With classes well underway, students returned on Wednesday, Sept. 11 to the Chase Gym for the annual Nationball tournament hosted by the Office of Campus Engagement (OCE). This year’s inter-dorm dodgeball contest saw some students ducking around in full costume, others being wheeled in a chair to the frontlines for a daring attack and in the end, an unexpected champion hoisting the trophy. 

A MOMENT OF SILENCE

In respect for the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, OCC began the night with a few words from the Veteran’s club president, William Dodson. 

“I don’t want to tell you what to think, or do or who to talk to. I simply want to enter into the field of memory, and remember together,” Dodson said.

Biola’s Gospel Choir director and American Idol contestant Roman Collins then led students in the singing of the National Anthem.

TAKING THE FIGHT TO THE FACULTY

The contest began with a show match between faculty members and a team of resident advisors (RA’s). Among the faculty taking the court were Senior Director of Athletics Bethany Miller and her son, Campus Security Chief John Ojeisekhoba, Biola Cafe celebrity ​​Judy McPherson and Theology professor Dr. Erik Thoennes. 

The match came down to Ojeisekhoba and the young Miller facing a crowd of unrelenting RA’s. It took several volleys before the students could eliminate Chief O. Miller would not go out without a fight either, taking a couple of RA’s out before going down to an eruption of applause for his performance.

GAME ON!

With the crowd warmed up, the tournament began. There would be two sets of elimination brackets. The first bracket determined seeding and the second determined the trophy. 

Set one had entire dorms facing off, which led to a few lopsided matchups. Blackstone (green) was quickly eliminated in their first bout against a swarm of Horton residents (black). Horton went on to dominate the rest of the bracket, securing a bye in the final tournament.

The second round had teams of 10 girls and 10 guys from each dorm competing in five-minute rounds. Horton finally fell to the reigning champions, Off-Campus+Community (OCC), in the semi-finals. This meant that OCC (purple) and Alpha (blue), one of the three freshman dorms, would face off for a second time to compete for the trophy.

A REMATCH

A line of Alpha’s freshmen eagerly faced down OCC’s purple mob as the MCs commenced the match. As dodgeballs flew across the gym, it was difficult to make out who was in the lead. The clock drew near the end and students desperately tried to make a dent in their opponent’s numbers. The buzzer rang and the room erupted in chaos as the refs quickly attempted to count the standing players from each side. After a brief period of deliberation, they announced Alpha as the victors of Nationball 2024 by a margin of one person.

A blue sea of Alpha residents swarmed the middle of the gym to hoist their trophy and take pictures. Alpha RA and sophomore biochemistry major Javan Ostermann, commended his residents in a speech during the celebration. He noted that this was the first time Alpha had come away with the win. Prior to last year, Alpha had been a female-only dorm since 1966.

“We made history for this dorm,” Ostermann said.

The night ended as an Alpha student led his dorm in prayer, thanking God for an evening of fun competition and a victory to top it off.