Many Storylines to Follow in GVSU Invite

This Sunday, the Grand Valley Dodgeball Club will host Central Michigan, Bowling Green State, Siena Heights, and Davenport in the first ever “GVSU Invite”.  While the teams in attendance vary from the defending national champions (GVSU) to a few teams (Siena Heights and Davenport) who are yet to play in their first NCDA match, each team competing in this event will have something to prove as it looks to be a very telling weekend of college dodgeball.  Here are a few storylines to keep an eye on:
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JMU Pumpkin Smash Preview From Chris Hess

PUMPKIN SMASH PREVIEW

As the air gets a little cooler in the Appalachians this time of year, the 2013-2014 NCDA season is heating up as James Madison hosts an East Coast slate of teams this weekend at Pumpkin Smash 2K13. The Dukes play host to Maryland, Towson, VCU, and Penn State to clear up where these teams stand amongst themselves.

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Saginaw Valley Hosts Rivals Grand Valley and Central Michigan

Sunday, October 13th, will feature a huge early season showdown in Saginaw, as the Cards will welcome the Lakers and Chippewas. One of the best venues in dodgeball will be the scene, as the Cardinal Gym will be filled with the SV faithful. The gym itself can be daunting, especially for less experienced players, but it can also be an exhilarating experience for those who like a challenge. The tournament will feature the three last National Champions, as well as some of the best players in the sport.

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2013-2014 Season Preview: Saginaw Valley State University

Many people know him as the former head captain of Saginaw Valley. If you frequent the forums, you know him as one of the NCDA’s Gods. Those close to him simply just call him Spencer. His playing days may be over at this point, but Spencer Jardine’s role with SVSU is vastly undiminished. We sat down to discuss the past and future of SVSU Dodgeball and the league as a whole. He also reassured me that there are no hard feelings about DePaul’s default win over SVSU at Nationals 2013. Trust me, if you didn’t know about this man’s passion for his team and the sport before….you will. Continue reading “2013-2014 Season Preview: Saginaw Valley State University”

2013-2014 Season Preview: Michigan State University

Few teams around the league can say that they are as excited to kickoff the 2013 season as Michigan State. They ended last season at Nationals’ as the runner-up to 5x NCDA Champion Grand Valley State University. While last season was widely considered to be their most successful season, captain Mike Van Ermen put everyone on notice that second place just isn’t good enough anymore. From here on out, it’s “championship or bust.” Continue reading “2013-2014 Season Preview: Michigan State University”

2013-2014 Season Preview: Moody Bible Institute Archers

The entire league knows about the DePaul teams that come out of Chicago. However, people need not forget that there is another NCDA team in Chicago. The Moody Bible Institute Archers were founded and played their first NCDA match in the 2010-2011 season. Under the leadership of alumnus Chad Schlundt and Jake Ochoa, the Archers became one of the more competitive teams coming out of the Illinois region on a yearly basis. Last year, Moody was one of the few active NCDA teams to miss Nationals. However, they were allowed to have some of their players comprise the “miscellaneous team” along with other teams that missed. This year captain Jake Ochoa and the Moody Archers have no intentions of missing Nationals, or any other chances to be on the court. Continue reading “2013-2014 Season Preview: Moody Bible Institute Archers”

2013-2014 Season Preview: DePaul Dodgeball Society

The DePaul Dodgeball Society is one of the eldest teams in the NCDA. Since being founded in 2000, their campaign has always been to show the league why they’re “undefeated.” Finishing with an overall record of 3-8-0 (#12 in the standings) last season, DePaul will look to build on that with more victories this season while maintaining the essence of what makes this team unique. I sat down with a former teammate and current DePaul co-captain to discuss the upcoming season and have a few laughs about the club. Continue reading “2013-2014 Season Preview: DePaul Dodgeball Society”

Season Preview: Grand Valley State University

The Grand Valley State Lakers went 16-2 last year en route to their National Championship. The NCDA hasn’t had a repeat champion since 2009-2010 GVSU. This year Grand Valley State looks to repeat again while they overcome a change of leadership, and strong NCDA competition.

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