Volleyball Frontline Program.
Wu Di: “Good evening, everyone. It’s now 2 AM Beijing time, and on the other side of the Earth, the VNL Italy leg of this season is in full swing. Our Chinese team will be facing the world’s fifth-ranked team, France, today.”
Li Laiheng: “This match has been highly anticipated even before it started because China has been performing well in the VNL this year, and they are just one step away from the finals. If they can secure one more victory in this leg, they will secure their spot in the finals. However, I must say, winning this last match will be extremely difficult.”
The two commentators explained the intense competition in the Italy station and briefly introduced the characteristics of the French team.
Summary: This is going to be a tough match.
Audience: Aren’t all the matches in this station tough?
[It feels really uncertain. This year, the melon squad can defeat weak teams, but they haven’t won against strong teams like Brazil and Poland even once!]
[They are still a young team, and they haven’t paid attention to some details as well as traditional strong teams. The only consolation is that they at least won against Iran and established their dominance in Asia.]
[We still have to keep our hopes up. You know, in the past, when older fans did in-depth analysis of tough opponents and told new fans to watch the game calmly, the melon squad would always bring surprises and create miracles.]
Since this Gua squad was formed, haven’t they created enough miracles?
A girl with a green username sat in front of her computer with intense focus. On the screen, the Chinese and French teams had finished the first two sets. France won the first set 25:23, and China won the second set 26:24.
She sighed, “They are playing so splendidly. I wonder if I can save enough prize money this month to go to France and watch the finals.”
During this year, after graduating from university, she officially started working, and she left the fan circle but got interested in competitive sports. If possible, she really wanted to watch a volleyball match live.
In the third set, Newton made substitutions again, putting Qiao Mingming, Fu Biyang, Li Ling, Qin Chunxiao, You Ziyu, and Du Xiaofeng on the court.
Kong Duojin, Zhang Feng, He Shiping, and other veteran players didn’t play. All the players on the court were very young, and they had been playing together since the U21 World Championship, so their understanding was quite strong.
The match against France wasn’t as difficult as people had imagined.
Firstly, France lacked a powerful attacker in 2018. Although Sidney was talented, he was only 16 years old this year. The coach brought him to the adult stage to give him experience, not to make him the team’s main attacker. His full potential would have to wait for another two years.
Moreover, their style was the most similar to all the participating teams in the VNL.
A quick libero, attackers with similar efficiency, and a tall blocking line. China was younger than France, so their physical condition was better. France had played more major competitions, so their experience was richer. For a while, both sides fought on an equal footing.
Although the score today didn’t surpass 30 points, those grinding sets that required over 30 points were often due to accidental opportunities. Today, China and France seemed to play each set quite smoothly, but every point was hard-fought. There were many multi-round rallies, and it was common for several rounds to score only one point.
Next was China’s serve. You Ziyu assumed the serving position, and Li Ling clapped his hands and shouted to cheer him on, “Squid, serve well, and if I call for a set, I’ll get an immediate point!”
You Ziyu replied, “I’ll do it!”
The serve went out of bounds.
The referee blew the whistle, 0:1, with France leading by one point.
You Ziyu pointed at Li Ling and retorted in dialect, “I believed your evil!”
You Ziyu was from Hubei, and although Hubei has many dialects, this phrase “I believed in your evil” is something many people there would say.
Newton shouted from the sidelines, “Play a civilized game. No dirty words!”
Chang Xiaole pulled Newton aside, “Stop yelling, Coach Newton, the referee is looking over.”
Netizens: … What should we do to let Coach Newton and the players know that the domestic sports channel has upgraded their audio equipment recently, so everyone can hear their words clearly? By the way, these people have been flying for the VNL schedule, they probably haven’t watched domestic news for a long time, right?
Playing volleyball was quite noisy. When players serve, some shout “I got it,” and when the other spikes, one would shout “take that.” It was all about momentum. Not only is the Chinese team loud, but the French team was also loud. It was just that Chinese netizens were not familiar with the French expressions.
Newton was 1.95 meters tall, while Chang Xiaole was 1.97 meters tall. Being young, Chang Xiaole finally managed to pull Newton aside to calm him down.
