"Experience Levels" (Japanese:
Overview
Hinata blocks Osamu with all his might but it's not enough. Karasuno uses their second timeout to help lessen the mental stress of the players. The game continues and Hinata is troubled by the fact that he is not a very intimidating blocker. He thinks of different types of blocks that he absolutely despises and mimics Matsukawa's block from Aoba Johsai which forces the spiker to hit a straight. After he successfully forced Osamu to hit a straight, Karasuno uses a synchronized attack to even the score at 20-20.
Plot
Osamu dominates at jousting over the net. Tsukishima realizes that the play just now is inevitable due to the two players' differing experience level. Plus, Hinata has been accumulating immense mental stress due to his blocks been rendered ineffective. Coach Ukai calls for a time out and tells the team to unleash the blend and distract tactic. Having being too caught up in the heat of the moment, Hinata had completely forgot about this technique. Once again, Ukai tells Hinata to keep his cool in both spiking and blocking.
Hinata recollects all the blockers he have faced so far.
The match resumes as the two team immediately keeps up an intense rally that ends with a net touch from Aran. Atsumu notices Osamu slacking on his run up and calls him out. Osamu defends himself saying he needs to conserve energy, but Atsumu accuses him of being scared of Hinata's blocks. Osamu denies, but is taken aback when Hinata questions him about it directly across the net. Hinata is troubled and begins pondering about why he isn't a scary blocker. Just as Kageyama makes his serve, Hinata recalls all the blockers he have faced so far. He thinks of the blocker that he despises the most in a one-on-one and concludes it's Matsukawa from Aoba Johsai.
For his next block, Hinata purposely chooses to constrain the path for a cross, thereby forcing Osamu to hit a straight. Nishinoya immediately notices Hinata's attention and positions himself to receive the spike. The collaboration play succeeds with the ball cleanly returned to Kageyama. The Inarizaki blockers are surprised to find Hinata not charging at them as Hinata blends in with the rest of his teammates for a first tempo synchronized attack. Daichi gets the last kill and evens the score at 20-20. Hinata's growth is now apparent as his teammates are beginning to take notice of his change.
Appearances
- Shōyō Hinata
- Osamu Miya
- Kei Tsukishima
- Tadashi Yamaguchi
- Keishin Ukai
- Ren Ōmimi
- Tobio Kageyama
- Daichi Sawamura
- Asahi Azumane
- Kōshi Sugawara
- Kazuhito Narita
- Ryūnosuke Tanaka
- Hitoshi Ginjima
- Aran Ojiro
- Hisashi Kinoshita
- Atsumu Miya
- Michinari Akagi
- Makoto Shimada
- Yūsuke Takinoue
- Hitoka Yachi
- Shinsuke Kita
- Rintarō Suna
- Takanobu Aone (mentioned)
- Kenji Futakuchi (mentioned)
- Kanji Koganegawa (mentioned)
- Tetsurō Kuroo (mentioned)
- Sō Inuoka (mentioned)
- Lev Haiba (mentioned)
- Yasushi Kamasaki (mentioned)
- Yūdai Hyakuzawa (mentioned)
- Satori Tendō (mentioned)
- Yū Nishinoya
- Yūtarō Kindaichi
- Issei Matsukawa
- Takahiro Hanamaki
- Akira Kunimi
Chapter notes
Character revelations
- In Hinata's opinion the worst blocker to go up against one-on-one is Matsukawa from Aoba Johsai; this is because he would stop Hinata from spiking crosses.
