Dodgeball Team Wins MSU Invitational

Michigan State’s dodgeball team hosted a six-team tournament at I.M. West last Sunday and took home the title with wins over Bowling Green, Ohio State and Siena Heights.  It was a huge win for the Spartans, who had a slow start to the 2013-14 season, coming into the tournament with an 0-5 record.

At their last practice before the tournament, captain Mike Van Ermen told his team this would be the biggest tournament of the year.

And The Spartans showed up for the biggest tournament of the year.  The 20 person roster (eight of whom are first year players), started out strong with a 4-2 victory over rival Ohio State.

“I was really happy with the way our team played on Sunday, particularly against Ohio State.  Not only was this the battle for Big Ten superiority, but a rival who has had success this season”, Van Ermen said.

Rookies Alex Zajac and Noe Galaviz were standouts on Sunday, bringing energy on transitions and an offensive lift.

For a veterans like Mike Van Ermen, starting a season with a losing record is not familiar.  But with a positive result last weekend, the captain is feeling confident.

“We’re definitely trending upwards,” Van Ermen added.

The Spartans improve their record to 3-5 and hope to continue their upward momentum for their next tournament in Chicago against Nebraska, James Madison, and Moody Bible Institute.

 

Bradley Allen is a multimedia journalist for Impact Sports.

Photo: Nicki Bailey (CMU Dodgeball)