The Dr. Peter Broe Classic tournament is the only tournament we play in besides nationals where we can play teams from the Ohio and Michigan regions of the NCDA. It is also the time we play our most challenging opponents. We brought a team of seventeen players, and we played three matches.
UWP vs WMU
We started the day off strong against WMU with a long first point. The next point started with a few balls thrown off the start as both teams pushed hard for the center. Shortly after a cross was thrown by WMU. While it didn’t connect, UWP was not fast enough to prevent the connection. WMU took the second point after another long back and forth.
The third point of the first half was not completed, and by the time the second half started, UWP seemed to wake up and start calling and communicating more on court. Calls were being relayed as well as potential crosses were being announced. The first point of half two went to WMU. The next point was quite the disaster as our top players sequentially got out. We were able to pick up the last point of the game for ourselves, resulting in a score of WMU 4-1 UWP.
Many of our players have been working very hard during our scheduled practices and skills practices to hone their skills. It is really exciting to see those hours of hard work pay off during intense games like these.
UWP vs BGSU
We last played BGSU at Nationals 2024 and they were our first game of the tournament. They are a formidable opponent because they are all very athletic and talented at the game. They play with a sort of confidence that lets everyone know that they rule the court, and their court awareness is something to be envious of. BGSU is a very fun team to watch.
The first point was very quick, and BGSU never left their attack line keeping UWP stuck and without balls. There were moments where the tempo picked up which resulted in UWP’s top players getting out one after the other, and this left our less experienced players responsible for filling their roles. We have made improvements when it comes to moving as a unit and throwing behind our blockers, but fast paced and intense moments like these have us falling back on old habits. BGSU players obviously have an immense amount of trust in each other, and this allows them to act a little carelessly while in the line of fire, but their defense is so tight that we struggled to make connections when they pushed up. Point number two also went to BGSU followed by point 3 not long after.
Point four made UWP look like a different animal. We moved as a unit, made connection after connection, and was able to secure the point with a majority, if not all, of the team still on the court. BGSU ended up earning two more points by the end of the game, but UWP made those two points hard ones to get. The final score was BGSU 4-1 UWP.
UWP vs GVSU
When we started our match against GVSU, it was obvious that we were tired. Both of our previous games had teams that are more athletic than us and are really good at the game. Not to spoil the ending, but we were unable to secure any points during this game. While it is one of our goals to score at least one point against every team we play, we also want to beat a Ohio and Michigan school, and this was our tournament to do so.
GVSU likes to throw crosses, and we don’t practice them enough in practice so we frequently get hit by them. This reinforces our need to always be watching the entire court no matter where we are standing.
Even though we didn’t score any points, Platteville still had moments of great defense and offense that showcased our play style. We don’t play like most other teams, and when we can get our opponents into our flow, we can play to our fullest potential. I can see our confidence as a team starting to really grow after this tournament, and we are excited to see these teams at Nationals this spring.
Final Thoughts
Our previous few tournaments at Kalamazoo have not been our greatest performances. This year was a hard battle as well, but we were able to compete better as a team while also identifying areas where we can improve. One of our goals is to earn a point on each team we play, and we were able to achieve that for two of our three games. We didn’t win this time, but we are excited to work hard next semester.
