MSU Dodgeball Helps Charity Tournament

Michigan State Dodgeball sent three teams to the inaugural Veteran’s Tournament at IM Circle on MSU’s campus, where they competed with two fraternities to help homeless veterans. To compete, the Spartans brought socks, underwear, and food for the veterans. The three teams were Final Justice, Bauer Power, and Team 4 Names. After a round robin stage, in which Bauer Power went undefeated, all three dodgeball teams made the Final 4. Bauer Power overpowered Delta Sigma Phi, and Final Justice knocked off Team 4 Names. In the final, Bauer Power swept Final Justice 2-0 in a best of three battle, led by junior Kyle Totzke and junior Zach Bauer. However, the real winners were the veterans who the Spartans helped feed and clothe, and MSU looks forward to helping out next year as well.

Baller Of The Week: Andrew Koczara

Andrew was a captain for the 2011-2012 season, and had a great National Tournament. He has the strongest arm on the team, and is also a good catcher. Andrew was named a 2012 All-Star. He helped the Spartans advance to the National Quarterfinals for the 4th straight season with his strong play at Nationals 2012.

Q: What do you feel is your strongest attribute?

Andrew: I feel that my strongest attribute is my throwing (at least when my arm isn’t too sore.)

Q: What has been your favorite part of playing with the dodgeball team?

Andrew: My favorite part of playing with the team is all of the great people I have met. I always look forward to Tuesday and Thursday night practices where I am able to have fun and relieve some stress.

Q: How do you feel the Spartans will do next season?

Andrew: I think our team will be a very strong contender come next year. We have a solid core of veteran players coming back along with a good group of young players who were able to gain valuable experience in some of the tournaments this past year.

Spartans Drop Heartbreaker to SVSU In Quarterfinals

After beating the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in round one of the National Tournament, the Spartans lost to rival Saginaw Valley in the second round of the tournament. The first game of the day featured MSU versus WKU, and it was a great battle. The Spartans jumped out to a 2-0 lead going into the half thanks to strong team play, but the Toppers took the first point of the second half to make it 2-1. The Spartans, led by captains Sam Hiller and Andy Malnor, along with Alex Acton and Eric Paul, were able to hold off WKU to win the match.

MSU next played SVSU, and they once again quickly fell to a disadvantage. The Cardinals exploded for 3 points in the first 19 minutes against MSU, but State would not go quietly into the night. In a true team effort they battled back and almost scored a point going into the half, but then they played even better and picked up a two second half points and almost tied the game before the final buzzer sounded on the team’s season. SVSU would go on to beat GVSU and Kentucky to win the National Championship.

Overall Michigan State finished the season with an 11-9 record, and they made it to the National Quarterfinal for the 4th straight season.

Michigan State Goes 2-1 On Day One of Nationals

Michigan State beat Wisconsin-Platteville and Miami (OH), but was beaten 2-1 by James Madison. The Spartans opened the day with a battle with the Dukes that went down to the wire. After a long point against JMU to open the game, in which junior Zach Bauer held out on his own for multiple minutes, the Spartans took the second point right before the half after strong play by some of their key players. However, JMU began to catch all the Spartans throws, and took a 2-1 lead before holding on in a nail biter final point. MSU next played against Wisconsin-Platteville, where they dropped the first point in three and a half minutes. However, the Spartans would respond, winning 9-1 and having huge games from sophomore Andy Lieblich and junior Jake Billhorn. MSU finished off with a game against undermanned Miami, where after getting out to a 3-0 lead the Spartans began to just have fun with the Redhawks.

Michigan State gained the six seed for the Sunday single-elimination bracket, and will play Western Kentucky at 10:15 am. In the bottom half of the bracket along with Michigan State are rivals Saginaw Valley, Grand Valley, and Central Michigan, which will make for an interesting Sunday bracket.

Acton, Koczara, Malnor, and Paul named All-Stars

Alex Acton, Andrew Koczara, Andy Malnor, and Eric Paul were named as the 2012 NCDA All-Stars representing the Michigan State Club Dodgeball Team. Alex Acton is a third year player, and was elected to his second All-Star Game this year. He is known for being a great catcher and a great crosser. Andrew Koczara, who has the hardest arm on the team, has been named to his first All-Star Game. Andy Malnor and Eric Paul both are great all-around players, and both have been named to their second All-Star Game.

