"Milestones" (Japanese:
Overview[]
With Hoshiumi leading the offence, Kamomedai is quickly gaining momentum; meanwhile, Karasuno is finding it harder and harder to score as Kamomedai ramps up their blocking game.
Plot[]
Hoshiumi follows up his awe-inspiring emergency set with an impressive service ace to steal back the lead. With a growing need to stop Hoshiumi, Karasuno finally breaks his serve streak when Tanaka snuck by Kamomedai's airtight block with a line shot. After Hinata's serve, Suwa sends a back row toss to Hoshiumi, who deftly avoids the two blockers by spiking the ball in the opposite direction. Although Hinata is able to read Hoshiumi's form, he is unable to prevent Karasuno from losing another point. Hoshiumi appears unstoppable, but Karasuno's reliable ace Asahi comes through from a powerful spike to tie the set at 12-12.
The commentators remark that Karasuno has been relying less on their attacks over the middle than usual, suspecting it as a result of Kamomedai's tight vigilance on the centerline; however, others soon realize that Kamomedai is using a stack block to put more pressure on Asahi. This tactics prove to be effective as Kamomedai hinders Asahi's spike before successfully counterattacking.
The observing Date Tech members recognize that Kamomedai is switching up their blocking to adapt to Karasuno's rotation. Since Karasuno's current rotation has only two available attackers up front, Kamomedai can eliminate any possibility of Karasuno attacking from the right and strengthen their defence on the left. In the following play, Kageyama tosses to Tsukishima after noticing an opening from the stack block. As Tsukishima prepares to slam the ball down, he sees all three blockers catching up to him to shut down his spike. Kamomedai now leads 14-12. Kuroo and Kenma quickly understand that Kamomedai is not only clever in their blocking but also quick enough to cover the gaps. Despite having his spike shut down, Tsukishima is undisturbed. Instead, he asks Kageyama to stop running away, which incites deep anger within the genius setter.