The groups participating were the MSU Accafellas, who hosted the competition, Capital Green A Cappella, RCAHppella, Ladies First, State of Fifths as well as teams from Western Michigan University, Central Michigan University and Grand Valley State University.

Vocals vibrated off the walls of every team’s dressing room at Wharton Center’s Pasant Theatre before the show started.

“Right now it’s a lot of hairspray, jitters and excitement,” said psychology senior Raquelle Wilson, a member of the group Capital Green A Cappella, prior to the start of the show.

Arts and Humanities senior Libby Lussenhop, a member of RCAHppella, said the group spent 10 to 12 hours rehearsing during the week leading up to the competition in contrast to their usual four hours a week.

Just after 7 p.m., the lights dimmed and the crowd hushed for the first group to perform. Every group had up to 12 minutes to win over five judges, with each set typically consisting of about three songs.

One of the more memorable moments was Ladies First hyping up the crowd with their rendition of “Turn Up the Music,” during which they performed flipping stunts.

State of Fifths won first place in the competition, and Ladies First took second place. Both groups advanced to the semifinal competition, giving them an opportunity to compete in the final competition in New York City and face a cappella groups from across the country.

Additionally, there was a tie for third place, shared by Capital Green and the MSU Accafellas.

After all was said and done, MSU took every other award — members of Ladies First won Outstanding Solo, Outstanding Vocal Percussion and Outstanding Choreography. Members of State of Fifths also earned the award for Outstanding Arrangement.

“The last few moments of the performance were so cohesive — I was smiling so much, I could barely sing,” Arts and humanities junior and State of Fifths member Izzy Cooper said. “We did what we came to do.”