"Catalyst" (Japanese:
Overview[]
Karasuno and Shiratorizawa compete intensely to take the second set. While Karasuno hangs on and regains the lead, scoring the consecutive points needed to seize victory is much harder than it seems.
Plot[]
Shirabu's unexpected dump shot takes Shiratorizawa to set point. Akiteru notices something different about his brother, and Yachi points out that Tsukishima has more passion than usual.
Ushijima is up next with a powerful serve. Daichi notices the ball potentially going out-of-bounds but chooses not to rely on luck. He makes a solid receive. Tsukishima follows with a pass to Tanaka. Faced with a triple block, Tanaka resorts to a block-out to tie up the set at 24-24. In the next rotation, Nishinoya rotates out while Hinata enters the front row. On the way, Hinata bumps into Tsukishima, who seemingly stops the short middle blocker to talk. Meanwhile, the Karasuno alumni are visibly concerned about the current rotation's ability to fend off Shiratorizawa's firepower. Saeko and Shimada wish for Sugawara to be subbed in again despite knowing it's against the rules to have the same player sub in twice in one set. Takinoue boasts that Karasuno has the advantage with its strongest offensive rotation but remains unconvinced by his own words.
Tsukishima sends a soft serve over. After Yamagata bumps it, Shirabu sets up a quick with Tendō. Hinata is ready to block and lands a touch on the spike thanks to Tsukishima's earlier advice when Hinata bumped into him. Karasuno gets a free ball. While Tanaka and Hinata eagerly charge in for the offense, Kageyama takes advantage of the distraction to return a dump shot of his own.
Karasuno takes back the lead, but Shiratorizawa quickly ties up the score again. Takeda comments on the difficulty of scoring in succession while Ukai adds that the sport is designed to allow both sides to gain an advantage freely. He also emphasizes that players need a massive burst of energy to break the stalemate and snatch points at the end of the set. At the moment, both teams are engaged in an intense rally. Once Karasuno gets a free ball, Hinata runs toward the right preparing for a broad attack. He fulfills his decoy role and allows Tanaka to score against a 1.5 block. With Karasuno leading 26-25, Shiratorizawa calls their first timeout.