At this moment, Qin Chunxiao gestured to them, pointing to his eyes and Sidney, and then made a three sign, indicating that Sidney had stepped on the three-meter line during his back-row attack.
Newton quickly called for a hawk-eye challenge, and Qin Chunxiao’s eyes were sharp. This challenge immediately tied the score to 1-1.
Sidney, a 16-year-old young player, knew that his skills were not as polished as the veterans, but he never expected to be caught by Qin Chunxiao on his first attack in this set.
He looked at his feet in astonishment, then turned to Qin Chunxiao, his expression showing a mix of admiration and unwillingness.
The French setter jokingly teased, “Although Misha Qin is only one year older than you, he performs much more cunningly on the court. It seems like playing a year of adult games makes a difference.”
“Sydney will grow a lot in this year of playing here.” The captain came over to comfort Sidney. Although Sidney adjusted his mindset, he was still holding back some resentment, eager to get even.
The opportunity came quickly. After a few plays, Sidney once again received the set from the setter and launched an attack at the net, with Fu Biyang and Qiao Mingming attempting a double block.
Sidney’s eyes lit up, and he gently dinked the ball over the block. Although it was successfully blocked by the Chinese team, he immediately signaled the coach. China’s Qiao Mingming’s knee touched the net during the block.
Touching the net is also a violation, but in the volleyball world full of spring-like athletes, sometimes, when jumping too high, it’s hard to avoid a slight contact with the net. Once caught, it results in a point for the opponent.
Qiao Mingming looked at the hawk-eye replay and found that his knee indeed touched the net! However, because he was wearing knee pads, and the contact area was small, he didn’t even notice it himself!
What’s with Sidney’s eyes? How are they as sharp as Xiaozai’s?
The two ‘hawk-eyes’ locked eyes from across the net, and Sidney lifted his chin, “Hey, although I could only watch your games on TV before, now we’re playing on the same court. How about you attack once?”
In this match, Qin Chunxiao played as a receiver, just like Sidney.
The French commentator couldn’t help but chuckle, “Sidney is challenging Misha Qin, this is interesting. Because Misha Qin also often challenges senior players during matches, it seems that these players born in the 21st century are all very sharp. This is probably the first time Misha Qin has been challenged by a younger player on the international stage?”
This French commentator was not wrong, and to be more accurate, Sidney was the first player younger than Qin Chunxiao that he encountered on the international stage.
Qin Chunxiao didn’t get upset about being challenged. In fact, he felt a subtle emotion from Sidney’s words.
In his previous life, Sidney also entered the adult competition at this age and quickly shined on the world stage. At that time, Qin Chunxiao was still in the provincial team, struggling to break into the national team, let alone playing in international tournaments.
At that time, their positions were reversed, and he could only watch Sidney shine on the top stage as a youth through the television. But now, Sidney unexpectedly wanted to befriend him and even claimed that Qin Chunxiao was the young player he admired the most, looking forward to competing with him.
Originally, Qin Chunxiao planned to focus on defense in this match. He had already recognized his talent’s limitations. In terms of defense, he could be very strong. But in terms of attacking, he couldn’t compare with these two-meter-tall and agile big guys. Innate factors limited his development in this area.
Competing head-on with these volleyball beasts at the net would not be beneficial. Whether it was being blocked by the opponent or failing in the attack, it would hurt the team’s score. Rationally, he shouldn’t do this.
However, he looked at Li Ling, and Li Ling seemed to understand something. He decisively gave a thumbs-up, and Qin Chunxiao was sure.
Fortunately, volleyball is never a one-person sport.
At this time, the Russian team had lost to the Italian team, and they came to watch the game with sighs and regrets. They were temporarily leading the world rankings over Brazil with a meager points advantage. But losing this match meant losing points, and they might be caught up by Brazil.
Italy’s team was also there, standing beside them.
Nikolai frowned at them and stared at the Italian men’s volleyball team coach Lorenzo, “What are you doing here?”
Lorenzo responded with a grumpy face, “Watching my students. What about you, kid? Aren’t you going back to review the game?”
Nikolai said, “I’m here to watch my students too!”
Both coaches led their respective players onto the court and found the atmosphere inside the stadium was frenetic. Although the Italy leg was not considered a home match for France and China, supporters from both teams were present, waving their flags and cheering loudly.
