After starting the season with a 3-1 record at the OSU Invite, Michigan State followed it up with a 4-0 record at their home tournament, the MSU Invite, making them three time defending champions. The Spartans looked a little shaky at times, but mostly dominated the competition to move to 7-1 on the season.

Their first match was against BGSU, and State was able to roll. By getting out BGSU’s #4 Brady Etzler early and often, Michigan State was able to limit the offensive capabilities of the Falcons and led by Alex Acton the Spartans were able to get a 5-1 the victory. Following that was a battle with #1 Kent State, who MSU had already beaten this season. In an intense, hard fought battle, the Spartans pulled off a 2-0 win. Kent State’s #13 Camden Fullmer, one of the best players in the country, had an especially good game for the Flashes, but a team effort by MSU gave them a victory. Next was Central Michigan, led by #27 Wes Peters, #00 Bryce Corrion, and #4 Brett Hadwin, but they only had 10 players. The Chips took the first point after some sloppy play by MSU, but the Spartans turned it around, and won 8-1. Their final match of the day was against Depaul, and after getting out to a 5-0 lead at halftime, the game was called after #51 for Depaul dislocated her shoulder.

Overall almost all the Spartans had great games, and Chris Kramer and Andrew Koczara played their last home tournament for MSU.

The #6 Spartans will host the 2012 MSU Invite today at IM West on MSU’s campus. The first round of games will start at approximately 10:45 am and continue until around 5 pm. Teams going to the tournament are #1 Kent State, #8 CMU, #9 Depaul, and #14 BGSU. Come cheer on your Spartans!

With MBI unfortunately dropping out for this weekend’s tournament, here is an updated schedule for the MSU Invite:

11 am- MSU vs BGSU, Depaul vs Kent State

12:15 pm- MSU vs Kent State, BGSU vs CMU

1:30 pm- MSU vs CMU, BGSU vs Depaul

2:45 pm- MSU vs Depaul, CMU vs Kent

4:00 pm- CMU vs Depaul, BGSU vs Kent

With the MSU Invite just over a week away, it’s time to look at the competition for the #6 Spartans.

-#14 Bowling Green (0-3-0) has typically played well against the Spartans in the past, and they usually take the first point from MSU. This could be bad for State, as they are also a slow starting team in tournaments. So when you mix those two facts, it’s very easy to see the Falcons jumping out to a lead next Sunday. BGSU has done poorly against Michigan schools the past three seasons however. They’ve been outscored a combined 41-7 in 9 games against Great Lakes State foes. The most points they’ve scored in a match against Michigan schools is 2 (this year against SVSU). Bowling Green in general is a school that has had a hard time putting points on the board. They’ve only scored 23 points since the start of last season, with highs of 4 (against Depaul and Northwestern State). Part of this may be due to their tough schedule, but it also may be the fact that they’re lacking in power arms and tend to rely more on defense.

-#9(t) Depaul (1-1-0) has played two matches against Moody this season. This will be their first trip outside of Chicago this year, but their fourth straight appearance at the MSU Invite. They’ve had moderate success in East Lansing, last year they were competitive against OSU and Kent, beat Eastern Michigan, and lost to Michigan State, which is a major improvement over their showing in 2010. The Blue Demons are known for their uptempo style play, which leads to them giving up a lot of points but also for them to have the ability to score some points as well. However, Depaul has never won more than 4 games under the new NHL style points format, and out of the schools attending the tournament they’ve only beaten Moody.

-#9(t) Moody (1-1-0) hasn’t left the state of Illinois other than competing at Nationals, so this will be an interesting test for them. The Archers have had success in their first two seasons as a club, but they still need to get a win against a top team. Last year they went 5-7, but their seven losses were against GVSU, SVSU, MSU, Kent State, WKU, CMU, and Kentucky. There is no shame losing to those schools, as they were probably 7 of the top 9 teams in the country last year, but eventually one would like to see Moody take down a top ranked team. With a strong cast of players, and momentum coming from their recent victory over Depaul, this could be the breakthrough that Moody’s been waiting for.

-#8 Central Michigan (2-1-0) got trounced in their first match of the season (7-1 against Grand Valley) but rebounded nicely with victories over BGSU and Miami. The fact that they’re 9-0 in their last 9 games against the Spartans looms large over Michigan State, but even then the point differential cannot be much higher than 11 (we unfortunately do not have the records from the 2009-2010 season, but the battles that season were along the lines of every other season). The Chips have also gone through a drastic change in their roster, losing Captains/All-Stars/All-NCDA performers in Pat Fisher and Eric Sweet. CMU recently beat both Kent State and Moody at Nationals 2012, so they could be favored to advance from their pool. If the Spartans and Chippewas do end up playing, look forward to yet another duel in the nation’s most underrated rivalry.

-#1 Kent State (7-2-0) has had a weird start to the season. As expected, they are #1, but they have put up some very weird scorelines. For a team that used to play very free-flowing and uptempo, they’ve slowed it down and are now focused on ball possession and blocking. They’ve scored 22 points in their first 9 games this season, last year through 9 they scored 24 (take away the 7 point outbursts each year against Towson and their scoring is a lot lower.) This may be attributed to the fact that the league itself is forming into a more defense oriented league after the success of Grand Valley, but it may just be a change in philosophy as well. Is it working for Kent State is the question? They are the only team that’s put up a point on Kentucky’s A-team so far this season, and they were able to beat James Madison without 5 varsity players. However, they were blanked by Michigan State and were forced to OT by a very undermanned SVSU squad. Is the defense and ball possession approach working? Probably. But considering that’s almost every team’s M.O. right now, maybe they would be better to shake things up a little bit.

