Author: Kate Douglas

On April 5th and 6th, Cleveland State University hosted the 2024-2025 season’s National tournament. We initially had a full roster, but a couple unlucky developments resulted us taking a team of sixteen. Another accomplishment was four of those sixteen players were women! That’s two more than last year! We were all very excited to show what we’ve learned over the season, and we got to test our skills out on JMU first!

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UWP vs JMU

Our first game of the day was against James Madison University, a team we played and lost to last year. Due to that, we had a few team goals and individual goals we wanted to achieve. Players Hollie Wheeler and Griffin Johnson had personal beef they were able to sort out, professionally, mind you.

We started half way through the day which allowed us ample time to watch our opponents’ other games and to warm up thoroughly. Much like most of our previous tournaments, the first game of the day is never our best performance. The first half against JMU showed many beginner mistakes like not moving up together, throwing from both sides of the court, and throwing high. After getting some tough love from Coach, we were able to screw our heads on straight and we managed to take a point on them this year. Last year, when we played JMU, we lost 4-0 , but this year we went 3-1! It is one of our goals to score at least one point on each opponent we play, and while we didn’t win against them, we are proud to have rocked the boat and showed how hard we are willing to fight!

UWP vs SVSU

Just like JMU, we played Saginaw Valley last year as well and we lost to them in overtime in Saturday play. It was a disappointing way to end the game as the win would have put us in the championship bracket. We hoped to redeem ourselves from last year’s loss at this year’s nationals.

Unfortunately, either due to physical or mental exhaustion from playing JMU right before (or both), we did not perform how we wanted to against Saginaw. Over the spring semester, we integrated drills that exhausted us with the intention of teaching us how to play smart while tired. We also focused on building endurance at our skills practices, but these practices were not mandatory. So while some of our players were building endurance, others were not which prevented the team from growing as a unit.

We started off strong, moving as a team and only occasionally throwing without a blocker. If I could add sarcasm, I would add it here. The center players applied pressure well which allowed us to execute swift counters and return to our baseline. The first point looked good when it started, but our teamwork started to slack which allowed poor habits to sneak into our gameplay. We ended up giving up four points before earning one, and in the end we couldn’t secure another. The game ended with a score of UWP 1-SVSU 4.

UWP vs GSU

We played GSU twice–last on day one and first on day two. Our first game against them occurred after a one-game break where we refereed. This gave us a little bit of time to rehydrate and eat something. This was the first game of the tournament where we weren’t sure of what to expect. Much like other teams we have played, GSU likes to throw crosses, but this doesn’t mesh well with our bad habit of throwing in front of our blockers. This resulted in several outs. We were fortunately able to maintain ball control which diminished the chances of getting hit by a cross, but it made us overly confident to attack without coverage. One upside is we did well with only throwing from one side each time we attacked. Our court awareness is rather selective. By the end of the first point, we were displaying throwing in proper rotation while setting up team throws. The rest of the game played out very similar to the first point–so similar, in fact, that we gave up two points to them before finishing the game. The final score was UWP 4-2 GSU.

Day two started off against GSU bright and early in the morning. After an okay night’s rest, we had the energy to focus on our style of play and practice our good habits. Our counters were fast, and we remained relatively level across the court. Additionally, our on-court communication was much better that morning than it was the day prior, resulting in throws being made behind blockers and adequate coverage provided. We had GSU up at half-court most of the time while we got to sit back on our back line. It was quite refreshing to see the team move up as a unit, reset the attack, and continue as a unit. In the end, we only gave up one point to them on day two with the final score being UWP 5-1 GSU.

UWP vs UNG

Game two of day two was against the other Georgia team, UNG. In my humblest opinion, UNG is one of the most fun teams I have ever played. They are truly there to have fun in every game they play, and their sportsmanship should be applauded. It was also refreshing to see another woman playing pinch.

Even though it was the second game and we were tired, we maintained our composure and kept playing our style. There were a few obstacles we had to overcome during this game like the number of court lines that were confusing or even missing and the hard-to-grip balls from both teams. Even with these handicaps, both teams played hard in the semifinals, and the final score came out to UWP 4-0 UNG. I just want to praise UNG one more time for being such good sports and for playing their hardest!

