Battle cries echoed throughout Chase Gymnasium. Students from every hall hoisted their colors with pride and raised their voices even higher. The night progressed quickly, with dorm after dorm going down, ending in a head-to-head match between Off-Campus+Community and Horton. Through much dodging, ducking and emulating The Matrix, OCC took the win and became 2019 Nationball champions.
THE RUNDOWN
“I believe that we will win,” chants filled the air, followed by sign-stealing and screaming matches. The cheering grew louder as a large cart was wheeled into the center of the gym, containing a prize for the winning team: free Taco Bell.
The first dodgeball was launched in the match between StewHart and Horton. The two halls flooded the gym floor like a red and black sea. Dodgeballs flew like a swarm. Horton came out victorious. Their next competition, Blackstone.
Although StewHart lost, for them it wasn’t about the competition. Rather, it was just about building community.
“I think it’s the best event of fall semester, by far. I think it just brings the community together,” said sophomore cinema and media arts major Anders Gustafson. “Even if we don’t interact with other dorms that much, this is our one chance per year that we get to do that, in the spirit of competition.”
OCC and Sigma were up next, with OCC filling half of the gym floor, and Sigma only a quarter. The out-numbered Sigma played valiantly until the very end but fell at the hands of OCC.
“There’s something to play for this year,” said senior kinesiology major Shawn Weldon from OCC. “In the past all we were playing for was pride, now I’m playing for burritos so the stakes were a little higher. Quite honestly, I think I thrive in that kind of pressure.”
Then, Hope and Alpha took the floor. The men of Hope may have adorned themselves pink ribbons, but they were nothing to mess with, as they won their match against Alpha.
REVENGE MATCH
The time came for Blackstone, the 2018 Nationball Champions, to take a stand against Horton––a rematch of last year’s championship game. Blackstone rushed towards the middle of the gym, pushing Horton against the wall. The match was heated from start to finish, with both sides striving to leave no man standing. Horton made its way back to the center, winning this year’s rematch.
While Horton found revenge from last year’s championship game, for junior human biology major Bianca Gaitan-Ochoa, the event was simply a fun time.
“I think this is a great way of just getting all the dorms together and just supporting each other and I think it’s a great event to support each other and it builds friendly competition,” she said.
OCC and Hope went toe-to-toe, both as aggressive and passionate as each other. If the two dorms were not wearing different colors, no one would be able to tell the difference between the two. The match was close and the two halls were relentless up until the buzzer. OCC came out victorious, securing a spot in the final round.
FIGHT FOR BURRITOS
OCC and Horton wasted no time, both dorms darted into the middle with no mercy. Tensions were high as the two teams launched dodgeballs at each other, filling the room with more shouting than before. People from every dorm watched intently, unable to predict who the winner would be.
The crowd waited with anticipation as the emcees stalled to announce the winner. The wait was almost unbearable, then suddenly OCC was declared 2019 Nationball champions.
“Winning dodgeball games against underclassmen in the dorms really brings people together,” Weldon said.
