Tucson, AZ

By Momo

The #3 and #35 ranked WFTDA teams met today in game 5 of the first of 4 Division 1 Playoffs in Tucson, AZ. The number 1 seed, Victorian Roller Derby League, a heavy favorite at this event, faced off against the Mad Rollin’ Dolls from Madison, Wisconsin. The highly ranked league from Down Under came out on top of this match-up, but the Rollin’ Dolls fought with spirit to very end.

Photo by Donna Olmstead

Victoria triumphantly opened with a 30 point jam by Christy Demons #14, who eventually earned 143 points, becoming VRDL’s top scorer of the game. Madison answered with 4 points from number 10, Sprout'n a Tail in Jam 3. However, the first half saw the Mad Rollin Dolls’ jammers struggle to get free on their initial pass, while the Victorian jammers, like Ivy K’nivey #BR0, completed scoring pass after scoring pass.

In jam 5, the team from Wisconsin had their first big opportunity to score points as Giles, #010, was sent to the penalty box on a cut track penalty. MRD attempted to spring their jammer with a sweeping offense but VRDL’s strong, square defense held the jammer, effectively killing MRD’s power jam advantage. At the end of Jam 6, VRDL led the game by 99 points to MRD’s 4.

Midway throughout the first half, Madison called a team time out to regroup. From this point on, MRD used panty passes to try to cut Victoria’s point scoring ability. In jam 12 MRD jammer Splatter Alice stole 2 points as she quickly followed Christy Demons into the pack, bringing MRD’s total to six. At the end of period 1, the score stood at Victoria 222 to Mad Rollin’ Dolls’ 10.

Photo by Bill Zingraf

The second half started with jammers PorFavor, #222 , and Mack the Knife #15, for VRDL and MRD respectively, facing off. Great offense by Tui Lyons assisted PorFavor’s success, while Mack the Knife went to the box on a track cut. In jam 20, Mouse, who had been most successful at initial passes for MRD did not disappoint, and scored 4 more points, bringing MRD’s score to 14. VRDL ended the jam at 269, with 14 of those points scored by Christy Demons.

15 minutes into the second half, both Victoria and Madison jammers went to the box right after each other, but MRD came out on top as PorFavor went right back to the box on a cut track. The Mad Rollin’ Dolls began jam 27 with a power jam advantage, as Lady Who-ha, #31, popped right through the VRDL defense and gained lead. She ended the jam scoring 3 points, which brought the score to 21 to 347, in favor of the Australian team.

Continuing this trend, Madison scored again off a panty pass to Darling Nikki, bringing their total points to 24. The Mad Rollin’ Dolls seemed to have gained some momentum, but ultimately only scored 33 points to Victoria’s 403.

“We were really proud of our defense against their [VRDL’s] jammers.” said Shananguns of the Mad Rollin’ Dolls. Screw Barrymore of Victoria said that, “it was great to play them [Mad Rollin’ Dolls] and we’re excited about the momentum it’s building for the week.”

There’s no doubt that VRDL showed their strength today, the team will be continuing on to take on the winner of game 6, on Saturday in Game 12, at 8pm (MST).

FINAL SCORE

Victorian Roller Derby League (#1) 403
Mad Rollin' Dolls (#9) 33