UWP vs WMU

This game was the one that could make it all–the consolation championship! This was the game that hurt us last year when we lost against CSU, the current hosts, in the last minute of play. We had everything to lose in this game, both figuratively and literally.

The atmosphere was tense because both teams were determined to not give up the championship to the other. We started off a bit unorganized with uneven sides and improper throws. Luckily these mistakes didn’t result in any outs right away, and we were eventually able to fall back into our rhythm. WMU, to our benefit, rarely ran into their throws or used a blocker, and this allowed us to powerfully counter and run them down. But like all our other matches (ever) we forgot to check across the court and we got crossed several times. And like our other matches, once we start to drop in numbers, our strategy goes out the window. We start to throw from both sides, we throw in front of or without a blocker, and we miss easy blocks.

We gave up two points in the first half but scored one with a minute-thirty-four rolled over. This point gave us a bit of a boost for the second half, and we were able to score two more points with just under ten minutes left in the game. The score was UWP 3-2 WMU, and we were determined to score one more before the end of the day. Unfortunately, our confidence came back to bite us, and we gave up one more point with just under five minutes left on the clock. Thankfully, we managed to run the timer out which pushed the game into over time.

OT was the most stressed I was all weekend, and I know my teammates felt the same. Our 6 best players had all the pressure on their shoulders to hopefully not repeat our loss in the consolation championship game once again. We not only wanted to win the bracket, but we had a responsibility to make our graduating members’ last tournament a good one.

After an agonizing five minutes and several team throws from our vets, Nicholas Stocks and Jalen Sims we were able to take the point and take the win! The final score came out to UWP 4-3 WMU OT.

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Final Thoughts

This nationals we were able to accomplish several of our goals. We scored a point on each opponent; we won at least one game per day; and we won the consolation bracket! We were able to redeem ourselves from last year’s loss by pulling out the win in OT against WMU. But most importantly, we were able to pull out the win for our graduating members.

This tournament is just the beginning of the growth in store for UWP. Not only are we going to grow stronger as a co-ed team, but our women’s no-sting team is going to turn heads at their first ever national tournament.

Thank you to all our supporters, families, and friends who helped us get this far! We hope we made you all proud!

See you at No-Sting Nationals!

This tournament was a huge step for the UW-Platteville Dodgeball Club; it was the first time we had enough women to form their own no-sting team and compete. This year the tournament was hosted by Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, which was a little daunting. Driving to Ohio two weekends in a row was definitely exhausting, but it ended up being extremely fulfilling.

Before we start, I want to make a few things clear. No-sting dodgeball is relatively the same as pinch dodgeball rule-wise, but it does have some notable differences that can be confusing to those unfamiliar.

1. There are six players on the court from each team at one time.
2. There are only six balls in play instead of the ten balls in pinch.
3. The court is much smaller which can be hard to adapt to after playing on the full court for pinch.

With that brief explanation, enjoy the recap!

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UWP vs Akron A

Our game against Akron A was our team’s first official no-sting match of the season. All our previous matches had either been against mixed teams or against our male teammates, so we were unsure of what to expect. We were all on edge from the pressure of the first game, but it would help boost our confidence and settle our nerves for the rest of the day.

We did well by sticking to our strategy of obtaining at least two balls off the start, and we fell into our rotation of attacks. Everyone was blocking and throwing which prevented one player from throwing disproportionately more than the others. We were throwing behind our blockers for the most part, and our throws were being made by half court. There were moments of slight hesitation that prevented our throws from being their most powerful, but we regained our composure to play on.

Akron A liked to hang out on their back line and wait for catches, so keeping them up at their attack line was our number one goal. They rarely ran into their throws, they don’t always prioritize having a blocker, and they rely on quick reset throws instead of throwing for the out. Their main priority is not ball control like it is ours.

