Finally, dodgeball is back for the Midway Conference and it kicks off with a double header! For the second year in a row, the University of Nebraska Lincoln (UNL) and the University of Wisconsin Platteville (UWP) will go head to head at the Nebraska Coliseum. It should be a good match up for both teams as both are still very young and have a lot to learn. Let’s take a look at the schedule:
| Time | Court 1 | Referee |
| 9:00a.m. | Check-in | |
| 9:30a.m. | UNL vs UWP | Alumni |
| 11:00a.m. | UNL vs UWP | Alumni |
| 12:15p.m. | Mix vs Alumni |
Thoughts
UWP- With these two teams, the games can go any way at this point in the year. For UWP, they have new leadership and with that comes a new style of communication. If they can figure that out on the court they should play well together. With the Zander brothers graduated, they will have to rely on their strong arms in Austin Kurey, Bobby Lehrer, and Jared Colden. These individuals have the ability to make dangerous throws and keep the other team in check. The team this year seems more comfortable on the court and has a better understanding of the game. UWP is also catching better and throwing harder, which is going to make it tough on the Cornhuskers.
UNL– This team is very different than last year’s squad. UNL is on the much younger and inexperienced side, which can bring challenges for any team. They will have to learn how to adjust quickly if they are going to compete with UWP. They have a few veterans in Jessica Blum and Robert Gabel that they can rely on to keep their team in the match. Since they are a very young team, they will have to keep in the match with their catching abilities as they will not be able to match UWP’s firepower. They do have the advantage in numbers as it is a home tournament and Platteville will not be bringing a full squad. I cannot wait to see them in action, they are one of my favorite teams in the league and places to visit.
Captain’s Thoughts
Robert Gabel-UNL
I’m really excited for this weekend! We have a strong group of players this year, even though the majority of them are brand new to the sport. They’ve put in a month of hard work, and improved at an incredible rate. I have no idea what to expect from UWP because we haven’t been to a tournament since last year’s Pink Out at Akron. Reading the Midway Conference preview makes me think they are going to be some competition for sure. Above all, we always have fun when we get to play them. In the long run, playing against each other helps to strengthen the Midway Conference, and put us on the dodgeball map.
Jared Colden- UWP
I expect us to get the rust shaken off and get the motions down after the off season. We really don’t have any new people going to this tournament so we have experience under our belts. I expect all of us to step up. We ended on a high last year and I want us to keep that rolling. Nebraska is a good team and they beat us last year. This year we can take it to them and hopefully come out with a win this weekend.
Predictions- The following are predictions from the content team and other captains from the Midway Conference. Will find out next week who was the closest to being correct.
Joel Luciano (DePaul)-UWP def UNL 5-1,UWP def UNL 4-0
Zachary Jung (SIUE)– UWP def UNL 4-1, UWP def UNL 3-2
Hunter Ford (VCU)-UWP def UNL 4-2, UWP def UNL 4-2
Shadeed Drakeford (VCU)– UWP def UNL 4-2, UWP def UNL 4-2
Colby Briceland (Akron)– UWP def UNL 4-3, UWP def UNL 4-1
Kevin Bailey (GVSU)– UWP def UNL 5-1, UWP def UNL 4-2
This is a great weekend to open the season for the Midway Conference as the teams get a chance to figure out what type of unit they will be for the NCDA season. The predictions have been given and it is now UWP’s and UNL’s job to go out and either prove them right or wrong. If you would like to get on in the fun, comment below with your scores for the matches. As always, we will try to live-stream the games for everyone to watch. It’s college dodgeball season everyone, let’s get pumped!!!!