After performing well at the OSU Round Robin, Michigan State will be hosting their first tournament of the season on November 4th at IM West in East Lansing. Competing along with MSU will be Bowling Green, Depaul, Moody Bible Institute, Kent State, and Central Michigan. As the Spartans look to continue on their hot start to the season, they’ll have to deal with some tough competition. The teams have been split into two pools: Pool A features MSU, Bowling Green, and Depaul, while Pool B includes Kent State, Moody Bible, and CMU. The winners, second place, and third place teams of each pool will play each other for their third and final games of the day.

Michigan State hasn’t lost to BGSU since 2008, but they have played many hard fought games since then. Traditionally the Spartans drop the first point to BGSU, but come roaring back. They have won the last four years they have played, and look to continue that streak. For State to win they’ll have to limit Brady Etzler’s performance, and not throw catches to the Falcons. They also need to try and take the first point instead of giving BGSU hope that they can win the match, unlike last year at SVSU. Bowling Green starts their season at home this weekend at the BGSU Invite.

Depaul is 1-0 on the young season, having already beaten Moody Bible, but they’ll need to play a perfect game to upset Michigan State. The Spartans usually dominate the game against the Blue Demons, although Depaul isn’t as focused on winning as they are on having fun. The last two seasons MSU has played Depaul three times, and won all three by a combined 26-2 score. Depaul also lost two of their best players from last season, but they should still be competitive. They beat Moody Bible  3-1 in September, who was the best team in the “Illinois” region last year, so they can compete if they want to.

Moody Bible has new leadership at the top this season, and this will be their first tournament other than Nationals outside of the Chicago Dodgeball Open. While the Archers have some talent, the Spartans usually handle them fairly easily, with wins of 8-0, 6-0, and 5-0 in the history between these two foes. Led by Jake Ochoa and an All-NCDA team player in Ryan Pattison, the Archers could be the best team in the Illinois region again this year if they can pull off some upsets and get more matches in.

Michigan State has already handled Kent State once this season, 3-0 in Columbus, but they are still a solid team and will likely be a top 5 team in the standings by the end of the season. They have some power arms, especially in Camden Fullmer, and they have some excellent blockers. If they get more accurate or get hot they can beat anyone in the country, so MSU needs to be prepared to play if they do end up playing them. If the Spartans get cocky that they’ve already beaten them, then they can be beaten. If they are ready for the challenge, then they should take them easily.

CMU hasn’t lost to State since 2008, a total of 8 straight meetings, although all 8 meetings have come down to the wire. The two teams usually play to a 3-2 or 2-1 game, sometimes even in overtime, and unfortunately for MSU the Chips usually come out victorious. CMU lost two of their captains and star players in Pat Fisher and Eric Sweet, so MSU has a great chance to knock them off, but nobody will know how good CMU is until this weekend, when they travel to the BGSU Invite.

The Spartans got off to one of their best starts in years this weekend when they traveled to Columbus, Ohio, to do battle in the OSU Round Robin. Bringing a roster with seven rookies on it, down three of their power throwers, and only 19 players total, MSU was able to play some great dodgeball. State played Kentucky first, the reigning National Runner Ups, and lost 4-0. The Wildcats outgunned the Spartans with more power arms, and MSU was definitely having some first game jitters. Michigan State was competitive though in the game, and they were in every point. It will be interesting to see what would happen when they play again. The next game up for MSU was rival Saginaw Valley, who was coming off the first overtime game under the new overtime rules. The Cardinals looked like they were into the match early, but Michigan State came out and won 5-0. MSU wanted the game more, and they definitely had a talent advantage, but the Spartans dominated in every facet of the game. The Spartans wanted revenge too for having lost to the Cardinals three times last season, including at the Michigan Dodgeball Cup in East Lansing and at Nationals. Following that match State went and played Kent State. Kent State had a few power arms and took an early advantage over MSU, but some clutch catches by captains Kevin Miller and Sam Hiller brought the team to life and helped get the Spartans the first point. MSU would go on to win 3-0, overpowering the Golden Flashes with their mix of power, catching, and teamwork. The last game of the day for MSU was a battle with host school Ohio State. Ohio State also jumped out to a quick lead in the first point after some great catches, but Zach Bauer helped lead the Spartans back and take the point. Following that the Spartans played with energy and enthusiasm, and took 2 more points in the first half, including on in five minutes just before the half. MSU would go on to win 4-1.

Many players stepped up over the course of the day. Assistant Captains Zach Bauer and Kevin Miller kept the energy going with huge kills and big time catches. Sophomore Josh Brawley, junior Mike Van Ermen, and senior Eric Paul got a bunch of kills, leading to some routs for State. Captain Sam Hiller had a great catching day after the first game as well. Some of the rookies had fantastic performances too. Colin O’Brien made some good catches to go along with a few kills, Josh Ciboch played great in end game scenarios, James Schneider made some clutch catches, and Zach Webber played some great defense as well. There wasn’t anyone on the team who had an off day, and everyone was able to compete well and get some kills and catches for the Spartans.

Michigan State next plays at home in the MSU Invite. They play Bowling Green and Depaul, and then will play either Central Michigan, Kent State, or Moody Bible. The MSU Invite will be November 4th.