During the first point, rookie Alison Draxler did a great job holding her own by getting quick counters off and keeping in mind ball placement when throwing. She would take two balls up to attack with first and block with the second which allowed her to survive as long as she did. Alison did a fantastic job as co-captain as she stepped into the leadership role without any hesitation.

I think this game was a good wakeup call for us because it helped us realize that we were far more capable than we thought. We continued to push through the points until half time where we were down zero to three. Our confidence was a little hurt, but we just needed to step up our game. Any time we had a ball, we applied hard pressure to prevent Akron from getting a good throw off. We did have a balls over called on us, but this resulted in Captain Hollie Wheeler securing a catch off of a team throw which boosted the teams moral! We were able to score one point on Akron A making the final score UWP 1-6 Akron A.

UWP vs Kent

Kent was a very fun team to play. They had several very different types of players with their own style of play, and it was great to see them not give up no matter the score. Shout out to Natalie Conn for her mastery in catching! She really kept her team alive with how many she secured.

We ended up giving up the first point, so we started the second point with a powerful team throw, which connected. Our gameplay became more relaxed as our anxiety from our first game diminished, and we started to move as a unit again. Kent liked to stay on their back line instead of running up and attacking, so we wound up running back and forth a lot this match. This also allowed us to maintain ball control which then let us execute our favorite team throws. We rolled into the next half with a score of UWP 4-1 Kent.

The second half opened with us dominating the opening rush by getting five of the six balls. We were able to make quick work of the next few points with coordinated attacks. We further scored four more points before an unfortunate injury occurred, and we unanimously agreed to call the game with just over three minutes left on the clock. Luckily, everyone was okay in the end, and the final score was UWP 8-1 Kent.

UWP vs MSU A

The opening rush of our first game against MSU was quite hectic. MSU made several attempts to secure as many balls as they could, but rookie Alison Draxler held her ground and was able to secure two of the balls being fought over. Even though we secured ball control, MSU’s experience made quick work of us, but we were able to make a few outs, too!

The reason MSU A is such a daunting opponent is because they only play no-sting. Our focus was not originally on the no-sting style as the majority of our team plays pinch dodgeball, so our priority was improving the skills we learned in pinch so we could carry it over to no-sting. This year was the first time any of us even played no-sting.

With how quickly the first point ended, we knew we needed to step our game up ten fold. For one, rookie Tori Sanborn made it her mission to obtain that middle ball. She would run as hard as she could, regardless of how tired she was or how much her knees were hurting, just so we could get another weapon on our side. By the end of the game, MSU was fighting hard for that ball, sometimes ripping it away from Tori. Our main goal, at this point, was providing coverage so our throwers could safely get their throws off. This was the moment where MSU realized we had no intention of backing down.

Point three started, and Tori got that center ball again, and it was obvious that MSU found that infuriating. It was this point where veteran Hollie Wheeler secured our first catch against them, bringing in rookie Reagan Bucholtz! Regardless of the score, that catch gave us a little more wind under our wings and allowed us to continue to play hard. As the first half continued, our court awareness improved, and we were more successful at preventing balls from rolling back to our opponents. We are taught to use our feet or the ball in our hand to knock the target ball back to our safe zone so we don’t surrender ball control. Our decisions were getting more confident as we watched MSU get more and more frustrated by how we were keeping up.

After two sneaky outs, veteran Kate Douglas secured a catch, bringing rookie Victoria Bonilla back in! With the ball she caught, she went up to apply pressure but, according to our commentator Eric Sullivan, she shot it into the ground as a “generational nuke.” Now without a ball, her only option was to back up, but a ball came flying towards her which she also caught! This catch brought Alison back in, in which she quickly secured another out. Not long after, Victoria was able to scoop up another catch with a ball already in her hand.

Numbers continued to dwindle on both sides until it was a 2 vs 2 situation. Vets Hollie and Kate took turns throwing, making sure to keep a good distance from the other team. Sadly, a catch thrown by Hollie changed the situation greatly– three MSU players against Kate. Miraculously, she was able to hit two of the three as several throws were exchanged, but she miscalculated when going for the catch and missed it. This play ended the first half with just over forty seconds rolled over with a score of UWP 0-4 MSU. To put it plainly, this was the best point our team has played. I am extremely proud of our girls for not giving up even when all odds seemed against us. We continued to play hard the following half and only gave up three more points to MSU, resulting in a score of UWP 0-7 MSU.