On the court, Du Xiaofeng received the ball, Li Ling set, and Qin Chunxiao then made an approach and took off, light as a snow leopard running towards the summit in a snowy field.
In front of him, Sidney was holding his hands high for a block. The height difference between the two was more than thirty centimeters. Onlookers could clearly perceive the disparity in size and jumping ability between Qin Chunxiao and his opponent. Qin Chunxiao indeed couldn’t jump as high as Sidney.
However, Qin Chunxiao hesitated not and still attacked. The volleyball left his palm, flew towards Sidney’s fingertips, brushed against them, and flew out of bounds.
A beautiful wipeout hit!
Roman’s eyes widened in amazement as he recalled the time when he once confronted Misham Qin at the net during the Russian Super League, a moment people referred to as “A Mortal’s Challenging a God.”
But only now did he truly understand the weight of that phrase. In the volleyball world of giants, such a scene was incredibly shocking and exhilarating.
Someone behind them grumbled, “Well, this point has passed, but if they don’t score soon, I doubt the libero can keep it together.”
Everyone turned around in confusion and saw the beach volleyball champion, Kristen Fisher, standing at 2.09 meters tall, not much different from the indoor volleyball gods in terms of physical abilities. His skin was bronzed from the sun, wearing a black tank top and beach shorts, with bulging muscles signaling strength.
However, this guy had a head of curly hair, a scruffy beard, and always had a lazy expression on his face, giving the impression of a lion that never woke up, which made it difficult for people to respect him.
Kristen’s partner, Tim, pointed at the court and said, “Misha’s height is a bit short, but he still wants to break through Sidney’s block and score. He has been attacking continuously for the past minute, and Tulengchika has been setting for him repeatedly, but he’s always been blocked. Fortunately, his teammates’ follow-up blocks have been good; otherwise, they would have lost points long ago.”
Kristen rested his chin on his hands and smiled, “But it’s pretty exciting. Volleyball is a team sport, and it’s the teamwork that makes it interesting.”
Indeed, it was because of the help from his teammates that Misha Qin managed to attack and break through Sidney’s block, making this one point so touching.
Qin Chunxiao had already made a considerable effort in his jump. When he landed, he couldn’t stabilize himself, and forcefully standing up at this moment would risk injuring his joints. He simply sat on the ground, using the cushion of his flesh.
He was panting and looked up at Sidney with a smile, “Sidney, disappointed? Scoring in front of the net is so difficult. Without teammates, it’s impossible to survive on the top stage.”
As someone who publicly admitted to admiring and loving same-generation players like Qin Chunxiao, did this boy have any illusions shattered due to his attacking deficiencies?
Sidney didn’t feel shattered, quite the opposite. He thought the attack was beautiful and sincerely replied, “Good play.”
As long as it was a good play, Qin Chunxiao felt like he gave Sidney a satisfactory “answer ball.” Feeling elated, he turned around and continued to exert himself on the defensive end.
While he couldn’t break through Sidney’s block to score, Sidney’s attacks also couldn’t break through Qin Chunxiao’s defense and land on the ground. Moreover, this guy’s experience and awareness were not on par with the mature players like Roman and Sebastian. Defending against Sidney wasn’t difficult for Qin Chunxiao.
In the third set, China won 26-24.
It was 2-1 now!
At this moment, they had broken the public’s inherent perception of the Chinese team only being good enough against weaker teams. They were genuinely neck and neck with the French team. This meant that they truly belonged to the world-class level and could ignite brilliant sparks when colliding.
Yes, it wasn’t just attacking teams that could stir people’s blood; defensive teams could do it too.
They may not have employed violent attacks, but they had teamwork, persistence, bravery, and unity. These charms of competitive sports were equally displayed by them, and they presented a match worth reminiscing, a match that touched people’s hearts, to volleyball enthusiasts.
As the match entered the fourth set, the atmosphere in the entire stadium reached a fever pitch. The two teams were fiercely contesting every point, neither giving an inch to the other, battling it out one point at a time.
Qiao Mingming had already noticed that Sidney’s talent surpassed his own. Even though Sidney was clearly not yet an adult, he only needed two steps to jump as high as Qiao Mingming, and he possessed good floor skills and exceptional observational abilities. His blocking was also impressive, making him an all-around player.
