Tag: cmu

The Michigan Region’s Undeniable Parity

On Feb. 27th, four schools will battle it out in the most anticipated Michigan Dodgeball Cup of all-time.
On Feb. 27th, four schools will battle it out in the most anticipated Michigan Dodgeball Cup of all-time.

It is no secret that the Michigan Region has been the best region in the country for a long, long time.  In fact, the national champion has been a team from the Great Lakes State each of the past nine seasons.

In a way, I want to simply state that this season should be no different; as there is a chance the title game features two Michigan schools.  Historically, the Michigan Dodgeball Cup winner enters April as the favorite to win it all.  The difference between this season and seasons in the past is that there is an unbelievable level of parity surrounding the NCDA’s top region.  The Michigan Dodgeball Cup will take place on Feb. 27, and if you have been following the league at all this season, you know that it is going to be impossible to predict.

Here is an inside look at the incredibly confusing 2015-16 NCDA season in the Michigan Region:

 

Continue reading “The Michigan Region’s Undeniable Parity”

King of the Mountain Recap

This weekend Central Michigan University hosted the King of the Mountain dodgeball tournament.  At this event we saw schools from Michigan, Ohio, and even Wisconsin in attendance.  There were a lot of questions heading into the event, and I came away with quite a bit of insight on the teams that made the trip to Mt. Pleasant for a great tournament.  Below I have the scores from the tournament and some of my takeaways from the event as a whole: Continue reading “King of the Mountain Recap”

King of the Mountain Dodgeball Tournament Preview

On February 6th, Central Michigan University will host their second home tournament in as many weeks with the “King of the Mountain” Tournament.  In attendance will be a good variety of schools from around the Midwest.  CMU will welcome Saginaw Valley State and Grand Valley State from Michigan, Kent State, Ohio, and Akron from the state of Ohio, and Wisconsin Platteville will also be making the trip to Mt. Pleasant for this event.

All in all, this will be a great mix of teams both in terms of the NCDA region they represent, and they level of talent which they possess.  There should be some very entertaining games during this event.  Here is a brief team-by-team preview: Continue reading “King of the Mountain Dodgeball Tournament Preview”

2015 Spartan Invite Film

We had MSU’s journalism/broadcast program come out and do a live production for the Spartan Invite. What ended up is four fine games caught on film. A big thanks to that program for their work and effort, and another special thanks to MSU Dodgeball. Please make sure you check out the credits at the end..

MSU def Kent 3-0 [YouTube]
MSU def DePaul 4-0 [YouTube]
CMU def GVSU 2-1 OT [YouTube]
CMU def Kent 3-0 [YouTube]

Check out the full results if you don’t remember what happened at IM West in November.

 

2015 Spartan Invite

EAST LANSING – IM West: In the Spartan Invite,
GVSU def MSU 2-0
BGSU def DePaul 3-1
CMU def MSU 3-1
GVSU def Kent 3-0
MSU def Kent 3-0 [YouTube]
GVSU def BGSU 4-0
MSU def DePaul 4-0 [YouTube]
CMU def BGSU 3-0
CMU def GVSU 2-1 OT [YouTube]
Kent def DePaul 3-1
CMU def Kent 3-0 [YouTube]

Continue reading “2015 Spartan Invite”

Spartan Invite Preview

*This is the first of three previews for the Spartan Invite.  Previews from Colin O’Brien and Jacob Leski will be published in the near future.

The Michigan State Spartans are off to a great start this season. The Spartan Invite will be yet another opportunity to prove they are one of the best teams in the nation.
The Michigan State Spartans are off to a great start this season. The Spartan Invite will be yet another opportunity to prove they are one of the best teams in the nation.

This Sunday, Michigan State University is set to host the annual Spartan Invite at IM West.  Michigan State along with Grand Valley State, Central Michigan, DePaul, Bowling Green State, and Kent State will take part in a big-time tournament.

As we close in on the end of the fall semester, this tournament will likely determine who the top dog in the NCDA is at the halfway point in the season.  All eyes will be on the matches that take place between MSU, GVSU, and CMU.  Each of these teams has beaten the others at least once so far this fall.  The circle of parity at the top of the league is more severe than in years past, but there is still over half a season left.  If any of these schools has plans of distancing themselves to become the #1 team in the league, this tournament will certainly be a strong stepping stone in that effort.

Bragging rights will be on the line Sunday when MSU, GVSU, CMU, BGSU, DePaul, and Kent face off in the annual Spartan Invite.  Here are my predictions for this weekend’s matches:

Continue reading “Spartan Invite Preview”

Death Valley Invitational Preview

12065964_10153751370898760_1533872543269592071_nThis Sunday, Saginaw Valley State University will host their first home tournament of the 2015 season when Central Michigan, Michigan State, Bowling Green State, and Ohio make the trip to SVSU’s campus for the Death Valley Invitational (props to whoever chose the name for this event).

The schedule for this tournament is listed below, with a few comments and predictions included by yours truly.

Continue reading “Death Valley Invitational Preview”

Grand Valley Gauntlet Part 3

ALLENDALE – GVSU Fieldhouse, Grand Valley Gauntlet
UK def BGSU 2-1
GVSU def CMU 2-1 OT
CMU def SVSU 2-1
GVSU def MSU 1-0
UK def GV-JV 2-0
MSU def SVSU 2-1 OT
CMU def BGSU 4-1
MSU def BGSU 2-0
GVSU def UK 4-1
SVSU def UK 3-0
BGSU played GV-JV

Continue reading “Grand Valley Gauntlet Part 3”

Impact at IM West Preview

Three of the premiere teams of the NCDA meet in East Lansing on Sunday for the Impact at IM West. The Spartans host the two schools that met in the championship game last season for what should be three very competitive games of dodgeball. All three teams open the season with championship aspirations, and probably expectations, with the tremendous amount of talent on their rosters.

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Season Preview: Central Michigan

Location: Mount Pleasant, Mich.cmu-logo

NCDA Region: Michigan

2014-15 Record: 31-9

National Tournament Finish: Lost to GVSU in Championship Game

2015-16 Captains: Shane Willette-C, Zach Bachner-C, Tyler Prill-A and Ian Ryan-A

Returning Varsity Players: 17

Players to Watch: Everyone… but to name a few: Brett Hadwin, Michael Riley, Michael Heller, Alex Holzgen and Ian Ryan


Overview:  The National Runner-Ups from 2014-15 are back and likely better than they were a year ago.   Continue reading “Season Preview: Central Michigan”

BOTM: 2015 March

11130689_10205595605624561_577289346_nThe Baller of the Month for March goes to one of Central Michigan’s captains: Brett Hadwin.  Brett is competing in his final season with CMU, and he has had a stellar final year.  Brett most recently led Central to a tournament title at the CMU Showdown with wins over MSU, SVSU, JMU, and GVSU.

Brett is without a doubt one of the best all-around players in the NCDA, and he has proven it time and time again throughout his career.  It is a shock to me that he had never received the honor of BOTM until now.

I had the opportunity to interview Brett after he was chosen as the Baller of the Month, and as always, he had some interesting things to say.  Here is my conversation with Brett where we talk about his goals for his team, his individual skill set, best dodgeball memories, and even his trademark headbands: Continue reading “BOTM: 2015 March”