Next for MSU: A Trip to Allendale

After starting the season 7-1, including beating rivals SVSU and CMU, the Spartans look to accomplish a feat they’ve never done- beat Grand Valley. With the match being on December 2nd in the Laker Fieldhouse Arena, the atmosphere should be great. The Lakers are coming off a 2-1 loss to rival SVSU, but are 3-1 on the season. Michigan State meanwhile is on a seven game winning streak after dropping their first match to Kentucky. However, the Spartans have never defeated the Lakers, so GVSU is the clear favorite in this one. For MSU to pull off the upset they’ll have to play as a team, and have to play to everyone’s abilities. State will also need two players, Chris Kramer and Andrew Koczara, who are playing in their last game to play great.

The Lakers are led by Mark Trippiedi, who has a 70+ mph throw, who along with Dylan Fettig make one of the best one-two punches in all of dodgeball. While this current team isn’t as strong as the 2008-2009 team that didn’t drop a point all season, they are still clearly a top five time in the NCDA. It will undoubtedly be Michigan State’s toughest match of the semester, so this could be a barometer of sorts to see if MSU is a MDC favorite or still the underdog. While the two teams get along fairly well off the court, expect to see some fireworks on the court, as this is a fierce rivalry.

Last season MSU lost both matches they played against GVSU, the first was a 7-1 loss at GVSU in which the Spartans played with a depleted roster, and the second was a 5-0 match that was closer than the score indicated.

There will also be a junior varsity match after the game, which will give some valuable experience to some of the younger members of the club.

Spartans Victorious at MSU Invite

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.

MSU Invite Today

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!

Updated MSU Invite Schedule

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