Kevin Bailey – Page 4

Power Rankings: March 2020

With only a few months left in the 2019-20 season, the rankings continue to shift. The months of January and February saw some very entertaining dodgeball to say the least, with some teams finding themselves on hot streaks, with others falling into a slump. With Nationals quickly approaching, it will be fun to see how the rest of the regular season shakes out!

Below is the official March Power Rankings list, voted on and written by the NCDA Content Team. Please keep in mind: these power rankings have no impact on the actual NCDA Standings.

1) Grand Valley State

Grand Valley remains undefeated after some very close calls so far this winter. The Lakers have been forced to overtime each of the past two times they’ve faced Michigan State. GVSU also had some first half struggles at the Michigan Dodgeball Cup against Central Michigan. The best GVSU teams over the years haven’t been simply their most talented or most skilled squads, but rather the most disciplined ones. If GVSU plans to be the first team since 2009 to go undefeated for an entire season, they will need to lock in over the next month and a half and get back to being the most disciplined team in dodgeball.

Weekend Recap: Biggest Winners / Losers from Last Saturday

Saturday, February 22, 2020 was a hectic day for college dodgeball. In total, 18 schools were in action on Saturday, spread across 3 separate tournaments: Ohio Dodgeball Cup, BEAST, and Viking Cup. It was a day full of awesome games and interesting results, with 28 total matches taking place throughout the day. There is certainly a lot to unpack after Saturday, so to break things down a bit, let’s take a look at the biggest ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ from last weekend.

Before we get to the fun stuff, here are the results from the weekend:

…And here is your current top 20 Gonzalez Standings:

Now onto the winners and losers from Saturday:

Winners:

Western Michigan

It was a historic day for the Western Michigan University Dodgeball Club on Saturday, as the Broncos earned their first two wins ever. WMU beat Ball State 5-3, then followed it up with a 5-2 win over Kentucky in which the Broncos came back from a 2-1 halftime deficit to score four-consecutive points en route to a huge victory. Along with Captain Peter Broe leading the way, WMU had some strong consistent play from Ryan Allor and Randy Santana-Jiminez as well as some clutch performances by Hue Pettway and Evin Cooper. Saturday was a great day for WMU, and a stepping stone for their program moving forward. Western’s commitment to consistently facing tough competition in the Michigan Region is starting to pay off, and they are moving up the rankings because of it. This team has an exciting future.

Michigan Dodgeball Cup Recap: GVSU Wins 6th-Straight, MSU Ends a 15-Year ‘Curse’, Finishing 2nd

EAST LANSING, MI: For the 6th-consecutive season, the Michigan Dodgeball Cup will be staying in Allendale Michigan. The Grand Valley State Lakers won the 16th Annual MDC with a 4-0 record on the day, including an overtime thriller against Michigan State. The Spartans were able to win each of their other games, going 3-1 at MDC, making it the first time since 2005 that MSU had a winning record at the event. Central Michigan (2-2), Saginaw Valley State (1-3), and Western Michigan (0-4) were the other three teams in attendance, and each showed some good things throughout the day. Below are the final results from the tournament:

MSU def SVSU 3-2
CMU def WMU 5-2
GVSU def MSU 3-2 (OT)
SVSU def WMU 5-1
CMU def SVSU 3-1
GVSU def WMU 6-0
GVSU def CMU 4-1
MSU def WMU 6-1
MSU def CMU 4-0
GVSU def SVSU 5-0

2020 Michigan Dodgeball Cup Preview

Staff Picks for this weekend’s Michigan Dodgeball Cup!

This Saturday, every collegiate dodgeball club within the state of Michigan will converge on IM Sports West on the campus of Michigan State University for the 16th Annual Michigan Dodgeball Cup (MDC). Games begin at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday and will be streamed live on the NCDA’s social media channels.

Schedule:

All 5 Michigan Schools Set to Attend GVSU’s ‘Pre-MDC’ This Sunday

News Photo — 11-0 GVSU will play host to MSU, CMU, SVSU, and WMU this Sunday at the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena. All Court 1 matches will be streamed live on the NCDA’s YouTube Page.

The second half of the 2019-20 College Dodgeball season kicks off on Sunday, January 26th in Allendale, Michigan in what we are going to call the ‘Pre-MDC Tournament’. As the tournament title indicates, every Michigan school will be in attendance for this event. With the Michigan Dodgeball Cup just two weeks after this tournament, it’s safe to say this Sunday will give us an accurate preview of what to expect at MDC. Court 1 games at this tournament will be livestreamed on the NCDA Youtube Page, so make sure to tune in on Sunday for all the action!

Below is the schedule for the tournament:

The schedule for this event is interesting because it is not a full round robin (what we always see at MDC). This Sunday, some teams will play more games than others. Here is the list of opponents for each school along with a graphic comparing each team’s resume to this point in the season:

Midseason Staff Picks

We are only a few weeks away from the first event of the second semester. Before we kick things back off, let’s take a look at some midseason picks from a handful of members on the NCDA Content Team:

5 Matchups Every NCDA Fan Wants to See Before the End of the Season

1. Grand Valley State vs. Ohio

Last time GVSU and Ohio faced off, the Bobcats fell in overtime on Day 1 of Nationals 2019 in what would have been the upset of the season.

Let’s start with the most obvious choice: GVSU and Ohio. The top two teams in college dodgeball at the halfway point in the season, everyone wants to see what would happen when these two undefeateds face off. While their records are the same, the two programs couldn’t be much different. GVSU has been a dominant team in the NCDA since 2006, winning 10 national titles in that time-frame. Ohio, on the other hand, has never even made it past the round of 16 at Nationals. The Bobcats look like a team with national title potential, with some great top end talent, but more importantly, quality depth. We hope that a GVSU vs. OU matchup happens in the regular season, but if we don’t see this duel until the NCDA National Title Game, that would be pretty epic as well…

Storylines to Follow in the Second Half of the Season:

What is happening to the Michigan Region?