The Spartans head out tonight to Saginaw to win their first NCDA National Championship in school history. The All-Star Game is at 10 am, and the Spartans’ first game is at 10:45 against James Madison.

Nationals 2012 Preview

The dodgeball world will all come to Saginaw, MI, on April 14th and 15th, as Nationals 2012 will decide the new NCDA National Champion. There are 16 schools going, including #1 ranked Kent State, last season’s champions Central Michigan, and host school Saginaw Valley. With four pools set up on Saturday, the Sunday single-elimination bracket will be based on 80% of the points accumulated on Saturday and 20% of the points accumulated during the regular season. There will also be an All-Star Game, and an All-Girls game.

Pool A “Cyan Group” features the dodgeball powerhouse Grand Valley State, along with two dodgeball mainstays in Depaul and Bowling Green and relative newcomer Northwestern State. Northwestern State has not played a match since Nationals 2011, where they went 0-4. Depaul, known as the jesters of the NCDA, is 3-7 this season, beating Eastern Michigan, Western Illinois, and Nebraska. Always in it for the fun of the game, Depaul will enjoy their pool. Bowling Green has had an up and down season, going 4-8. They started off the season 0-5, but finished out 4-3, including wins over Kentucky and Ohio State. They could be a sleeper team to make a run on Sunday. Grand Valley State finished the season ranked #2 in the country, but they have to make up for a disappointing finish at the Michigan Dodgeball Cup, where they lost to both CMU and SVSU. They’re one of the most deadly teams in the league, and anything less than a title will be considered a disappointment.

Pool B “Magenta Group” includes host school SVSU, Kentucky, Ohio State, and Western Illinois. This may be the the most competitive group, as all four teams were in the quarterfinals of the 2011 National Tournament. Ohio State and SVSU have had some disagreements in the past, so that match is one to watch. The Buckeyes are known as a great catching team, and they could pull off an upset over a higher ranked team. Western Illinois had a down year, but they’re still a good team that can hang with anyone. Kentucky finished the season in the top 4, and feature the hardest thrower in the league. However, the Cardinals should be the favorite for this pool, as their tremendous talent and home court advantage will combine to make them a hard out in the tournament.

Pool C “Yellow Group” has a mix of classic teams and a new blood- James Madison. The Dukes made a lot of noise their first season going 7-3-1 and finishing in sixth place. Among the classic teams are Wisconsin-Platteville, Miami, and Michigan State. UWP played only two games, but they are usually a solid team at Nationals. Miami played 9 games this season, and two of those were forfeit wins, but they have a good foundation and won two games at Nationals last season. The Spartans are among the dodgeball elite, but they had a lackluster appearance their last time out at the Michigan Dodgeball Cup.

Pool D “Key Group” has this year’s #1 team in Kent State, and last year’s National Champion in Central Michigan, to go along with Moody Bible and Western Kentucky. All four of these schools have the capability to go deep into the tournament, and this could be the toughest pool to predict. Kent State set a record for most games played, but they lost their games to the three Michigan teams they played. Central Michigan played only five games all season, coming out 3-2, but they may have the most talent in the league. Western Kentucky didn’t play an out of state team all season, finishing 2-2, but they’ve shown in the past that they’re a powerhouse. And Moody Bible is always a tough team to play with their talent and smart play.

This year’s Nationals could be the deepest one yet, and every team is capable of making a run in the tournament. Whoever comes out on top will certainly have earned their way to the title, and its looking like it could be a great tournament.

Baller Of The Week: Andy Lieblich

Andy is in his first year with the Michigan State Club Dodgeball Team, and he’s turning into one of the better first year players. Nicknamed “Eggs” by his teammates, Andy is a great catcher and has a nasty grip throw.

Q: How did you get the nickname of “Eggs”?

Andy: For Halloween John Luszenski, aka Bacon, and I decided to dress up like like bacon and eggs for practice and ever since then I’ve been referred to as Eggs.

