On Saturday, October 26th, the University of Wisconsin Platteville (UWP) and the University of Nebraska Lincoln (UNL) played in a double header at the Cornhusker Clash VII. Nebraska was able to get both wins on the day and continue their dominance in this series. Below we will take a look at how each game went and highlight some of the top players from the event.
Game 1 UNL def UWP 5-1-The first point of the day, both teams came ready to play as it went back and forth. The point lasted over 10 minutes long and came down to a 2-1 situation that UWP was able to capitalize on and secure the first point. UNL settled down and was able to take a quick point from the Pioneers making it 1-1 with about 6 minutes left in the first half. Platteville played well and looked like they would take a point to go up 2-1 but they made too many errors, and threw some catches and both teams went into halftime tied. From there, UNL took over and never looked back, a big part of their success was Noah Willey. He was able to pick off several UWP players with his quick short range counters and it help them to cruise to 4 more points, giving them the win of 5-1.
Game 2 UNL def UWP 5-2-In the second game, it was more competitive as UWP was able to provide much better pressure and was able to slow down UNL from getting in as many crosses. Although, the points in the 1st half were close at times, UNL was able to secure each one and go up 3-0 at half. The Cornhuskers were able to get the next two points in the second half to make it a running clock. Platteville after that was finally able to figure things out, play as a unit, and controlled the next two points with no problems. They had several catches, some great close range kill shots, and some really good team throws. UWP was able to take 2 points on UNL and the game finished with a UNL win of 5-2.
Top Performances-For UNL, there were a few players that stood out to me. Noah Willey (#30), as I have mentioned earlier was an incredible player on the court. His overhead throw is extremely hard to read and he was able to clip several Pioneer players throughout the day. Noah’s presence on the court helped his other teammates to play their game and have great success. Another player on UNL that stood out to me was rookie Jesse Stebbing (#7). He has an extremely strong arm that gave UWP trouble all day. If he keeps playing the way he does, he should be considered for the All-Rookie team at the end of the season.
On Platteville’s side, Jalen Sims (#10) stood out as he was everywhere on the court. He had several counters at the huskers that lead to multiply outs on the day. With Jalen on the court, the Pioneers were able to stay competitive. Another player that stood out was Dylan Fabry (#62), this season he has worked on his throw with coach, which has lead to better power and balance. Dylan had several team throws and close range counter attacks that lead to several kills. He is now a player on the court that you can count on to get outs and is setting the example for the rookies. It is crazy what actually listening to what your coach says can do for you.
Finally, one more player that stood out was Hollie Wheeler (#98). This season one of her goals was to get more catches as last year she had one. Well, at the Cornhusker Clash she had 6 alone. As her coach, I gave her the goal of pushing to make the Women’s All-American list. With being the NCDA’s September Women’s Baller of the Month, and putting up that catching performance, Hollie is moving in the right direction to do so.
Final Thoughts– After this event, looking at both teams some questions have been answered. UNL having Noah Willey return was big as it allowed so many of their returners to get up to speed and have a big impact on the game right away. The drop off in talent was only slightly noticeable as this still felt like the Cornhusker team that we are used to. A lot of young talent, but they will be up to speed in no time. Nebraska had 24 players on their roster so if they all stick around there is a great opportunity for growth and success for their team.
UWP also had a lot of questions answered as they were able to find players to fill the lost production on the court from Caleb Laux and Tomas Zander. They still need to work on court communication but it was improved this time and they have found the right players to make the calls in the future. UWP is more balanced and can get outs from multiple people, which will allowed them to be more competitive than in the past games against UNL.
If you missed out on the action and would like to watch the games, you can go to the UW-Platteville Dodgeball channel, make sure to subscribe to get notifications when we go live. The next time these two teams will be in action is next week on November 9th at the Pioneer Classic at Platteville!