But Qiao Mingming was not alone because he had Qin Chunxiao backing him up!
At some point, all the noisy sounds were automatically filtered out by Qin Chunxiao. He almost forgot the importance of this match for the Chinese team. If they couldn’t win this match, they would face the formidable firepower of several strong attacking players tomorrow, along with Italy’s top setter Mattia, the strategic middle blocker Louis, and the genius libero Dario. It would be even more challenging for the Chinese team to secure a victory.
The opportunity to make it to the VNL finals and reunite with opponents and friends was only available now.
Now, and only now!
And Qin Chunxiao was completely focused on the volleyball.
Starting from the moment when only volleyball filled his eyes, extreme concentration brought him incredible reaction speed. His powerful vision allowed him to easily observe the movements of everyone on the court. He could anticipate the attacking routes of the French hitters and his footwork in pursuit of the ball became incredibly light.
Sweat dripped down his cheek, and the young boy’s eyes shone brightly as he rushed towards the ball again.
Despite being 7 centimeters shorter than the opposing libero, Qin Chunxiao’s slender figure managed to steadily set each ball to the setter, like a moving Great Wall.
In the fourth set, Qin Chunxiao displayed his best form since the start of the VNL, reducing France’s scoring efficiency by thirty percent.
An astonishing thirty percent!
His defensive ability filled all the players who witnessed his performance with awe.
Thirty minutes later, China won the fourth set with a score of 27-25, making it 3-1. They triumphed in this crucial match and secured their tenth victory in the VNL group stage.
Based on the points of other teams on the standings, even if they were to lose to Italy tomorrow, they could still secure the fifth position. Only six teams would advance to the finals, excluding the host team France, leaving five teams in contention.
Volleyball frontlines.
Wu Di praised, “Qin Chunxiao, this young player once again led his teammates to victory with his defense. It’s unbelievable. According to the data, in the fourth set, he practically locked up the French team by himself, making their offensive progress extremely difficult.”
Li Laiheng added, “Yes, the Chinese men’s national team and the French team share some similarities in playing style. Both teams’ players used their sheer strength to compete until the end today. Therefore, Qin Chunxiao’s defense, Li Ling and Ding Rong’s setting, and the scores earned by all the attackers became the key to victory.”
Wu Di concluded, “Let’s congratulate these young players for securing their precious tickets to the 2018 VNL finals. Now, we can look forward to the Chinese men’s national team facing the other five strong teams in the final showdown on July 5th in Lille, France. We wish them good results.”
In the moment of victory, everything outside of volleyball returned to Qin Chunxiao’s sensory system. He stood on the court, drenched in sweat, while his teammates joyfully rushed towards him, shouting in celebration.
Qin Chunxiao smiled and raised his collar to wipe off the sweat. He bumped his forehead with his excited teammates, unable to express his emotions in words. At this moment, he felt like crying.
After being denied for so long, going through the long journey of past lives, experiencing death once, he finally made it to the VNL finals. He had walked this road for a long time. Qin Chunxiao lifted his head and looked towards the spectator stands. He saw the Italian team raising their thumbs, seemingly happy for Qiao Mingming and Fu Biyang. Roman, Anton, and Nikolai were waving at him.
And at the back row of the audience, Lu Xuandong was sitting there.
The world saw Qin Chunxiao the defensive genius, and Lu Xuandong saw Qin Chunxiao too.
They looked at each other from a distance. Qin Chunxiao smiled and then went to shake hands with the opponents across the net, followed by some post-match stretching.
The captain and opposite hitter of the French team, Derck, wore sports glasses and appeared refined, but he played quite aggressively. Today, Qin Chunxiao had many bruises on his wrist and arms, some of which were caused by this captain, Derck.
However, during the handshake, Derck showed respect in his eyes when looking at Qin Chunxiao. He asked, “Can we take a photo together?”
Qin Chunxiao replied, “Of course.”
Derck then had Sidney take a photo of them with his phone and later posted the group picture on Twitter.
Derck’s tweet:
“Misha Qin’s defense is as tough as a tower to conquer. I hope we can meet again in the finals. I’m looking forward to challenging such defense once more.”
