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Pink Out VII Recap

This past weekend the University of Akron held the 7th Annual Pink Out tournament and it did not disappoint! There were several good games and a lot of surprises that most were not expecting. This tournament gave us a better idea who the top teams are in the league and what we should expect at future events. Let’s take a look on how each team did on the day as seen by Kathryn Mays (OSU) and Ethan Lehmkuhl (OSU).

Pink Out VII Preview

This weekend, Akron University will host their 7th Annual Pink Out tournament. This year looks to be a special tournament, with 11 teams in attendance from the Ohio, Michigan, and East Coast regions – we hope to learn a lot about these teams. It is also worth noting that half of these teams are ranked in the top 10 in the latest Power Rankings. This will be a prime opportunity for each of these teams to prove their worth and gain valuable on-court experience. We asked each of these teams to tell us about their biggest leaders, rookies, expectations, strengths, and more. Check it out!

Sagnasty Classic Recap

At the Sagnasty Classic, Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU), Grand Valley State University (GVSU), and Western Michigan University (WMU) competed in several good games this past weekend. The records for the day were: GVSU 3-0, SVSU 1-2, and WMU 0-2. Below are the scores from this tournament:

Sagnasty Classic Preview

This weekend the Michigan Region is back at it again for the Sagnasty Classic! The teams in attendance will be Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU), Grand Valley State University (GVSU), and Western Michigan University (WMU). The games will be played in the Hamilton Gym at the Ryder Center in University Center, Michigan. For GVSU and SVSU, this will be their first tournament of the year, while the Broncos of WMU were in action last weekend at JBBBIII. GVSU and SVSU will have a lot of rust to shake of in their first games back in action, but it shouldn’t take long for them to get back up to speed. For WMU, expect even better play this time around now that they have their first tournament under their belt already. The following is the schedule for Saturday’s event.

Sagnasty Classic

Top Rookie Classes of 2021-2022

As we look to the start of another new NCDA Season and teams begin recruiting their next captains or future All-Americans we thought it would be fun to take a look back at last year’s top rookie classes.

Several teams across the league brought in multiple impact players which speaks to the depth and resiliency we are seeing across the league in the first full year back post-COVID.

Here are the top 5 Rookie Classes of 2021-22:

Grand Valley State Lakers Pre-Nationals Spotlight

Leading into Nationals, we look to spotlight as many teams as we can in hopes of shining a bright light on standouts from participating teams. These glow-ups include up to 2 of each team’s standout rookies as well as a handful of core contributing players that have gotten their respective team to where they are going into the National Collegiate Dodgeball Association’s annual finale. Lastly, we get a glance into each participating team’s mindset and expectations going into Nationals.

Comparing Resumes of the NCDA’s Top 5

The following article was prepared by Kevin Bailey, Wes Peters, and Kathryn Mays.

With the March 2022 Power Rankings just released, the top 5 teams in the NCDA deserve a deeper dive. It seems at this point in the season, the top 5 teams in the league have separated themselves a bit from the rest of the pack.

With Cincinnati winning the Ohio Dodgeball Cup, Michigan State winning the Michigan Dodgeball Cup, James Madison putting the hammer down on the rest of the East Coast, Grand Valley State boasting a 13-2 overall record, and Ohio State chugging along as a title contender and up to #3 in the Gonzalez standings, these 5 teams all have had stellar campaigns thus far.

Let’s take a closer look at each team’s resume to get a better understanding of where each squad stands heading into the final month of the collegiate dodgeball season! We will cover these teams in the order in which they were ranked in the March 2022 PR:

The War V Recap

We expected a weekend full of quality dodgeball as Akron hosted their 5th annual iteration of The War. What we witnessed, however, was frankly a lot of lopsided matches. Certain teams we anticipated to have great performances came in as advertised. Others left a lot to be desired, and will hope to bounce back strong if they play again before Nationals, or else they will be chewing on those hard truths about the way their team played for the next 5 weeks.

With that being said, there is a lot to unwrap, and a lot to be said about what we saw from each team, whether they performed well, poorly, or somewhere in between. Let’s go team by team and evaluate what we saw.

2022 Michigan Dodgeball Cup Preview

2015 Michigan Dodgeball Cup Preview – NCDA

This Saturday, Michigan State University will host three other schools in the annual Michigan Dodgeball Cup. In attendance will be Grand Valley State (8-1), Michigan State (5-3), Saginaw Valley State (2-7), and Western Michigan (0-3). Missing from the MDC for the first time since 2007 (prior to their club’s existence) is Central Michigan University.

While eyes will be on the CMU club to see if they can rebuild their program and get back to competition, let’s shift our attention back to the four teams in attendance. To start, here is the schedule for the 2022 MDC, which will be livestreamed on the NCDA’s social channels this Saturday, starting at 10:00 AM.

The Michigan Dodgeball Cup

Grand Valley Gauntlet VIII

This Saturday we kick off the second half of our 2021-2022 season in Allendale, Michigan, with the Grand Valley Gauntlet VIII. The teams in attendance are: the Grand Valley State University (GVSU), Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU), and Michigan State University (MSU). It is exciting to get back on the courts again and I can’t wait to see the results. Let’s take a look at the schedule for tomorrow’s event below.

Cardinal Invitational Recap

Way back on November 20th, the Cardinal Invitational took place. With everyone very busy with the holiday weekend and preparing for finals, it took a little while to compile each team’s lasting thoughts for the tournament. We take a look at what leaders from (almost) every team had to say.

Saginaw Valley State Perspective:

Cardinal Invitational

2nd Annual John Betters’ Bobcat Bonanza Tournament Review

The second annual John Betters’ Bobcat Bonanza showed us where a lot of teams stand at this point in the season. With most teams having played a match throughout the league as of the conclusion of this weekend, I think we are finally starting to get a good picture for how each team compares to one another. While there are still a lot of lingering questions (IE – how does the majority of the East Coast stand up to the rest of the league? What does Michigan State look like? Is Towson still truly a top team in the NCDA? Are Grand Valley and Cincinnati actually that good?), we did get some real answers this weekend. Yes, Grand Valley is still a force to be reckoned with. Yes, Cincinnati is a legitimate title contender despite the loss to the aforementioned Lakers. Yes, the league is in overall good health with impressively large rookie classes for a lot of teams who hadn’t played prior to this weekend such as Ohio and Saginaw Valley.

What hasn’t been answered, however, is what each team thought about their own individual performances on the weekend. The participating Captains and Presidents minced no words when it comes to how they felt about their teams’ performances this past weekend. Here’s what they had to say: