Bump Set Spike (Oikawa X OC)

The Final Play

Within the span of a few minutes the game had suddenly changed pace once more. Yana watched as both teams desperately worked to keep the ball in the air. The number of dives, blocks and spikes in one rally were a testament to the determination and conviction both teams exuded. Everyone wanted to win.

One side switch, four member changes, two pinch servers and one timeout later, the game was tied at twenty-three to twenty-three.

There were seemingly miracle plays during the game from both sides of the court which kept the score even. "Come on, come on...we're almost there." Yana scrunched her eyes shut for a moment with her hands clasped tightly around the pen. They were so, so close it was almost painful. One point at a time, each team had been frantically trying to gain the lead.

The longer the match went on the more Yana's nerves were frayed. She had dropped her pen three times throughout the last set as she felt the pounding in her chest. Her face was rigid with tension as the air felt soupy and thick. It was hard to breathe. Yana was terrified of how the match would end.

-----

Oikawa held up the ball. It was his turn to serve. A few paces, a spinning toss, a leap and an impossibly hard swing sent the ball flying into the ground on Karasuno's side of the court. Despite the intense pressure Oikawa was able to pull out a serve that was without a doubt the best serve of the day.

"Aoba Johsai, match point" The team cheered as they reached match point first. All it took was one more. Just a single point.

The long whistle from the referee interrupted the celebration. "Karasuno, timeout."

The timeout seemed to last for an eternity, but only a few minutes had passed. Yana tried to keep her nervousness under control so as to not let it rub off on the team. There was a tense silence as everyone collected themselves. There was no need for additional words when everyone was already on the same page. The whistle blew again.

Yana gave them all a firm pat on the back as they trailed back onto the court. "Do your best."

The team scoffed and grinned, "Of course."

-----

Oikawa sent another powerful serve over, this time it was stopped by Sawamura. He rolled back a couple times but scrambled to get back into position just in time to see Asahi spike the ball and break through a two-person block. The score was now twenty-four to twenty-four.

Karasuno switched Sugawara in. Aoba Johsai knew that would mean some obnoxiously hard balls to receive, not in terms of power or speed, but in placement. The ball was received by Hajime which kept him in out of position and unable to attack.

Oikawa tapped the ball up into a set. Despite the fatigue it was still the perfect arc to hit.

Hanamaki ran from the back line and leapt up to spike the ball at the highest point. The ball hit the white stripe of the net and bounced over the blockers. Drop. Please drop.

Just before the ball hit the floor Sugawara dived forward and saved it. "Kageyama!"

Kageyama received the ball in setting position before he changed it to a dump last minute.

It was now twenty-five to twenty-four, it was Karasuno's match point.

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Yana's mouth ran dry. She felt as if her brain was filled with static, either firing off a million unhelpful thoughts at once or offering nothing at all.

-----

Hajime was ready for the serve this time and sent it over to Oikawa. "Mad Dog!"

The ball found itself in Kyoutani's hand at its ideal point as he swung in a clean arc down.

Tanaka hastily managed to receive the ball with his head. He paid no mind to the stinging sensation as he watched it fly over the court. Kageyama switched positions with Sugawara and allowed him to set the ball to Asahi for a back attack.

Hanamaki dived in a last-ditch effort to save the ball. While the receive was successful, the ball flew out of the court.

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Yana wasn't sure when she stood up, but her ears began to ring, and her heart was pounding so hard she feared that it might jump out of her chest. She couldn't hear anything. Not even her own shouting voice.

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Oikawa chased after the ball carrying all the hopes of the team with him. Wordlessly he pointed back at the court. Oikawa leapt up and set the ball midair from the outside of the court, he tumbled and winced as he felt pain spark through his right knee. Oikawa clambered to his feet and dragged himself back on court.

The ball went right to Hajime on the left side of the court. Years of working together and hours of relentless practice placed the ball at the perfect height for Hajime's spike. Hajime hit the ball with all his worth onto Karasuno's side of the court.

-----

Yana couldn't hear her own voice, but she knew that it was hoarse. There was a glossy sheen in her eyes as her unnecessary thoughts scattered leaving only one feeling. Everything depended on this last rally.

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"Got it!" Tanaka yelled as the ball soared back over to Aoba Johsai's side, he skidded away from the momentum onto the back of the court. "Free ball!"

Asahi ran as far left as he could and sent the ball flying down.

Watari dived and just managed to slide his hand under the ball to keep it up. The receive spun into the net. "Kyoutani!"

Kyoutani sidestepped to save the ball and sent it tumbling over the net.

"Give it to me!" Hinata was already in the air waiting for Kageyama, and in a show of full trust he swung his arm down.

-----

The ball dropped and suddenly Yana could hear everything again. She reeled from the sudden influx of cheers.

"End of match! Winner, Karasuno High School" The referee blew a long high-pitched whistle to signal the game.

Both teams lined up and shook hands before they returned to their respective benches. Yana blinked a few times to try get the tears out of her eyes. Yana's mind flashed with things she felt she should have done, coupled with the heavy weight of defeat. She bit her bottom lip not knowing what to say next. Every word she could think of seemed inadequate, like it didn't bring justice to everyone's combined efforts.

"No matter what I say, the result wont change. I can't make your regrets disappear." Coach Irihata stood proudly amongst his students knowing they played to their fullest potential. "It's natural to have plenty of regrets in this situation."

Yana could barely even look up as tears flowed unchecked down her cheeks and dripped from her chin, she was far too spent to cry out or wail, but instead she stood as still as a statue as the magnitude of the loss swept over the team.

"I do want to say one thing. You all played well."