Will Ewart
The kiosks — where students could donate a minimum of $10 or text three people a message with a link to LovEMU’s donation page to get a t-shirt or doughnut coupon — opened at 10:30 a.m. In the first hour, there were at least eight students that donated or texted at one of the three kiosks. Senior Jack Hummel, who worked at one of the kiosks, said, “People have been more receptive than expected.”
Throughout the afternoon, students stopped by to investigate the kiosks. The kiosk by Northlawn played music that could be heard across campus. Students hung out at Thomas Plaza and enjoyed the music provided by CAC. They did homework, picnicked, and socialized.
Several hours after the kiosks closed, the Spikeball tournament, which was scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m., started about 15 minutes later than expected. The tournament was a double-elimination bracket. The teams kept track of the scores and then reported the results to the CAC.
Although two teams did not show up, the others were eager for a chance to win. Many students had never played before. “This is my first real time playing, ever,” said Junior Jennifer Kuhns, who played on a team with Junior Kyndell Hightree.
Some students were there to play for fun and were less competitive. “I love this game and I’m … graduating in four weeks … so I am trying to squeeze in all the fun I can,” said Senior Diego Barahona.
By 6:30 p.m., three teams were left in the running. Some people — who had been spectators during the tournament — were playing on the sets that were not being used by the final competitors. Two sets of the spikeball gear belonged to the CAC, while the other two sets used were student-owned. There were around 15 people watching on the hill.
Seniors Joel Wheeler and Curtis Martin played against Sophomore Brandon Chupp and First-year Andrew Peltier to try to advance to the championship. The game went back and forth between the two teams with Wheeler and Martin eventually taking the match by a few points.
In the championship match, Wheeler and Martin played First-year Seth Weaver and First-year James Paetkau. Both teams had superb blocks, spikes, passes, and returns, causing the match to be tense.
On the hill, spectators applauded impressive plays. The skills of the teams made it a close match. Eventually, Weaver and Paetkau began to pull ahead, but Wheeler and Martin worked hard to close the gap. Each time they did, Weaver and Paetkau would pull back ahead.
At one point, Wheeler and Martin managed to tie the other team at 18. After a few points, Weaver and Paetkau took possession and kept it until they reached 25 points to win the match.
Since Weaver and Paetkau were undefeated in the bracket, Wheeler and Martin would have needed to beat them twice to win the championship. This was the last match in the tournament.
Spikeball concluded the events of LoveEMU Giving Day, which raised more money than it had in past years. By the end of the day, EMU raised $106,532 and had 692 donors.