Volleyball Frontline Program.
Wu Di: “Good evening, everyone. It’s now 2 AM Beijing time, and on the other side of the Earth, the VNL Italy leg of this season is in full swing. Our Chinese team will be facing the world’s fifth-ranked team, France, today.”
Li Laiheng: “This match has been highly anticipated even before it started because China has been performing well in the VNL this year, and they are just one step away from the finals. If they can secure one more victory in this leg, they will secure their spot in the finals. However, I must say, winning this last match will be extremely difficult.”
The two commentators explained the intense competition in the Italy station and briefly introduced the characteristics of the French team.
Summary: This is going to be a tough match.
Audience: Aren’t all the matches in this station tough?
[It feels really uncertain. This year, the melon squad can defeat weak teams, but they haven’t won against strong teams like Brazil and Poland even once!]
[They are still a young team, and they haven’t paid attention to some details as well as traditional strong teams. The only consolation is that they at least won against Iran and established their dominance in Asia.]
[We still have to keep our hopes up. You know, in the past, when older fans did in-depth analysis of tough opponents and told new fans to watch the game calmly, the melon squad would always bring surprises and create miracles.]
Since this Gua squad was formed, haven’t they created enough miracles?
A girl with a green username sat in front of her computer with intense focus. On the screen, the Chinese and French teams had finished the first two sets. France won the first set 25:23, and China won the second set 26:24.
She sighed, “They are playing so splendidly. I wonder if I can save enough prize money this month to go to France and watch the finals.”
During this year, after graduating from university, she officially started working, and she left the fan circle but got interested in competitive sports. If possible, she really wanted to watch a volleyball match live.
In the third set, Newton made substitutions again, putting Qiao Mingming, Fu Biyang, Li Ling, Qin Chunxiao, You Ziyu, and Du Xiaofeng on the court.
Kong Duojin, Zhang Feng, He Shiping, and other veteran players didn’t play. All the players on the court were very young, and they had been playing together since the U21 World Championship, so their understanding was quite strong.
The match against France wasn’t as difficult as people had imagined.
Firstly, France lacked a powerful attacker in 2018. Although Sidney was talented, he was only 16 years old this year. The coach brought him to the adult stage to give him experience, not to make him the team’s main attacker. His full potential would have to wait for another two years.
Moreover, their style was the most similar to all the participating teams in the VNL.
A quick libero, attackers with similar efficiency, and a tall blocking line. China was younger than France, so their physical condition was better. France had played more major competitions, so their experience was richer. For a while, both sides fought on an equal footing.
Although the score today didn’t surpass 30 points, those grinding sets that required over 30 points were often due to accidental opportunities. Today, China and France seemed to play each set quite smoothly, but every point was hard-fought. There were many multi-round rallies, and it was common for several rounds to score only one point.
Next was China’s serve. You Ziyu assumed the serving position, and Li Ling clapped his hands and shouted to cheer him on, “Squid, serve well, and if I call for a set, I’ll get an immediate point!”
You Ziyu replied, “I’ll do it!”
The serve went out of bounds.
The referee blew the whistle, 0:1, with France leading by one point.
You Ziyu pointed at Li Ling and retorted in dialect, “I believed your evil!”
You Ziyu was from Hubei, and although Hubei has many dialects, this phrase “I believed in your evil” is something many people there would say.
Newton shouted from the sidelines, “Play a civilized game. No dirty words!”
Chang Xiaole pulled Newton aside, “Stop yelling, Coach Newton, the referee is looking over.”
Netizens: … What should we do to let Coach Newton and the players know that the domestic sports channel has upgraded their audio equipment recently, so everyone can hear their words clearly? By the way, these people have been flying for the VNL schedule, they probably haven’t watched domestic news for a long time, right?
Playing volleyball was quite noisy. When players serve, some shout “I got it,” and when the other spikes, one would shout “take that.” It was all about momentum. Not only is the Chinese team loud, but the French team was also loud. It was just that Chinese netizens were not familiar with the French expressions.
Newton was 1.95 meters tall, while Chang Xiaole was 1.97 meters tall. Being young, Chang Xiaole finally managed to pull Newton aside to calm him down.
