Karasuno High School made it through the Miyagi prefecture preliminaries for the Harutaka Volleyball Tournament, which was crowded with strong teams, and advanced to the third round by defeating Hyogo Prefecture representative Inarizaki High School, which was considered one of the favorites for the championship. Their opponent, Nekoma High School, used to have a rivalry with Karasuno, and although their interactions with each other decreased at one point, after Hinata and the others joined the club, they once again became good friends, working out together at training camps and practice games. The battle is called the "Battle at the Garbage Dump" because of the "crow" and "cat" names in the school's name.
Shouyou Hinata, after losing to Kitagawa Daiichi Junior High's setter Tobio Kageyama in his first official volleyball match, transfers to Karasuno High, intent on finally having a proper volleyball team and getting his revenge on Kageyama. Upon arrival at Karasuno, however, Hinata finds out Kageyama has also gone to Karasuno. Initially at odds with each other, the two form an oddball combination and fight together with the other members of the volleyball club. Karasuno reunites with a former rival school, Nekoma High, in a practice match and reignites their school rivalry.
