Team PTA

But right now, we're playing against Date Tech.

Even if they were to change up their block formation for strategic purposes,

it's still rare for them to let their opponents confuse them.

The amazing thing about Date Tech

is that even when Hinata gets in a freak quick attack,

they're able to move on from it.

Yeah, it doesn't faze them.

Just because Date Tech is really good at blocking,

that doesn't mean they're trying to stop everyone.

Even if they can't completely stop an attack,

they'll have at least two blockers show up,

and they can at least touch Hinata's freak quick attack.

Even if they can't fully stop an attack, if they can limit its range,

their floor defense will probably get it.

And...

In the last half of the game, Hinata will be exhausted and get roofed.

Say what?!

Karasuno will be completely helpless.

That's Date Tech's ultimate, ideal story!

Hey, what team are you on?

The more Hinata scores, the more likely they are to hesitate.

But...

But we're in the fourth set and I can't say I'm seeing much hesitation...

They sure are resilient.

And that's exactly why...

...is get lost in the crowd, right?

Yeah. Sounds good to me.

The first time I saw your quick, I thought it was awesome!

It was love at first sight.

A quick that could be done from anywhere.

It meddles with blocks and its speed is terrifying for any blocker.

I thought its speed was almighty. But...

Against skilled read blocking, all that speed means is that

you just get removed from the list of possible attackers.

Hinata's used his speed as a weapon more than anyone else,

yet he managed to bring this up on his own...

Just because it's effective, that doesn't mean a player will automatically want to do it.

There's no guarantee that the weapon that worked first

will continue working until the end.

I have to keep moving forward. I have to keep going!

My greatest weapon is not getting caught!

If they adjust to me, I just have to adjust in turn.

Whoever stops adjusting won't be able to continue forward.

One touch!

Nishinoya!

Got it!

I knew it. Hinata's not jumping out first.

I'm still here. I'm not going anywhere.

Until the very last moment...

Stay as a possible threat...

...until the very end!

All right!

Daichi-san, nice kill!

All right!

Date Tech's blockers are watching Hinata even more.

Daichi, nice kill!

Well, he gave them so much trouble before and just suddenly went quiet.

Concentrate!

It's not like they're doing something completely new.

Correct. Tsukishima and Hinata

are doing what they always do with our synchronized attacks.

Kogane!

Right!

But...

That's too far, Kogane!

Dink!

Sorry!

Sorry, cover!

Kageyama!

Got it!

This time... it was super fast!

The minus tempo attack!

We never said we wouldn't use it!

Kogane froze up!

I totally know how that feels, Koganegawa!

You know...

Using the freak quick attack after having him blend in is quite effective.

With read blocking, you're following where the ball goes up,

but the ball's not the only thing you're following.

The ball's been received.

The spikers are about to attack.

The setter.

Your eyes try to instantaneously gather all the information you need.

That's why we're giving them even more information to process.

Minus? 1st?

Hinata's great at increasing that kind of information.

A Quick?

B Quick?

He's insanely annoying to the opponents.

Back row attack? C Quick?

Where's he coming from? When will he make his move?

Slide

Not to mention, our talented setter

is skilled enough not going to give anything away.

Thanks to him, Hinata is able to attack from anywhere at any time.

And after getting lost in all that information...

The minus tempo attack suddenly bears its fangs.

U-Um...

I'm not sure if this is relevant or not, but previously, former Coach Ukai...

So...

Shrimpster's minus tempo attack is impressive on its own,

but it's sorta being wasted.

Was what he said.

That annoying geezer...

Karasuno Date Tech

Yeah!

They got the freak quick in!

It's not like that one point is going to determine anything.

Huh?

Because that point just happened,

Date Tech is going to pay even more attention to Hinata now.

And then it'll make it a little easier to score from the sides.

The more we manage to do that, the more it's going to make their blockers hesitate.

And if luck is on our side,

their blockers will get impatient and start guess blocking,

which completely destroys their blocking system.

Karasuno's ultimate, ideal story!

Don't interrupt, Yamaguchi.

My bad, Tsukki!

Haikyu!!

Haikyu!!

Make sure you keep concentrating. Timewise, this is our last set.

Right!

Azumane, even if you're tired, try to maintain good form.

Yes, sir.

Karasuno Date Tech

Tsukishima!

I've been setting like I usually do.

Is there a problem—

Aw, Tsukki...

Looks like Tsukishima's tank's about to be empty for the day...

He even ate lunch, too.

Don't compare him to you!

Sorry, but I'm not a machine or a monster like Hinata.

Keep an eye on your teammates' conditions.

Right.

Cover!

Ryu!

Left! Left!

A cross shot?

It's no use! I totally suck today!

Wow, Tanaka's sounding defeated. That's rare!

But that was a great line shot.

I totally thought he was going to do a cross shot.

Whoa, Kageyama learned "encouragement."

Kageyama learned "encouragement"!

Nah, I don't think that was just encouragement.

I think he was being serious.

You've still got a ways to go, Futakuchi!

How long are you going to be here?

Don't worry! We're free all day today!

Karasuno Date Tech

All right.

Is it me? Is it?

It's me, right? Right? Right?! Right?! Right?! Right?! Right?!