At this moment, Qin Chunxiao gestured to them, pointing to his eyes and Sidney, and then made a three sign, indicating that Sidney had stepped on the three-meter line during his back-row attack.
Newton quickly called for a hawk-eye challenge, and Qin Chunxiao’s eyes were sharp. This challenge immediately tied the score to 1-1.
Sidney, a 16-year-old young player, knew that his skills were not as polished as the veterans, but he never expected to be caught by Qin Chunxiao on his first attack in this set.
He looked at his feet in astonishment, then turned to Qin Chunxiao, his expression showing a mix of admiration and unwillingness.
The French setter jokingly teased, “Although Misha Qin is only one year older than you, he performs much more cunningly on the court. It seems like playing a year of adult games makes a difference.”
“Sydney will grow a lot in this year of playing here.” The captain came over to comfort Sidney. Although Sidney adjusted his mindset, he was still holding back some resentment, eager to get even.
The opportunity came quickly. After a few plays, Sidney once again received the set from the setter and launched an attack at the net, with Fu Biyang and Qiao Mingming attempting a double block.
Sidney’s eyes lit up, and he gently dinked the ball over the block. Although it was successfully blocked by the Chinese team, he immediately signaled the coach. China’s Qiao Mingming’s knee touched the net during the block.
Touching the net is also a violation, but in the volleyball world full of spring-like athletes, sometimes, when jumping too high, it’s hard to avoid a slight contact with the net. Once caught, it results in a point for the opponent.
Qiao Mingming looked at the hawk-eye replay and found that his knee indeed touched the net! However, because he was wearing knee pads, and the contact area was small, he didn’t even notice it himself!
What’s with Sidney’s eyes? How are they as sharp as Xiaozai’s?
The two ‘hawk-eyes’ locked eyes from across the net, and Sidney lifted his chin, “Hey, although I could only watch your games on TV before, now we’re playing on the same court. How about you attack once?”
In this match, Qin Chunxiao played as a receiver, just like Sidney.
The French commentator couldn’t help but chuckle, “Sidney is challenging Misha Qin, this is interesting. Because Misha Qin also often challenges senior players during matches, it seems that these players born in the 21st century are all very sharp. This is probably the first time Misha Qin has been challenged by a younger player on the international stage?”
This French commentator was not wrong, and to be more accurate, Sidney was the first player younger than Qin Chunxiao that he encountered on the international stage.
Qin Chunxiao didn’t get upset about being challenged. In fact, he felt a subtle emotion from Sidney’s words.
In his previous life, Sidney also entered the adult competition at this age and quickly shined on the world stage. At that time, Qin Chunxiao was still in the provincial team, struggling to break into the national team, let alone playing in international tournaments.
At that time, their positions were reversed, and he could only watch Sidney shine on the top stage as a youth through the television. But now, Sidney unexpectedly wanted to befriend him and even claimed that Qin Chunxiao was the young player he admired the most, looking forward to competing with him.
Originally, Qin Chunxiao planned to focus on defense in this match. He had already recognized his talent’s limitations. In terms of defense, he could be very strong. But in terms of attacking, he couldn’t compare with these two-meter-tall and agile big guys. Innate factors limited his development in this area.
Competing head-on with these volleyball beasts at the net would not be beneficial. Whether it was being blocked by the opponent or failing in the attack, it would hurt the team’s score. Rationally, he shouldn’t do this.
However, he looked at Li Ling, and Li Ling seemed to understand something. He decisively gave a thumbs-up, and Qin Chunxiao was sure.
Fortunately, volleyball is never a one-person sport.
At this time, the Russian team had lost to the Italian team, and they came to watch the game with sighs and regrets. They were temporarily leading the world rankings over Brazil with a meager points advantage. But losing this match meant losing points, and they might be caught up by Brazil.
Italy’s team was also there, standing beside them.
Nikolai frowned at them and stared at the Italian men’s volleyball team coach Lorenzo, “What are you doing here?”
Lorenzo responded with a grumpy face, “Watching my students. What about you, kid? Aren’t you going back to review the game?”
Nikolai said, “I’m here to watch my students too!”
Both coaches led their respective players onto the court and found the atmosphere inside the stadium was frenetic. Although the Italy leg was not considered a home match for France and China, supporters from both teams were present, waving their flags and cheering loudly.
