The show remembers that these are actual high school students with actual problems, not just volleyball machines. Watching Hinata panic over a failed test while Kageyama silently suffers through makeup exam prep hits different than the usual tournament arc, it's comedy that only works if you care about who these people are off the court. The volleyball is the story, but the humanity is what makes you stay.

Hinata and Kageyama's volleyball dreams hit an unexpected roadblock when both of them fail a final exam just before the club's training camp in Tokyo. The make-up exams fall on the same dates as the trip, and the two beg the vice principal for a way out, without success. Kept back to study, they get help from the rest of the club, who try different ways to get them through the tests and onto the camp in time. This comedic sports special is set after the first season and captures the messiness of being a student-athlete.