Yeah, Yamaguchi definitely has more guts now.

I love it when these guys are ready to get in there.

But...

Kinoshita!

Nice serve, Kinoshita!

Oba!

My bad!

All right!

We've got to do something about our receiving.

Nice serve, Kinoshita-kun!

Out!

Could you not freak out every time you're called on?

You know, you managed to score a point regardless.

Yes, sir.

The next time you hide from me,

I'm making you sit next to me the whole time.

Right...

Karasuno Date Tech

Minus tempo!

Damn, Aone-san's awesome!

Got it!

A first-tempo synchronized attack...

Or not?!

Their #10?

Now he ran out?

This time, I'm gonna stop him!

Yes.

Nice kill!

Am I imagining it?

It looked like he was trying to lure Koganegawa over.

He knew that the blockers would react to the freak quick,

and so he acted like he was going to attack again and lured him over.

No... he's 100% intent on hitting every time.

That's why it's easy for him lure over the opponent.

Was it just coincidence?

Was it instinct?

Regardless, I'm the one who chose Azumane-san, so it was my point.

What?

Karasuno Date Tech

Asahi! Slam it!

The greatest wall in the prefecture...

His height and strength have gone way up since our last match.

But somehow, I'm not scared.

Azumane-san!

Three blockers!

Get in there!

Holy crap! Talk about power!

That's not all.

Karasuno Date Tech

Thank you very much!

Make sure you take the right balls!

Right!

Hey!

It seems like you practice a lot, but you don't tape up your hands at all, huh?

Don't your fingers hurt?

I hurt my nails all the time.

I even tape them just in case now.

I strengthen my fingers. Like finger push-ups and stuff.

It feels off when I tape them, so I try to avoid it.

Especially with my fingertips...

If there's anything even 0.1 mm between my fingers and the ball,

it doesn't feel right.

That's why I always take perfect care of my fingertips and nails.

Finger training?!

I'll start today!

You won't last three days.

What about you, Kanekogawa?

Close, but it's Koganegawa.

Hm?

Sorry. What's your highest reach, Koganegawa?

Let's see... I think it was 340 cm.

The last time I measured it was about six months ago, so it might even be higher now.

He can easily lift a high ball up to a higher point...

Meaning he can put the ball up at the shortest distance possible.

Kogane! See ya later!

Yeah!

Do your best at the Spring Tournament.

We will. Thank you.

The guys at Date Tech are still pretty intimidating.

Definitely don't want to meet them in a dark alley.

Moniwa-kun's super nice though.

No way. He's the one who put those two intense second-years on a leash.

Maybe I'll grow some facial hair, too.

That's how you're competing?

Good work!

Good work!

Don't go overboard with individual practice!

Right!

Especially those who have to bike over a mountain to get home!

Nishinoya!

I'll practice with you tonight again!

One more, Hisashi!

H-Hang on a second... I can't...

Gotta get your heart rate up when you're practicing serves!

You jerk!

Damn it!

I don't think I've ever seen Nishinoya that agitated, even during a match.

Take this!

Wow, that was cool!

Hey, Kageyama. What are you thinking when you're receiving?

How I'm going to kill the ball.

It sounds violent coming from you.

Say, Nishinoya...

I'm pretty sure you could get by with just underhand receives,

instead of forcing yourself to do overhand receives, right?

I mean, I'd like to just do underhand receives,

and I thought I could pull that off.

But there are people better than me.

It's no fun if you don't try other options once you know they exist.

There you go, saying something cool again.

I want to be on the court more,

but if I'm gonna mess up, I don't want any success, either.

But...

Giant Panda

Nishinoya is having a hard time with my serves right now.

I'll practice with you tonight again!

I take back what I said. This is my practice!

I'll do a serve that Nishinoya can't get!

Right now!

What?

Kinoshita-san consistently serves the ball to the same spot.

I think he's aiming there.

I can't lose!

Having more good players is not a bad thing.

It's not like you'll be replaced as our pinch server.

Yeah, but... That's not what I meant.

Oh, okay.

If only you could practice receiving and spiking at the same time!

But when Kageyama's there, I really wanna practice spiking.

Coach Grandpa Ukai said his place is gonna be on break for a while.

But I'm an expert at practicing by myself, too!

Whatcha doin', Nii-chan?

Doing my Ultimate Lonely Passing Drills!

I wanna do that, too.

But then it wouldn't be lonely.

And you wouldn't be able to do it anyway, Natsu.

But I'm first at everything in gym class!

Then use that.

Try with the squishy volleyball first.

First, bounce the ball up,

then keep the ball up in the air as you lay onto the ground.

Then continue to pass and stand back up.

Then you repeat.

All right. Give it a shot.

Try again after another century!

I'll show you how it's done!

How do you like that?

Nii-chan...

You're getting along with the ball now!

It used to seem like the ball was a stranger.

But you guys are like best friends now.

Izakaya Osuwari

Open

Hey, thank you.

Want another one?

Something good happen?

The thing I asked Tattsun about might make it in time.

The Crows Fly to Tokyo Once Again

I guess it's finally time.

Episode 9: Everyone's Night

Next time: "Everyone's Night."