Background

Daichi went to Izumitate Junior High with Hayato Ikejiri and Yui Michimiya.He and Ikejiri played on the same volleyball team with Daichi as captain. In their final tournament, they won the first match but were up against a powerhouse in the second. Almost everyone in the team started to lose hope, but Daichi never gave up and did what he could to motivate his teammates. He was the only one to run and chase after the ball with all his might, even until the very end. However, they lost anyway. While the rest of the team all saw that coming and therefore were less upset, Daichi was the one most affected as he believed that they had at least a slight chance to win.In the last year of junior high, Daichi made a promise with Ikejiri, since they were going to different high schools, that they would continue playing volleyball and one day meet each other on the court again.

Plot

Daichi attends Kitagawa Daiichi's match against Yukigaoka with Sugawara and Tanaka to see how the "King of the Upper Court" plays.Throughout the match, Daichi is impressed by Hinata's high jumps and notes that if Yukigaoka had a proper setter, Hinata would become an incredible asset. On the other hand, Kageyama seems to not make good use of the players around him and appears to be playing the match completely on his own.On the first day of school, Daichi receives the first-years' registrations from Kiyoko and remarks with disappointment that there aren't that many this year. As he looks over them, he suddenly stutters in shock as he recognizes one of them.