On the court, Du Xiaofeng received the ball, Li Ling set, and Qin Chunxiao then made an approach and took off, light as a snow leopard running towards the summit in a snowy field.
In front of him, Sidney was holding his hands high for a block. The height difference between the two was more than thirty centimeters. Onlookers could clearly perceive the disparity in size and jumping ability between Qin Chunxiao and his opponent. Qin Chunxiao indeed couldn’t jump as high as Sidney.
However, Qin Chunxiao hesitated not and still attacked. The volleyball left his palm, flew towards Sidney’s fingertips, brushed against them, and flew out of bounds.
A beautiful wipeout hit!
Roman’s eyes widened in amazement as he recalled the time when he once confronted Misham Qin at the net during the Russian Super League, a moment people referred to as “A Mortal’s Challenging a God.”
But only now did he truly understand the weight of that phrase. In the volleyball world of giants, such a scene was incredibly shocking and exhilarating.
Someone behind them grumbled, “Well, this point has passed, but if they don’t score soon, I doubt the libero can keep it together.”
Everyone turned around in confusion and saw the beach volleyball champion, Kristen Fisher, standing at 2.09 meters tall, not much different from the indoor volleyball gods in terms of physical abilities. His skin was bronzed from the sun, wearing a black tank top and beach shorts, with bulging muscles signaling strength.
However, this guy had a head of curly hair, a scruffy beard, and always had a lazy expression on his face, giving the impression of a lion that never woke up, which made it difficult for people to respect him.
Kristen’s partner, Tim, pointed at the court and said, “Misha’s height is a bit short, but he still wants to break through Sidney’s block and score. He has been attacking continuously for the past minute, and Tulengchika has been setting for him repeatedly, but he’s always been blocked. Fortunately, his teammates’ follow-up blocks have been good; otherwise, they would have lost points long ago.”
Kristen rested his chin on his hands and smiled, “But it’s pretty exciting. Volleyball is a team sport, and it’s the teamwork that makes it interesting.”
Indeed, it was because of the help from his teammates that Misha Qin managed to attack and break through Sidney’s block, making this one point so touching.
Qin Chunxiao had already made a considerable effort in his jump. When he landed, he couldn’t stabilize himself, and forcefully standing up at this moment would risk injuring his joints. He simply sat on the ground, using the cushion of his flesh.
He was panting and looked up at Sidney with a smile, “Sidney, disappointed? Scoring in front of the net is so difficult. Without teammates, it’s impossible to survive on the top stage.”
As someone who publicly admitted to admiring and loving same-generation players like Qin Chunxiao, did this boy have any illusions shattered due to his attacking deficiencies?
Sidney didn’t feel shattered, quite the opposite. He thought the attack was beautiful and sincerely replied, “Good play.”
As long as it was a good play, Qin Chunxiao felt like he gave Sidney a satisfactory “answer ball.” Feeling elated, he turned around and continued to exert himself on the defensive end.
While he couldn’t break through Sidney’s block to score, Sidney’s attacks also couldn’t break through Qin Chunxiao’s defense and land on the ground. Moreover, this guy’s experience and awareness were not on par with the mature players like Roman and Sebastian. Defending against Sidney wasn’t difficult for Qin Chunxiao.
In the third set, China won 26-24.
It was 2-1 now!
At this moment, they had broken the public’s inherent perception of the Chinese team only being good enough against weaker teams. They were genuinely neck and neck with the French team. This meant that they truly belonged to the world-class level and could ignite brilliant sparks when colliding.
Yes, it wasn’t just attacking teams that could stir people’s blood; defensive teams could do it too.
They may not have employed violent attacks, but they had teamwork, persistence, bravery, and unity. These charms of competitive sports were equally displayed by them, and they presented a match worth reminiscing, a match that touched people’s hearts, to volleyball enthusiasts.
As the match entered the fourth set, the atmosphere in the entire stadium reached a fever pitch. The two teams were fiercely contesting every point, neither giving an inch to the other, battling it out one point at a time.
Qiao Mingming had already noticed that Sidney’s talent surpassed his own. Even though Sidney was clearly not yet an adult, he only needed two steps to jump as high as Qiao Mingming, and he possessed good floor skills and exceptional observational abilities. His blocking was also impressive, making him an all-around player.