Q: What do you expect from your first Nationals tournament?

Andy: For my first year, I’m not all too sure what to expect at Nationals. But I definitely expect us to do a lot better than how we did at the Michigan Dodgeball Cup. And with some confidence, and a little bit of luck, i can see us making a run on Sunday.

Q: How have you enjoyed your first season with the MSU Club Dodgeball Team?

Andy: I can’t believe how much I’ve enjoyed playing dodgeball this season. Who would have known that a game of dodgeball could be so intense. I’ve made a lot of new friends and can’t wait to play again next year!

 

Spartans Ready for Nationals 2012

With Nationals only a week away, Michigan State is ready to win a title. With the schedule released, the roster finalized, and the strategy set, the Spartans are prepared to make this their best finish yet. The roster is filled with dodgeball veterans, with only three players making their first National Tournament appearance, and even they have played in multiple tournaments this season. The other seventeen players have plenty of experience, and this will be key if the Spartans go the whole way and play seven games in two days. With so much wear and tear on their arms, for the Spartans to be so deep will be very important if they hope to win the title. Sophomore Mike Van Ermen says “As someone who gets a pretty sore arm after a day on the court, we need to have our throwers who are susceptible to ‘dead arm’ to play smart on the first day. We shouldn’t be trying to break people’s blocks or taking risky shots. Instead, we need to pick our targets without blocks and team throw, possibly without gripping to avoid losing energy. We’re going to need all the arms we have if we want to go far in the tournament.”

Facing James Madison at 10:45 am, Michigan State will have to adapt to the Dukes’ game play. Having never played them before, MSU must impose their own style on JMU and force them to play Spartan Dodgeball. At 3:45 pm Michigan State goes against Wisconsin-Platteville. Having lost both matches of the season (against Western Illinois and Moody Bible) the Spartans must get out to an early lead and squash any hopes of an upset. Finally Michigan State squares off against Miami (OH) at 5:00 pm, and will have to similarly get out fast against them as well. The Saturday pool play for Michigan State is very winnable, and they should come out as a top four seed on Sunday. Van Ermen says “I feel our draw’s pretty favorable. In our teams history, we haven’t had too many problems with the teams we’re matched up with. However, we can’t just walk in assuming we’re going to win. We still need to play our game, and we still need to play smart. If we do that, we’ll walk into Sunday with a pretty favorable road to the Final Four.”

 

 

Spartans Draw Dukes, Pioneers, And Redhawks At Nationals 2012

Michigan State enters the 2012 NCDA National Tournament drawing James Madison, Wisconsin-Platteville, and Miami (OH). JMU is going to their first National Tournament, but Wisconsin-Platteville and Miami are old foes for the Spartans.

Not much is known about James Madison, as they are a new team to the NCDA. The Dukes finished the season in sixth place, starting off the season blowing out some of the other East Coast schools, but more recently they’ve been in dogfights, playing schools like Kent State, Ohio State, and Bowling Green.

Wisconsin-Platteville has played Michigan State in the past, but has never beaten them. The Pioneers are winless this season, losing their matches to Western Illinois and Moody Bible. UW-P finished the season in last place, but they’ve proven to be a tough out for the Spartans in the past.

Miami (OH) is coming into the tournament at 3-6, but out of their three wins, two of them were forfeits by Louisville. The other win was a 7-0 win though against Towson. However, their losses have had a score differential of -19, which is the lowest of any team attending Nationals.

For a full schedule, check out the NCDA Records spreadsheet on Google.

 

Michigan State Holds Election For 2012-2013 Season

Michigan State did their annual election for the E-Board for the club dodgeball team on Tuesday night, selecting a president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, captain, and assistant captains. The new president for the upcoming season will be Mike Van Ermen, who is going into his third season with the club, and the new vice president will be Alex Acton, entering his fourth season. Retaining their positions from last year include Eric Paul as treasurer, Nicole Halbeisen as secretary, and Sam Hiller as head captain. The new assistant captains are Kevin Miller and Zach Bauer, two players entering their fourth year with the club. The Spartans look to be in very capable hands going into next season.