This past weekend on November 9th, the University of Wisconsin Platteville (UWP) hosted the following teams at the Pioneer Classic V: University of Nebraska Lincoln (UNL), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), University of Wisconsin Stout (Stout), and the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire (UWEC). Below we will take a look at the teams on the day and hear from captains and coaches on their team’s performance. The following pictures were taken by Richard Laux.
UIUC (3-0)– UIUC started out the day against UWEC/Stout and it was a great game for them to warm up on. They used their speed to their advantage and were able to get several counters on their opponents preventing them from really getting into any type of flow. On top of that they capitalized on balls over and were not afraid to throw 2-3 balls to make sure they secured outs to keep points in their favor. On their second game of the day, they came ready to go and had a much different approach than the first. UIUC had control all of the first half and used their baseline to get multiple catches on the Pioneers, By playing on the baseline, they were able to easily cross UWP and made them make mistakes they didn’t want to. They controlled the game from the start and never looked back. Illinois did a lot of the same in their last game against UNL and never gave Nebraska a chance to compete. As a team, their talent is growing each event and are becoming a tougher opponent every time.
UWP (2-1)–UWP’s first game of the day was UNL and gave it their all. It paid off as they were able to get their first win on Nebraska in over 3 years. Platteville had great ball control, made several counters, capitalized on team throws, and avoided throwing catches. In their second match of the day (UIUC), they did not bring the same energy as they did against the Cornhuskers. They came out tired and were not sticking to their game strategy. The second half was much better as they made adjustments, but it was too little too late. Their last game of the day was against UWEC/Stout and they were able to gain a lot of valuable experience, especially for their rookies. UWP had great team throws, made catches, and got quick close range counters to secure points to get the win. This team’s chemistry is really coming along and they are playing more as a unit each tournament. It should be fun to see how they continue to progress.
UNL (1-2)– UNL started out the day against UWP and with a smaller less experienced roster, the Cornhuskers struggled more than they have in the past. This was a close match and the biggest difference in why the Pioneers were able to take control and not lose to UNL was catching. UNL normally makes multiple catches on Platteville, but in this game they were dropping more than they could bring in. On top of that, they were unable to connect on several crosses and threw catches themselves. In their second game, they were able to rebound and make more catches and use their experience to control the game against UWEC/Stout. Finally, on the last game against UIUC, they just did not have an answer. When it seemed like they would build momentum in a point, UIUC would come back and turn things around. UNL at times threw too many balls and lacked ball control, which prevented them from making plays and capitalizing on Illinois’s mistakes. This was a young and inexperienced team and they will do better next time.
UWEC/Stout (0-3)-For these two teams, this was their first real experience to play with a full 12 on the court and a lot of the players this was their first tournament experience. UWEC/Stout their first game was against UIUC and that game was just getting used to each other and understanding how everyone worked together. It was figuring out how to block, make play calls, and play with a strategy. In their second game, you started to see them understand these fundamentals and play with some good team chemistry. UWEC/Stout was hurt most in this game by all of the catches that they threw, which prevented them from getting more points on Nebraska. Their final game of the day was against the Pioneers, they were really starting to click and have a good sense of the game. They were blocking for each other, had better ball control, were getting catches, and making team throws. These teams learned a lot and will take this experience and build off of it for next time.
Women’s No-Sting-At the Pioneer Classic V, a women’s no-sting game took place with UWP and a mixed team of UWEC, Stout, and UIUC. This was the first of its kind in the central region and we are excited to see more women’s matches in the future. It was a great game that went back and forth, but in the end the mixed team was able to prevail and take the win against UWP 6-4. A few players stood out in this match were: Hollie Wheeler of UWP, as she had several counters and was not afraid to take charge and Cleo Moen of UWEC as she had an incredibly strong throw that lead to multiple outs. In this game, we saw a lot of great team throws and various players on both sides step up, make calls, and make some big time catches. This was a competitive match and we are excited to see how the next no-sting match will go!
Top Performers– The following individuals were the top performers on the weekend and are players to watch out for in the future in the Central Region.
UIUC– Charles Cardenas (#15), Alejandro Alanis-Montes (#21), and Ehimemen Eromosele (#33).
UNL– Samuel Lavender (#4), Malaki Shriner-Horne (#15), and Adrian Moses (#28).
UWEC/Stout-Matthew Polum, Caleb Stangl, Rose Laux, and Angel Lucero.
UWP– Jalen Sims (#10), Nicholas Stocks (#27), and Dylan Fabry (#62).
The following questions were asked of captains and coaches.
Erik Zander- How did you feel about your team’s performance?
Jacob Sebranek (Stout)-I was proud of our our team’s ability to gain ball control and to make timely catches. We had several shot clock violations in our first match but cleaned that up in our last two. We were also competitive in every point, rarely looking out of place.
Matt Polum (UWEC)-Overall, I thought the Stout/UWEC team did well. The experience that coach Jacob and the Stout players had was invaluable for helping the UWEC players understand some of the strategy organized dodgeball demands. We started out with a rough go, but things improved as the day went on. Many of the UWEC players want to begin practicing this format, which will hopefully help attract more players in the future. Given the goal for the day was to get people to understand some concepts and want to practice, this was a big win.
Charles Cardenas (UIUC)-I am very pleased with how we preformed. We finally started to get a sense of how our team can work together on the court. That being said, we can still refine our skills.
Nicholas Stocks (UWP)-This was the first tournament that we were able to have a full roster and the ability to substitute players. During the game against UNL the team had good communication, moved quick, and overall worked well together. In the match against UIUC we stayed up at the attack line too much, which limited our ability to our transition game like we did against UNL. In the Stout/Eau Claire game, we were able to get our rookies lots of playing time and exposure to the tournament environment, which will be important for their development moving forward.
Colin Clover (UNL)– Our team did not perform our best this weekend. We had a lot of basic things that went wrong, like dropped catches and missed blocks.
EZ- What do you want to see your team work/improve on for the next tournament?
JS-One thing we need to improve on is our team throwing. We practiced this regularly leading up to the tournament but it didn’t work well in Saturday’s matches. We also need to get a feel for how far we can advance forward before throwing when the opposing team has ball control. This will come as the team gets more experience. Overall, the team played well this weekend and showed that when we have a full starting lineup we can compete.
MP-I’d really like to see our team practice consistently so we can become competitive with other teams next year. With the amount of catches we had, basic drills and practicing throwing low should catch us up in no time.
CC-I hope to see us be more aggressive and athletic where it counts to make some crucial plays for next time.
NS-The next tournament we are attending is at Western Michigan where there will be stiff competition. If we want to compete with these teams, we must work on getting quick throws off and avoid getting stuck at the attack line. If we can force the other team to come to us, we will be able to compete with any team.
CC-Before our next tournament, we will certainly need to improve on catches and blocking, but also work on our communication and organization as a team. We have a lot of talent, we just need to begin to utilize it.
Final Thoughts- This was a great weekend filled with some awesome games and an opportunity to see the central region in action. If you didn’t get to see the games they can be found at the Platteville Youtube channel, make sure to subscribe. Also, check out the link below as well to see pictures from the day!