But Qiao Mingming was not alone because he had Qin Chunxiao backing him up!
At some point, all the noisy sounds were automatically filtered out by Qin Chunxiao. He almost forgot the importance of this match for the Chinese team. If they couldn’t win this match, they would face the formidable firepower of several strong attacking players tomorrow, along with Italy’s top setter Mattia, the strategic middle blocker Louis, and the genius libero Dario. It would be even more challenging for the Chinese team to secure a victory.
The opportunity to make it to the VNL finals and reunite with opponents and friends was only available now.
Now, and only now!
And Qin Chunxiao was completely focused on the volleyball.
Starting from the moment when only volleyball filled his eyes, extreme concentration brought him incredible reaction speed. His powerful vision allowed him to easily observe the movements of everyone on the court. He could anticipate the attacking routes of the French hitters and his footwork in pursuit of the ball became incredibly light.
Sweat dripped down his cheek, and the young boy’s eyes shone brightly as he rushed towards the ball again.
Despite being 7 centimeters shorter than the opposing libero, Qin Chunxiao’s slender figure managed to steadily set each ball to the setter, like a moving Great Wall.
In the fourth set, Qin Chunxiao displayed his best form since the start of the VNL, reducing France’s scoring efficiency by thirty percent.
An astonishing thirty percent!
His defensive ability filled all the players who witnessed his performance with awe.
Thirty minutes later, China won the fourth set with a score of 27-25, making it 3-1. They triumphed in this crucial match and secured their tenth victory in the VNL group stage.
Based on the points of other teams on the standings, even if they were to lose to Italy tomorrow, they could still secure the fifth position. Only six teams would advance to the finals, excluding the host team France, leaving five teams in contention.
Volleyball frontlines.
Wu Di praised, “Qin Chunxiao, this young player once again led his teammates to victory with his defense. It’s unbelievable. According to the data, in the fourth set, he practically locked up the French team by himself, making their offensive progress extremely difficult.”
Li Laiheng added, “Yes, the Chinese men’s national team and the French team share some similarities in playing style. Both teams’ players used their sheer strength to compete until the end today. Therefore, Qin Chunxiao’s defense, Li Ling and Ding Rong’s setting, and the scores earned by all the attackers became the key to victory.”
Wu Di concluded, “Let’s congratulate these young players for securing their precious tickets to the 2018 VNL finals. Now, we can look forward to the Chinese men’s national team facing the other five strong teams in the final showdown on July 5th in Lille, France. We wish them good results.”
In the moment of victory, everything outside of volleyball returned to Qin Chunxiao’s sensory system. He stood on the court, drenched in sweat, while his teammates joyfully rushed towards him, shouting in celebration.
Qin Chunxiao smiled and raised his collar to wipe off the sweat. He bumped his forehead with his excited teammates, unable to express his emotions in words. At this moment, he felt like crying.
After being denied for so long, going through the long journey of past lives, experiencing death once, he finally made it to the VNL finals. He had walked this road for a long time. Qin Chunxiao lifted his head and looked towards the spectator stands. He saw the Italian team raising their thumbs, seemingly happy for Qiao Mingming and Fu Biyang. Roman, Anton, and Nikolai were waving at him.
And at the back row of the audience, Lu Xuandong was sitting there.
The world saw Qin Chunxiao the defensive genius, and Lu Xuandong saw Qin Chunxiao too.
They looked at each other from a distance. Qin Chunxiao smiled and then went to shake hands with the opponents across the net, followed by some post-match stretching.
The captain and opposite hitter of the French team, Derck, wore sports glasses and appeared refined, but he played quite aggressively. Today, Qin Chunxiao had many bruises on his wrist and arms, some of which were caused by this captain, Derck.
However, during the handshake, Derck showed respect in his eyes when looking at Qin Chunxiao. He asked, “Can we take a photo together?”
Qin Chunxiao replied, “Of course.”
Derck then had Sidney take a photo of them with his phone and later posted the group picture on Twitter.
Derck’s tweet:
“Misha Qin’s defense is as tough as a tower to conquer. I hope we can meet again in the finals. I’m looking forward to challenging such defense once more.”
