Coach Cieslewicz groans.
"You all are strong. You're are a powerhouse. Just because their number 19 has had a service Ace streak doesn't mean we don't have a chance anymore… Don't stop, don't let up. Destroy their blocks, receive their serves even if they're shaky. We are a team. We are one!"
Team Poland, Head Coach "Gabriel Cieslewicz
Lucas swallows his water and nods.
"Coach Wicz is right, Kurai is a monster in his own right, but if we can pull him out of that serving rotation, we have a better chance of scoring points… Piotr, Adam, it's me and you two on receive… even if one of us can't fully bring it up, at least try to keep it on court so someone else can assist in stabilizing it for return." Piotr and Adam nod. Coach Cieslewicz turns to everyone else.
"Don't be off your guard, even if we're still receiving here; there's always a possibility he can drop it in front of the net; always be ready!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Let's turn this around and win this game!" A whistle blows as both teams return to the court.
Piotr steps to his spot, growling at himself. 'Everyone's waiting for me to bring the ball up… I mean, yeah… even if not perfect, they still want me to bring up THAT serve! That's crazy!... It's a miracle I'm still playing volleyball at this level. How am I here? I'm a fraud who faked his way to the top-' Piotr smacks himself across the face, Adam jumping a bit.
"You good, dude? That sounded–" he turns to Piotr, who leans down, exhaling. His eyes glow as his pupils dilate.
"Yeah… I'm just fine…" The whistle blows as Kurai tosses the ball. Piotr steps forward, time moving slowly around him. 'The ball… watch the ball… don't lose sight of the ball…' His eyes track the court around him. Adam to his right stepping backwards. Tomasz, Marek, and Brine at the front of the court at the net. Across the net, Kurai jumps, swinging his hand and hitting the ball at the apex of his jump. 'Here it comes' the ball bolts over the net, curving faintly at the last second towards Piotr. Piotr exhales, leaning down slightly, the ball hitting the middle of his arms as he recoils it, sending the ball high into the rafters over the court with a grunt.
The arena explodes, shaking as the crowd roars.
USA 8-5 Poland
"Did you just see that!?"
"I did, I did, Tanaka!"
"Piotr brought up Kurai's receive!"
"He's a madman!"
"A madman libero!!"
Piotr gasps after a moment. 'What just happened…? It's like I saw everything perfectly… every tell in their setters form, where he might've hit, and the ball actually–... did I really just–?' The ball spins midair in front of the bright area lights.
Tomasz grins.
"Jeez, insane, he is… Piotr, you're downright incredible!" He rushes backwards, jumping and reaching for the ball as it comes towards the net. Emelio and Sean are jumping down the middle of the net, blocking Tomasz from dumping. Tomasz smirks and sets the ball high. Lucas grins. 'High and straight down the middle… exactly how our star likes it!'
Brine steps forward from the back court, exhaling through a grin as he sprints towards the net, plowing his penultimate and block step down and flying towards Emelio and Sean's block. Jaden suddenly appearing as Brine smirks.
"All the more ways to show that I'M THE STRONGEST!" Brine swings his arm, smashing his hand into the ball as it warps around his palm from the power. Smashing through the triple block like butter. Landing on the court in front of Kyle with the echo of a gunshot.
The four of them land as a whistle blows.
USA 8-5 Poland.
The crowd roars and shakes as the lights shine brightly onto the court below.
The announcers stand up from their seats.
"After that insane miracle received by Piotr Lewandowski, the team's canon, Brine Sanders smashes the ball THROUGH a triple block!"
"That was insane! He just shattered a triple block with two 6 foot 5 giants and 5 foot 4 Emelio Alvaro!"
"This game's just getting started, I think!"
"Oh, definitely!"
"And on top of that, Poland has knocked Kurai out of the serving position!"
Lucas catches the ball as the whistle blows. Across the net, Kyle, Kurai, and Max guarded their backcourt. 'Kurai and Kyle are the best bet when it comes to their receive in this rotation… despite that, Emelio's weak point's always been receiving… even after Ajax taught him everything he knew… Last year, I remember Ajax complaining about that to me after our VNL match… so I know who to aim for… here'
Kurai leans down, his eyes glowing. 'Man… I still remember teaching Lucas how to serve all those years ago… let's see if he can still land a hot one on me?'
Lucas exhales, tossing the ball and taking a slow step forward, leaning into his penultimate and slamming his feet down, jumping into the air and slamming the ball over the net.
Emelio gulps as he steps forward with his arms stretched out. 'It's coming to me!' He steps forward, getting under the ball as it hits it's arms, recoiling out of his grasp into the nearby spectator seats and cameras.
USA 8-6 Poland.
Kurai turns to Emelio.
"Don't worry about it, Emelio, get the next one." Emelio nods.
"Yeah."