Author: Chloe Kaderabek

This year at Nationals for UWP was just as eventful as the last. UWP won the consolation bracket for the second year in a row and hope to do so again next year. At this tournament, UWP worked together as a team the most they have all season. Although communication was lacking at times and other issues occurred, UWP came together when the time came. When UWP got tired or got in their heads, our coach and our new captain, Ben Breidenbach, brought the team together and pushed them to keep on fighting. After many games and points, UWP continued to show everyone the underdogs are here to fight and do what we can to try to win. Many of UWP’s rookies also stepped up to turn some points over, and many veterans honed their talents to showcase at this tournament, especially in overtime. The two-day fight was intense, but UWP is proud of how they did, and are excited to see how they do next season.

Game One: UWP vs. GVSU

As the first game of Nationals, this was a great way to warm UWP up and shine a light on what skills they needed to focus on for the rest of the tournament. A few of the many struggles that were shown in this game were a lack of communication, poor teamwork, and not much confidence. UWP knew what to expect this game, due to facing GVSU previously in the season, but their skills were still no match against them. Despite being unable to score any points, UWP took this as a learning lesson and took note on what needed to be changed in the upcoming games. The final score was 0-7, with GVSU taking the victory. Even with losing this match, UWP was still ready to take on CMU in the next game.

Game Two: UWP vs. CMU

This game was a tense matchup for UWP and CMU, since either team could take the victory. UWP was hoping that by taking what they learned from the previous match,they would be better able to compete. Unfortunately, UWP couldn’t match CMU’s fight and energy. Communication and teamwork definitely improving compared to the last game, but Platteville still needed to make some changes if they wanted to beat UVA in the next game. The final score was 3-4 with CMU winning.

Game Three: UWP vs. UVA

This game was another tense matchup, especially since UWP has not faced UVA during this season and were unfamiliar with UVA’s playing style and strategy. To prepare, UWP watched film, and watched UVA’s games during nationals while UWP had a break, but there still were a lot of things to consider when playing UVA. By remembering what needed to be improved in the previous two games, UWP was able to be better at communicating and utilizing teamwork. This game ended up being fun and a challenge for both teams, with UWP getting a Buc-ee’s ball from UVA, and UVA eventually receiving a Culver’s ball from UWP. This game was an incredible way to end day one of Nationals, and the final score of this game was 1-4, with UVA taking the win.

Game Four: UWP vs. CMU

For day two of Nationals, and the second time CMU and UWP would face off this weekend, UWP was ready to give CMU even more of a fight than previously. UWP had newfound motivation from pep talks with their team captains, coach, and alumni. By remembering what they lacked in the day before, they improved and came back with a ton of energy that CMU couldn’t reciprocate. The final score was 5-1, with UWP taking their first victory of this year’s Nationals. With lots of energy and confidence, UWP was ready to take on their last game, which would be against UIUC, and would be their toughest battle of Nationals.

Game Five: UWP vs. UIUC

The final game of Nationals for UWP was the hardest one yet. UWP needed to continue working together as a team and keep what they did well from the game against CMU in order to win. With facing UIUC multiple times during the season, and winning once against them, UWP would have to play the best they could. UIUC really wanted the win, but so did UWP. This game was intense, and resulted in overtime, with the score at 3-3, so it could be anyone’s game. UWP’s overtime crew brought out their best abilities however and played as hard as they could to secure the win, the final score was 4-3, with UWP taking the victory, and winning the consolation bracket. UWP played extremely hard this entire season, and everyone was proud to end on a good note with a great record on day two.

Final Thoughts of Players

Chloe Kaderabek- Rookie

Q: How do you feel about your first Nationals?

A: I think it was extremely nerve wracking, but it was super fun, especially to be able to end off the year right with a really great group of people.

Q: How do you feel about your performance at Nationals?

A: I think I definitely should’ve tried to throw more and be more aggressive on the court, but I knew I could only do so much with being injured and only having some experience. I’m super proud that I got two catches, though.

Ethan Schmeling- Veteran

Q: How does this Nationals compare to past Nationals?

A: Compared to last year’s this team was way more of a cohesive unit when we needed to be, we did what we always wanted to do when we played on the last day and it really showed as we all played to the very end.

Q: How do you feel about your performance at Nationals?

A: My performance I believe was very good, even if I wasn’t able to play the whole time every match I felt when I was out there I was getting every out I could and landing many of my throws. I believe this was my best year yet and I believe I did extremely well.

