KAYSVILLE, UT - When the Orlando Squeeze played the Columbus Sliders in the first round of the MLP mid-season tournament a few weeks ago, they earned a comprehensive 3-0 victory.

Orlando played Columbus again in the opening match of the Vulcan MLP Salt Lake City by Margaritaville, but there were some new faces on both sides of the net.

Earlier this week, the Sliders acquired Andrea Koop and Jay Devilliers from the Carolina Pickleball Club and Utah Black Diamonds, respectively.

And after receiving an approved absence designation for Vivienne David, the Squeeze added Miami Pickleball Club’s Milan Rane to fill in for David at this event. 

These changes made for a completely different matchup than what fans saw in Grand Rapids.

At the start, though, it looked like Orlando might achieve a second consecutive sweep of Columbus after winning both gender doubles matchups to go up 2-0.

But Koop and Riley Newman put a stop to that effort with their 25-22 victory over Parris Todd and Tyson McGuffin.

Meghan Dizon and Devilliers kept the momentum on the side of the Sliders, earning a 25-20 victory over Rane and Federico Staksrud to force what at one point seemed like a highly unlikely DreamBreaker.

That was where the comeback attempt would end, however.

Orlando—the superior singles team on paper—dominated the DreamBreaker 21-9 behind especially strong performances from Staksrud, Todd, and Rane to start off the trip to Utah with a victory.

It was quite the response from the Squeeze after squandering a 2-0 lead.

“I think the best athletes out there have a very quick reset method, and so we tried to dial that in ourselves and get our act together,” McGuffin said of the effort. “We were able to play well when it mattered, and that’s all she wrote.”

It’s been a wild 24 hours for Rane, who didn’t know she would be joining Orlando until Wednesday.

“I was at work in Maryland yesterday when I got a call asking if I would be interested in the Squeeze,” she shared. “It was kind of an easy decision for me because I play with Parris and Fed at home, and Tyson is someone who’s just so easy to be a teammate of. I knew I wanted to do the best I can for them while I’m here.”

Both Orlando and Columbus will be back in action Thursday afternoon, with the Squeeze set to face the Arizona Drive and the Sliders taking on the New Jersey 5s.