Michigan State traveled to Central Michigan on Saturday to compete in the CMU Invite. The Spartans had four games against CMU, GVSU, WKU, and UK in their first tournament of the year.
The first game of the tournament turned out to be the best as Michigan State opened their season with a matchup against in-state rival Central Michigan. The Spartans started out slowly getting down early to the Chips in the first point. But James Schneider tried to bring State back. Making a couple catches and some nice throws, James eventually got CMU down to one player. In the 1-on-1 showdown, the CMU player made a nice jumping catch to take the first point for the Chips after 13 minutes of action. The Spartans then rebounded in point number two. After taking an early advantage, both teams had five people left with only a couple minutes to go in the half. After some quick eliminations, Charlie Wilshire made a great catch to even the score before half at 1-1. CMU looked to have control in the third point at the start of the second half. MSU was down to only three players against several from CMU. But Captain Colin O’Brien made sure a win would be the start of his tenure. He led MSU to bring CMU down to three players against State’s two before an untimely shot clock violation. On the ensuing team throw, O’Brien made a catch while avoiding the other two throws to give MSU the advantage. However, a catch and an elimination left O’Brien as the sole Spartan against three Chips. Colin then made a long throw to catch a CMU player sleeping and make it a two against one. O’Brien then proceeded to catch two consecutive CMU throws to win the point for MSU and gain a lead of 2-1 with 11 minutes to play. In the fourth point, Michigan State gained an early ball possession. With nine balls in hand, the Spartans made one throw at a time to kill the clock. O’Brien and Wilshire alternated throws for several minutes. After a CMU catch off an O’Brien throw, the Chips proceeded to bring up the tempo. With only a couple minutes remaining, MSU just tried to stay alive. CMU was able to bring the Spartans down to four men, but were unable to eliminate the team before time expired. Michigan State took the first game 2-1 in what should be a great rivalry all season long.
The next three games were all one-sided for the Spartans. The net game for MSU was against the two-time defending champs Grand Valley State University. GVSU thoroughly outplayed MSU in every facet of the game, showing everyone why they have won the past two national titles and are still the team to beat in the NCDA. A rout of 6-0 showed that MSU still have room to improve before they can get their first ever victory against the Lakers.
The next match for MSU was against the Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky University. Only bringing ten men, WKU faced a disadvantage all day. The Spartans made quick work of the Hilltoppers, taking a big lead into the half. WKU was able to take a point from the Spartans, however, late in the second half to end the game 6-1.
Michigan State’s final match of the day was against the University of Kentucky. In a fun filled game, the Spartans took a 3-0 lead into the half. The second half showed why many people throughout the league love dodgeball, as both sides had a blast with the Spartans picking up one more point to end the game at 4-0.
Michigan State finished the day with a record of 3-1. Despite missing several players and only bringing fifteen to the tournament, MSU showed why they are a team to watch out for in the NCDA. The good start for the Spartans gives them momentum heading into next weekend’s tournament at Grand Valley, where they will face Central Michigan again, Kent State, and Saginaw Valley State in what looks to be one of the premier tournaments of not only the first semester but the entire season.