This year at Women’s Nationals, the team fought and played hard all day. Our veterans and rookies were each able to showcase their skills and dodgeball knowledge that they’ve developed over the season. The team did a lot better than expected by everyone in the league, so that pushed the women to play even harder to show how strong of a team they were. Although there were some difficult points in the tournament where communication and teamwork were lacking, we were able to improve beyond that and win points from teams that was not expected. There were also multiple times in the tournament where we almost earned and won points we shouldn’t have, but they just didn’t quite turn out in our favor. Even though there were difficult teams at this tournament, our squad was still able to find fun in every single match, especially when starting off Women’s Nationals by showcasing their talents in the Rookie and All-Star matches. Also, finishing this year in the final four once again was incredible, so next year’s results will be great to see!

Game One: UWP vs. Mixed Two

This match was an incredible game to start Women’s Nationals. It allowed the women on each team to have some fun, and each player was able to get opportunities to throw and block for each other. Communication was great towards the end of the match, and confidence within every player was at an all-time high. This game ended with a score of 5-1, with UWP taking the victory!

Game Two: UWP vs. Akron

This match was a huge challenge for Platteville, and required the women to use much more communication, teamwork, and strategy compared to the previous match. Despite scoring no points against Akron, the UWP women still fought hard to win some points and at least prevent Akron from scoring several more. However, this match was only the beginning of the women’s hard fight, and they didn’t give up. This game ended with a score of 0-9, with Akron taking the victory.

Game Three: UWP vs. NKU

This match was once again challenging for the team. Everyone fought hard during this game, but communication and teamwork was at an all-time low, and this proved to be a huge weakness for UWP’s chances of success in this game. This game was a reminder to remember the basics of dodgeball, and that UWP works best as a team. This game ended with a score of 0-3, with NKU taking the victory, but this wouldn’t be the last time during this tournament that these teams face each other.

Game Four: UWP vs. MSU

This was another extremely difficult match for UWP, and even after losing the matches against NKU and Akron, the women still fought hard against the Spartans. There were a few points that UWP might have been able to get the point, but without their best communication and teamwork, they fell short. Even with being tired and unable to secure any points during this match, the women still fought extremely hard to stop MSU from scoring more points on them than Akron did! This game ended with a score of 0-9 with MSU taking the victory, but this didn’t stop UWP’s fight.

Game Five: UWP vs. NKU

Facing NKU for the second time during Women’s Nationals led the UWP women to fight even harder. Looking back at what they did wrong during the previous four games of the tournament also helped guide the women on how they could do better. This game was extremely intense and was closer than any game UWP had played so far, and their will to win was stronger than ever. This game turned into overtime with the score at 3-3. The stakes were extremely high at this point, and it turned into a 1v1, with UWP finally taking the victory. Each player fought extremely hard at that point and the final score of this game was 4-3.

Game Six: UWP vs. MSU

The second time against MSU was no easier than the first, and with every UWP player tired, and injuries starting to develop, this fight was hard to make sure to end Women’s Nationals on a high note. Every player on UWP fought her hardest to finish up this tournament, and we are all so extremely proud of how we did, and next year will be awesome to see how we all improve. This game against MSU finished with a score of 0-9, with MSU taking the win and moving into the final matchup against Akron, where MSU ultimately won the title.

Final Thoughts of Players

Jamie Damm, Rookie

Q: How do you feel about your first Women’s Nationals?

A: I loved it! The women in NCDA are super kind, and create a very welcoming environment. As a rookie, even something as simple as the other team smiling back at you while you are on the line, or hearing people cheer each other on during the livestream makes it so much less intimidating! Shoutout to Ian, Alex, Dylan and Eric from UWP for coming along to run our stream, shag balls, and help keep a positive vibe with our team, they helped make the games way less stressful.

Q: How do you feel about your performance at Women’s Nationals?

A: I’m happy with my performance, I wish I didn’t end up getting injured, that really put a strain on what all I was able to do, but I had some good throws throughout the first few games and I’m really grateful to have had supportive people on my team who kept the energy up, and gave recognition throughout the tournament.

Reagan Bucholtz, Veteran

Q: How does this Women’s Nationals compare to past Women’s Nationals?

A: Both nationals were a ton of fun! I always love the atmosphere of women’s nationals because of how friendly everyone is and how there is usually good competition and sportsmanship. One difference between the years was our numbers. Last year we had a sub, but two of our girls were quite new and only played at nationals and had only been to a few practices. This year we had only six, but all of us were quite experienced from the year/years in dodgeball. Another difference was last year there were only 4 official teams, so it was awesome to have 6 this year. It also made the accomplishment of getting to the final 4 a bit more exciting for us!

Q: How do you feel about your performance at Women’s Nationals?

A: I feel like I played alright. I was able to get 5 catches and a good number of outs. I did also miss a lot of catches unfortunately. Overall, I’m proud of how I played and communicated with my team on the court.