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UWP vs MSU A-Bracket Play

We were able to take a short break by refereeing a game on court two which gave us a little time to shake off the previous game before having to play MSU again. By now, MSU was fired up, determined to play Akron A for the championship. Due to some upsetting interactions and disappointing calls, we were all a bit unhappy during the duration of this game. Being the underdogs was extremely prevalent to us at this point; we wanted to leave our mark and prove to the league that Platteville was just as good as them. Our loss to MSU in the bracket frustrated us, me especially. I wanted my last tournament to end on a higher note, but the loss will only motivate the team to do better next year.

The things we learned at this event will be passed down to the future women’s teams so they can continue to improve from where we started. The final score in our second game against MSU was UWP 0-9 MSU. I can’t wait to watch that score grow closer and closer.

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Afterthoughts

I cannot put into words how proud I am of our ladies. From injuries to physical handicaps to inexperience, our debut was undoubtedly a stressful one. While we literally had nothing to lose, we still struggled to find our groove at first. But once we did, we really shocked our opponents–and might I say impressed them. Safe to say, I know the team will turn heads at their next no-sting nationals, and I can’t wait to see it!

Thank you to the club for helping to prepare us for this milestone. You pushed us to succeed though tough love and the genuine desire for us to do well.

Thank you to our friends, families, and supporters for letting us get this far as a brand new team.

And thank you to our coach, Erik Zander, for pushing us to be the best players we can be, even if that required pelting us with balls over and over. There’s no way we could have made this far without your hard work and the support from the team.

We started off the tournament by refereeing the first matches-UC vs Miami on court one and UIUC vs CSU on court two. By refereeing these games, it gave our rookies the chance to watch part of each game to learn what type of opponents we would be playing. It also gave our more experienced players a chance to practice refereeing in a loud environment. The day was fun and chaotic and intense all at the same time, and our rookies got to experience a sliver of what nationals will be like.

UWP vs CSU

CSU has always been a fun team to play. They are an impeccable catching team with strong team chemistry. They are more disciplined as a team, and this requires us to act more cautiously and make smart decisions. This resulted in the first point being eleven minutes out of a twenty minute half. They scored two more times before the half ended.

We started the second half more in sync as a unit which greatly improved our defense; we were moving together and executing the calls efficiently. There were a few instances of throwing in front of our blockers, but fortunately no connections were made on our players. We only played two more points in the second half, one of which had veteran Hollie Wheeler on her own for almost three minutes, making quick resets and hoping to bait a catch. The game ended with a score of CSU 5-UWP 0.

UWP vs UC

Coach warned us that UC was going to be a hard team to play. It’s true that they throw hard and are more athletic than the average UWP player, but we sure gave them a run for their money. Many of our rookies including Ian Westrick, Reagan Bucholtz, and Alison Draxler made outstanding plays on UC that made them second guess themselves. UC was trying to scare us by throwing hard at the wall, but we stood strong and unfazed, looking for an opening for a catch or out. Ian had two epic catches one after the other, Reagan had one too that shocked UC’s #7, and Alison was providing excellent coverage for our vets!

We went into the second half with the same intensity. A shot clock violation was called on UC which allowed us to get off two team throws. Several throws were exchanged afterwards, and several players on both sides were hit. After a shot clock violation on UWP’s side, rookie Alison Draxler was left in on her own where she survived a few minutes before getting clipped in the toes. It’s great to see her not backing down when faced with so many opponents!

Every out we got on UC made us fight harder for the next one. Small victories are very important when growing as a team, and it’s important to recognize them too. For example, rookie Reagan Bucholtz was able to fake-out UC’s #6 so hard he lost his footing. Vet Kate Douglas made a close-range out on #44. And Ben Breidenbach had a great last-second out as the clock ran out. I know it’s hard to see the good in a defeat, but these accomplishments are important memories to look back on when playing strong opponents. The final score was UC 7-0 UWP.