Grand Valley is still… Grand Valley. But outside of the Lakers, the rest of the region seems a bit off so far this season. Michigan State is currently the second best team in the region, but they have lost by multiple points in each of their games against GVSU, and in one of their only games against a non-Michigan team (BGSU), they lost in overtime. Meanwhile, Central Michigan has been nowhere near the caliber of team that they were a season ago when they made the Final Four. The Chips have some work to do to get back to reaching their potential. Then there is SVSU, sitting at 2-7 currently. The Cardinals had a rough first semester, but they are known to turn it on in the winter and become a contender, so the jury is still out on them. Lastly, Western Michigan has played only against GVSU, so they are yet to get their first win. The feeling around the league is that the Michigan Region has significantly regressed, and will have only one team (GVSU) even make the Final Four this year. The state that back in 2017 held all four spots in the Final Four, now looks much more average. But maybe this is all a big overreaction. Michigan State is still loaded with talent, and a few content team members expect the Spartans to make the National Title Game still. CMU had a rough first semester, but they have most of the same players from a year ago, so if they can get in a groove, a Final Four run shouldn’t be ruled out. And we all know SVSU improves dramatically in the second half of the season. It was a lackluster first half to the season for the state of Michigan, but it will be fun to watch how each team performs this semester leading up to Nationals.

Power Rankings: December 2019

We have reached the midway point in the 2019-20 NCDA season. There have been some surprising upsets so far this year, with some teams performing differently than expected preseason. With still four months until NCDA Nationals 2020, teams continue to shuffle in the power rankings order, as we get a better grasp at who are the contenders and who are the pretenders.

Below is the official December Power Rankings list, voted on and written by the NCDA Content Team. Please keep in mind: these power rankings have no impact on the actual NCDA Standings.

1) Grand Valley State

For the second consecutive fall semester, the Lakers finish undefeated. GVSU is once again a title contender, proving their abilities against many of the top teams in the country. Grand Valley has several players who should be considered in the MVP hunt, most notably Ben Smart and Nolan Stanko. It’s never a bad thing to have several players in that discussion. The the biggest bright spot for GVSU though, is the way Captain Josh Hill and the other leaders have been able to develop the talented depth on this roster. GVSU is a much deeper team than some may have expected them to be after how may contributors they lost from a year ago. This team looks poised to start a new title streak this spring.

GVSU wins Spartan Invite, MSU beats CMU in Comeback Fashion

The annual Spartan Invite took place on Sunday, with three traditionally dominant schools in attendance. Grand Valley State won the day, going 2-0, with Michigan State finishing 1-1, and Central Michigan finishing 0-2. The end result for each game was about what most would expect, but how we got there was a bit more interesting. Below is a recap of each match that took place this past Sunday at IM Sports West.

GVSU def CMU 5-1

The Lakers were victorious over Central Michigan in the first matchup between these two rivals since last season’s national semifinal game (an overtime thriller). The first point of this game was unexpected for those who have followed the results of each team so far this year. The Chippewas grabbed the ball advantage right from the get go, and used it to help them pick off some GVSU players early on. Central used an aggressive playstyle early on in the point, and they connected on some great crosses and counters to catch GVSU off guard. CMU eventually knocked GVSU down to just Ben Smart left on the court, and after some back and forth plays, Jawanza Edwards was able to step up and make a diving catch on a long reset throw from Smart to end the point giving CMU a 1-0 lead.

Spartan Invite Preview

This Sunday, Michigan State University will host the annual ‘Spartan Invite Tournament’. Typically, this tournament will field teams from all across the Midwest, but for whatever reason, this year’s version of the Spartan Invite will only have three schools in attendance: #7 Central Michigan, #1 Grand Valley State, and of course #5 Michigan State. Despite only having three Michigan schools in action at this weekend’s event, there is still a lot to keep an eye on.

No Fear Invitational Preview

This Saturday, Ohio University will host the largest regular season tournament in collegiate dodgeball history with 19 schools in attendance. This one-day event, dubbed by some as ‘Fall Nationals’, will include some epic matchups as we near the end of the fall semester in the NCDA. From the top teams in the rankings, to some of the newest schools in the NCDA, the ‘No Fear Invitational’ will have it all. Check out our preview of the event below, and don’t forget: Court 3 will be livestream on Facebook:

Schedule:

5 Bold Takes from Cincinnati Coach Wes Peters:

GVSU vs. Towson goes to OT.

Power Rankings: November 2019

The 2019-20 season already has seen quite a few shakeups in the first two months. With so many upsets and chaotic results, ranking teams based off of the results so far this year has been difficult to say the least. Here’s to hoping the month of November provides a bit more clarity!

Below is the official November Power Rankings list, voted on and written by the NCDA Content Team. Please keep in mind: these power rankings have no impact on the actual NCDA Standings.

Grand Valley Gauntlet Preview

This Saturday, Grand Valley State University will host the Gauntlet tournament at the GVSU Fieldhouse. In attendance will be Michigan State and Wisconsin Platteville, along with the hometown Lakers. Below is the schedule for the day (with GVSU B and GVSU Alumni also getting in on the action):

Power Rankings: October 2019

What an incredible first month to the season. 31 games have been played so far this year, with over 1/3rd of them being upsets! If the month of September was any indication, it’s going to be a FUN season of college dodgeball!

Below is the official October Power Rankings list, voted on and written by the NCDA Content Team. Please keep in mind: these power rankings have no impact on the actual NCDA Standings.