The #1 seed College of DuPage women’s volleyball team was down 0-2 in the NJCAA Region 4 Championship on Oct 30. The Chaps hosted #2 seed Joliet Junior College, whom they recently beat on Oct 22 in three sets (25-22, 25-22, 25-19). In multiple win-or-go-home sets, DuPage found their footing and went on to win back-to-back-to-back sets and escaped an upset to win the Region IV Championship.
The first set started with JJC capitalizing on a couple of COD errors and a kill on the first rally (0-3). The Chaps couldn’t find a rhythm early on, which found them trailing 2-7 at one point in the first set. DuPage came storming back in the middle of the set, which had them within 1 after multiple well-placed and powerful serves from Libero Francesca Brandonisio (12-13). The Wolves added a few to their lead, but COD responded with a few of their own, which tied the game at 19. They would exchange points until the Wolves scored back to back and COD called their first time out of the set (21-22). Right after the timeout, the Chaps tied it back up at 22, but JJC scored two of their own to make it match-point in the first set. COD called their second timeout. Directly after the timeout, COD’s Josephine Becker had a kill to bring it within one at 23-24. JJC would close the first set out right after giving them a one-set lead.
DuPage entered the second set, looking to fix the errors that led them to lose the first set. The Chaps started on a 4-0 run, but then the Wolves got a couple of their own (4-2). JJC came back to tie the set at 9. The Wolves went on another run to push their lead to 9-15; COD called a timeout right after. The Chaps went on a run themselves, grabbing the lead at 19-17. JJC called a timeout, trying to regroup. The Wolves regained the lead after a couple of aces (21-22). JJC won the second set off an ace.
“At that point, it was just to get the ball over the net because we were really struggling to execute the point,” said middle hitter Jillian Ross about the team’s mindset after going down 0-2.
Coach Tolis Koskinaris told his team after being down 2-0, “You gotta win three to win the match; y’all haven’t won anything yet; let’s keep going.”
With their season on the line, COD must win the third set to start the comeback. The Wolves and Chaps kept it close for the first half of the third set until COD went on a run that got them the lead at 10-6. JJC called a timeout in an attempt to stop the bleeding. The bleeding would slow down, but the Wolves couldn’t find their groove. The Chaps kept their lead away from JJC, with it getting as large as 23-15. DuPage closed out the third set 25-16 to keep their hopes alive.
A must-win 4th set for COD, the Chaparrals continued their dominance from the last set. The Chaps went on an early 7-3 run that made JJC call their first time out of the fourth set. After the timeout, COD continued their run, going up 14-5 at one point in the match. The Wolves were trying to mount a comeback, but they were too big of a hole to come back from. The Chaparrals finished the fourth set with a score of 25-14.
A win or go-home set to 15, that carried the weight of all the hard work both teams put in all season long. DuPage ran away with the lead before the Wolves could blink, and the chaparrals sprinted to a 4-0 start before JJC called their first timeout. DuPage continued their rampage to an 8-1 lead. The Wolves called their second and final timeout of the last set. Despite all the hardships the lady chaparrals have faced all year, from traveling hundreds of miles for games to injuries of players, they were ready after being down 0-2 and finishing the game 15-2 and winning the Region IV Championship.
After the game, Joliet Junior College was named the runner-up. The College of DuPage was awarded a plaque for being the NJCAA D3 Region IV champions, and Head Coach Tolis Koskinaris was named NJCAA D3 Region IV Coach of the Year.
The Chaparrals traveled to Michigan on Nov. 2 to face Delta College and ended up winning in three sets for the NJCAA Great Lakes District Championship, which earned them a spot in the NJCAA D3 National Tournament in Cedar Rapids on Nov. 14.
