"Growing Pain" (Japanese:
Contents
Overview
Hinata manages to keep the ball in play by receiving it with his chest, and Asahi follows up with a spike to even the score 18-18. Hinata is still having trouble finding the right position to receive, but his improvements are becoming noticeable to his teammates. Moreoever, it's not just Hinata, the whole team has grown immensely.
Plot
Hinata keeps the ball in play to the surprise of his teammates. However, he steps too far ahead, causing him to receive the ball with his chest. This, nevertheless, gives Karasuno a chance to counter, and Asahi comes through by scoring off a difficult setup. The set is now tied at 18-18 as everybody breathe a sigh of relief at the ending of a long rally. Yamaguchi wonders if Hinata should be considered lucky or unlucky for saving the ball despite getting hit by it. Nishinoya corrects him, stating that Hinata moved to the exact spot on purpose.
Tsukishima making a toss to Asahi with maximum consideration to the spikers.
Hinata makes his second serve, and Tsubakihara chooses to return it with a back attack. Instead of a powerful spike, Maruyama lightly pushes the ball to bypass Tsukishima's block. Once again, Hinata is already in position to receive. He is still having trouble estimating distance and makes the same mistake as before. Still, he manages to save the ball, allowing Tanaka to toss it back to Tsubakihara at a tough spot. Kurokawa immediately recognizes just how much Tanaka has improved since his impulsive days as a first years when he would just smash the ball whichever he liked. Tsubakihara is thrown off formation, but their setter Echigo returns it while targeting Kageyama to make the first touch. With their setter out, Tsukishima immediately prepares to make a toss to Asahi. He still remembers Goshiki's complaint about the sloppiness of his tosses during the training camp and puts extra effort to give Asahi a high toss. Asahi responds by blasting through three blockers with a powerful spike, earning Karasuno the lead. Afterwards, everybody praises Tsukishima for his easy-to-hit toss, except Kageyama who is frustrated at seeing Tsukishima's superb performance. The audience laughs at Hinata's failed attempt to receive, but Daichi knows that Hinata isn't reacting on instinct but actually knows where he needs to be. Hinata and the rest of the team's growth is becoming obvious with Takinoue and Shimada recognizing it from the sidelines.
Appearances
- Shōyō Hinata
- Tobio Kageyama
- Yū Nishinoya
- Ryūnosuke Tanaka
- Asahi Azumane
- Yoshitomo Atema
- Sakae Echigo
- Kōshi Sugawara
- Daichi Sawamura
- Tadashi Yamaguchi
- Hisashi Kinoshita
- Akifumi Kaikake
- Kei Tsukishima
- Kazuki Maruyama
- Motoki Teradomari
- Yūshi Maiko
- Hiroki Kurokawa
- Hidemi Tashiro
- Tōgo Iwamuro
- Keishin Ukai
- Tsutomu Goshiki (flashback)
- Ittetsu Takeda
- Hitoka Yachi
- Kiyoko Shimizu
- Makoto Shimada
- Yūsuke Takinoue
