The NJCAA DIII Championship this year played out in Rochester, Minn, where the COD’s women’s volleyball team tallied almost all three games as flawless victories on the road to winning the title. 

COD first faced Finger Lakes Community College and went 3-0, solidifying the Chap’s 30th win of the season. In the second day of tournament play COD went up against Century College, winning 3-0 again, taking their spot in a final match against Owens Community College. The Chaparrals ended up going 3-1 in their final matchup of the championship, taking home the third women’s volleyball national title in COD’s history. 

Tolis Koskinaris has been the head volleyball coach at COD since 2015, and he has played a pivotal role in leadership when it comes to this year’s success. This season, the team’s competitive stride has come, in part, from his coaching psychology. 

“Mostly try to stay even-tempered and focused. Our team burns hot on emotion and has no problem reaching the upper-end of the excitement spectrum and can also reach the lower-end, too,” Koskinaris said. “I just try to stay as low-key and consistent with the approach as possible.” 

The kind of spirit and power that lies behind this team was quickly recognized by Koskinaris, even before the season began to play out.

 “Once our official roster was set in early August, we as a staff knew we would be where we are right now,” Koskinaris said. “Within an arm’s reach of doing something very special, and never really had too many doubts about it.”  

Koskinaris is especially proud of what this team represents symbolically, as they’ve continued to play on every court with nothing but passion for their sport. 

“We are proud of the team for showing up and caring. There are no athletic scholarships we can give to be a part of DuPage Women’s VB,” Koskinaris said. “These women are here because they want to be here.”  

And in the end, the 32-3 record this season cannot totally define what his team’s performance is all about. 

“The record is immaterial in that sense,” Koskinaris said. “Nice on print to have that many wins, but the grind, and fighting through the bad days and coming back to do it again, that’s what we are proud of.” 

Through all players this season, it has been shown that the entire team has represented these values. 

“They have all contributed in some way, at some time, in some critical manner,” Koskinaris said. “We know the stars of the team, and they deserve it, but we can go to any player on our roster and find a match that we would not have won had they not stepped-up and done something special to help us succeed.” 

For player Chloey Myers, who’s been named N4C Most Valuable Player, this win has been nothing short of a dream coming true. 

“It honestly feels amazing,” Myers said. “The love and feeling you get is amazing. We all jumped on each other and cried. It felt so unreal, but we did it, and it was probably the best moment in my athletic life.” 

Myers is one of several players this season who consistently allowed their love for the sport to be shown on the court at all times. 

“I definitely see the power in my passion. At the beginning of the season we all had notecards and put our goals on it, and mine was to win nationals and get All-American,” Myers said. “And with the team I’m pretty sure most of us said get to nationals or win nationals. 

“We all worked very hard no matter how tired or how much our body’s were sore. We kept pushing because we knew as a team what we all wanted and it feels amazing to be part of a team like this,” Myers said. I am beyond happy with this year of volleyball. This was my best year yet.” 

The roster and details about the 2022 women’s volleyball team can be found here.