"The Elite Few" (Japanese:
Overview[]
The second set will be starting with a different rotation, which allows only two receivers, Nishinoya and Daichi, in the back row in order to put a halt on Oikawa's consecutive service aces. Daichi successfully receives Oikawa's serve which gives them a chance to counterattack. Will they be able to stop Oikawa's serving streak?
Plot[]
Sugawara mentally goes over the play of how he and Tsukishima switched blocking positions and debates if it would be better to wait to see what their opponent will try before doing such a thing again. Daichi brings Sugawara out of his thoughts when he notices the vice-captain start to overthink things and assures him that Karasuno will be able to take back the second set by countering Oikawa's serves.
Ukai goes over a plan with the team of how to best defend the court when Oikawa is serving and what they can do to get back in the lead. When the game continues, Shimada notices that Karasuno's rotation is slightly different from the first set while Seijoh's is unchanged.
Tsukishima lands a spike and receives heavy praise from Sugawara. Hinata points out Sugawara's kind behavior to Kageyama when Ennoshita notes that Sugawara's behavior isn't just to be nice. Being in close contact with the other players allowed Sugawara to notice their behavior and allow him to figure out how to set to the spikers as not everyone is able to spike the same way.
Ennoshita notices Kageyama dislikes the idea of having to care enough about Tsukishima's emotional state though Kageyama tries to deny Ennoshita was able to read him so well. Ennoshita continues on by explaining how Kageyama is able to adjust his set when it seems like Hinata would not be able to hit it and points out that the rest of the team has the skills necessary to spike sets that are not to their preference but would possibly be able to get through anything before them if they had the proper sets they needed.
Iwaizumi lands a spike and brings the score to a tie at 2-2 with Oikawa next to serve. Shimada and Takinoue notice that Karasuno is in a formation that has Daichi and Nishinoya in the back row to receive. A quick flashback shows that Ukai had decided to change the rotation this way in order to counter Oikawa's serves. Because of the power and control Oikawa has over his serves, Ukai wanted the team's two best defenders to be in position to make the serve receive.
Takinoue and Shimada quickly figure out that Ukai had the formation set up this way to deal with Oikawa's serve while at the same time having Tanaka and Asahi closer to the net on the left and right to be ready to attack. Ukai's plan was based on how Oikawa was able to score so many service ace points during the first set by aiming between players or aiming for the weaker receivers.
Oikawa serves and Daichi makes the receive. As he gets ready to set, Sugawara is aware that they need to stop Oikawa's serve and get the momentum back on their side. Though it would put a lot of pressure on the chosen spiker, Sugawara knows this is their only chance. He sends the set to Tanaka because he was the one who was able to break the flow during the first set and has been in excellent condition since then. The plan works and Tanaka is able to score and cut off Oikawa's serve.
Watching the team celebrate, Kageyama recalls what Ennoshita said to him about the spikers being in top form with preferred sets. Ukai notices Kageyama's behavior and how the morale is higher than ever.
Though he admits that Seijoh is better in terms of technique and experience, Ukai is sure that as long as the team stays collected they will surely be able to get the flow to work for them. He calls out to the team to hang in there and not give up.