"Support System" (Japanese:
Overview[]
Karasuno uses their first timeout after seeing their point differences widening. The pressure from the Inarizaki's cheer squad is becoming oppressive but Saeko shows up in time with her taiko drum team to cheer on Karasuno. Although they couldn't fully drown out Inarizaki's cheering squad, Saeko and her taiko team successfully disrupts the rhythm set in place. With the improved atmosphere, Karasuno quickly regains their lost points. Meanwhile, Hinata is still having trouble perfecting his receives, but by some miracle, he manages to keep the ball in play. Karasuno catches up with the score currently at 7-6 still in favor of Inarizaki.
Plot[]
Saeko cheering for Karasuno.
With the point gap widening, Karasuno is forced to take their first timeout. The Inarizaki cheering squad continues to be an oppressive presence even during the break, but drum beats sounds through the stadium. Everybody turns toward the source of the sound to find Saeko playing the taiko drums with her team. Karasuno, in particular, is especially glad to have Saeko here.
After the timeout, Aran makes his second serve. Tanaka manages to save it, but is unable to cleanly return it to the setter. Kageyama quickly moves in to setup a minus-tempo quick with Hinata, who breaks through the Inarizaki blockers before they can properly react. On Saeko's signal, her team begins a celebratory cheer for Hinata. While Hinata prepares to serve, Takinoue tells Saeko to create enough sound to disrupt Inarizaki cheering squad's beat. Saeko is more than enthusiastic to do so since she's still not over having her own cheer drowned out by Shiratorizawa's during the qualifier finals. Still, she is well-aware that their goal is not to defeat the opposition's cheering team, but simply to help out Karasuno by changing the atmosphere even a little bit.
With all the commotions around him, Hinata can't help but feeling excited over his serve. On the side, Hoshiumi and his teammates take notice of Hinata's demeanor and thinks he is going to unleash a powerful serve. However, they are quickly disappointed when they saw how normal Hinata's serve is. Aran easily receives Hinata's serve, and the rest of Inarizaki goes in for a double quick attack. Tsukishima is ready and moves quickly to block Ginjima. Meanwhile, Hinata is carefully processing the information and positions himself to receive a straight. Although he is in position, he still hasn't perfected the receiving part as he moved his arm too slowly to make contact with the ball. By some miracle, the ball lands on his foot and returns back into the air. Despite feeling humiliated over his mistake, Hinata quickly regains composure after Nishinoya compliments him for his efforts. Hinata charges in for a Back Minus but Kageyama tosses the ball pass him to Daichi instead. This move takes both Hinata and Inarizaki by surprise, thus allowing Daichi to score. With the last play, Karasuno regains their momentum as they catch up to Inarizaki.
Appearances[]
- Kamomedai High
- Kōrai Hoshiumi
- All Kamomedai High Boys' Volleyball Team Members
Chapter notes[]
Character revelations[]
Trivia[]
- Saeko's taiko drum team is an actual real-life reference that Furudate-sensei used of the Fukushima Prefecture's Souma High School Taiko Club.