Preliminaries (Fukorodani vs Nekoma)

The tournament had started and Fukurodani were going to their quarter finals. They had to win two more matches to get to Nationals. So far most of the matches were easy. They were a seeded team which greatly helped their chances.

They were matched up against Nekoma. While the team was not seeded, they had an amazing line up last year that they managed to get to top 4 in Tokyo. They were a defensive unit that slowly adapted to the enemy. They often lost the first match but their true power is shown in the second set when their defenders and blockers have completely adapted to the spikers.

The team headed to court 2 for the match. They were already briefed about the team. Their captain this year was Tetsuro Kuro. He is said to be one of the best middle blockers in the prefecture capable of controlling where the spiker hits.

Their libero Morisuke Yaku is recognized to be highly skilled even at nationals. Apart from them every other member is also very good at defense. They are said to work as one unit trying to topple the opponent with their teamwork and adaptability.

The only one who doesn't display that level of defense is their setter Kenma Kozume but he makes up for it in his setter ability. While not very athletic he is shown to be good at feints and diverting attention of the blockers.

***

The team got ready for the upcoming match and were waiting for the court to be ready. As soon as they entered they went forward to greet the opposing team and started warming up.

The match soon started with Nekoma serving. The first set went on with the two teams trading points without giving anything away. Fukurodani's coach had planned to give as less information as possible in the first set. Their individual capabilities were higher than Nekoma. With Bokuto doing particularly well they could win the first set. When Nekoma tries to shut down Bokuto in second set they would turn more defensive with Murasakibara taking the initiative.

The first set went on slowly with Fukurodani being ahead at 17:13. Nekoma took a time out to strategize and regroup from the bad start.

***

"They are relying on Bokuto too much." Kenma said, "They are planning to win this set at the cost of us getting used to his spikes. They probably have a plan to win the second set as well."

"So we just have to shut down Bokuto earlier." Kuroo replied with a smirk.

Kenma replied, "That would work. Our defense is not used to his cross shots yet. We will be relying too much on the blockers to shut his cross shot. He has not hit any of his better straights yet so force him to do it. By then we would have forced them to show all their cards."

"If we win this set, the pressure would be on them." Kuroo said.

Kenma continued to stare at Atsushi finding that they were missing something about him.

Their game plan decided they moved back on to the court. The effect was obvious as soon as Kuroo stuffed Bokuto's cross shot. He started marking Bokuto completely shutting him down. Bokuto finally hit a straight but that was stopped. Akaashi started tossing to the other hitters but he occasionally sent it to Bokuto sometimes.

Fukurodani finally showed that they were not a one man show and made sure to maintain the lead. They had finally won after an exhausting set.

***

"We won the set even after they caught on to our plan. We will be playing Murasakibara this set to keep up. Try to make as big of a lead as possible at the beginning and then switch to attack. Keep them on their toes. Don't let them get used to a pace." The coach explained.

The plan was a good one except for one hitch. Murasakibara was bored. Since the tournament started he found every player to be weak. He wanted a strong opponent. The volleyball part of him simply wanted to play to the fullest every match. The GoM Atsushi was bored and did not care to play. The intellectual one found the lack of challenge boring and lost interest.

The dissonance between the three showed slightly in the first set. Now when the spotlight was turned on him he gave minimum effort. He tried but not to his best. They maintained the lead but only by 2. When Atsushi rotated back that was when things became worse.

Nekoma started going for longer sets and read blocking. The continous spikes with less rest was starting to wear the wing spikers. The persistent defense continued to stop their offense. Somehow Nekoma managed to get 5 points in a row before Fukorodani called a time out.

***

"This set has been rather difficult. The first year Inouka has managed to keep up with Bokuto. His commit blocking is slowing Bokuto's offense. Their read blocking has shut our defense. We have to win this set or the third set would be hell. Murasakibara is having troubles with his blocking so it is best to assist him until he is ready. Till then Akaashi, try to get Bokuto excited." The coach said.

Murasakibara got angry but did not voice his thoughts,'I could stuff everyone of them, I don't NEED the team to win. I am more than enough to stop them.'

As they were walking towards their position he said to his teammates, "Let me block by myself. Don't come in the way." Saying that he moved into his position.

Akaashi sent him a worried glance but said nothing. The next set started off with a bang. Murasakibara started blocking by himself and absolutely dominated the spikers. He got 3 blocks completely shutting down the offense.

Kenma seeing this sent a glance feint and set the opposite side. Atsushi bit the bait and was unable to stop the spike at the end of the court. This angered Murasakibara even more. When Akaashi was setting to Konoha Murasakibara forced his way into it and spiked hard at the setter. Unfortunately their libero managed to stop the ball. On top of that he lost a point for touching the net during the spike.

Fukurodani promptly subbed him with Surukui. Murasakibara left the court angrily. His play completely broke teamwork which led them to losing the second set.

The third set was just as bad. Bokuto had gone full emo completely shutting down his offense. The rest of the team were strong but unable to keep up. They slowly lost ground due to the opponent's defense and read blocking.

The team gave it their all but Nekoma was at their best in the third set when they have had ample time to prepare a counter for the opponent. Nekoma finally won 25:21 and moved on to the semi finals.