UWP vs Miami

Miami was second in the league at this tournament. Our game against them was also their fourth in a row, and we were all tired by then. It’s fascinating to see the difference in play styles from each team, and maybe it was because of fatigue, but Miami was not the monster we expected. They throw hard, but so do we; they can apply pressure, and we can too; they’re athletic and, well, some of us are; but once we get playing our game, we thrive.

By the second half, both teams were having more fun than feeling competitive. It had been a long day for everyone at that point. Silly mistakes weren’t taken to heart, and a few laughs were shared. Our players were holding their own better in the second half and Miami was getting reckless. They started throwing wild crosses at UWP while we stayed cool and collected on our baseline. I have to give a huge shoutout to Alison Draxler again for holding her own so confidently several times against Miami. Several times she was left in on her own, but she kept her head up and kept attacking! In the end, the final score was Miami 6-0 UWP.

N0-Sting Match

There wasn’t a women’s match scheduled for day, but we had enough time to play at least one half before the day ended. There were eight of us; five from UWP and three from UIUC. We split into a 4 vs 4 with Hollie filling in on UIUC’s side. It was all for fun, but it still gave us women an additional game in preparation for no-sting nationals.

Afterthoughts

This was a very fun tournament that allowed our rookies to get additional reps in against teams we don’t usually play. We may not have won any of our games, but we were able to perform better as a team and achieve some pretty cool individual accomplishments. I am incredibly proud of how our rookies performed, especially the women–especially when the opponents were trying to intimidate them. With both national tournaments close, we are going to incorporate the things we learned so we can be the best team possible when it matters the most! See you at nationals in April!

Welcome back dodgeball fans! UW-Platteville hosted the ninth Zanderthon Throw-Down on March first and hosted our second banquet at the Ticket Bar and Grill; it was great to see all the families that showed up to celebrate the day. While not as many schools participated as we would have liked, were able to fit in a few official matches and a women’s no-sting game at the end.

UWP vs UIUC

We ended up playing UIUC twice during this tournament. We opened the first game with a ton of energy which UIUC reciprocated. We were moving as a unit which kept Illinois on their toes and off their base line. Much like the other times we’ve played Illinois, we struggled to deter their cross-throws which frequently made contact. However, they also like to throw in front of or without a blocker which leaves them open to being hit. There were also instances where they threw as many as four balls at once, but that opened it up to us to execute team throws but it was not enough to compete. The game ended with a score of UIUC 5-0 UWP.

The second game started off a bit chaotically with a throw right off the rush and some literal toes getting stepped on. We were pretty amped to play UIUC again, but this lead to us making silly mistakes like missing blocks, throwing in front of our blockers, and throwing at inopportune times. Many of our players were frustrated with how we were playing, and it reflected in the reckless decisions we were making. It was obvious were were tired of giving up points, and by the end of the second half, we scored a point on them thanks to Nicholas Stocks and Hollie Wheeler. The final point played went unfinished, and the final score was UIUC 3-1 UWP.

UWP No-Sting Match

This event was the first time we were able to play with six players on the women’s side of the court! While we had to play some of the guys again, we were able to learn a great deal from this game. Much like our first ever no-sting game, we hadn’t played a real no-sting game with a full court of people, and it was extremely beneficial to finally learn what that is like. With nationals just weeks away, we need any chance we get to learn and adapt to this style of play.

From left to right: Hollie Wheeler, Reagan Bucholtz, Tori Sanborn, Alison Drexler, Hannah Spencer, Kate Douglas

Final Thoughts

Although the outcomes of the tournament were not what we hoped, each game gave us opportunities to learn what we as a team needed to work on. By the time we played UIUC again, there were new things we integrated into our gameplay which allowed us to work better as a team. One of our goals for this season was to beat an Illinois school, but while we were unable to achieve this goal, we made them work hard for their points. Next up is the Illini Impact tournament hosted by UIUC–See you then!