The Dupage College men's volleyball team enjoyed home court advantage on March 1 against Bryant & Stratton College. The lead changed hands constantly, but the Chaparrals dominated the Bobcats and took the first set. Bryant and Stratton reminded COD of their ineptitude, winning the second set and tying the match at 1-1. The conference rivals continued to battle, with the Chaps taking the third set and the Bobcats taking the fourth.
In the fifth set, it looked like COD would be over as Bryant and Stratton maintained control until the final tie-break. After sophomore left winger Eric Perez halted the Bobcats' momentum with a wide reception and eventual kill, preventing them from expanding to a three-point lead, the team's veteran was determined to get the Chaps back in the game. Sophomore outside hitter Blake Huberty led COD to the lead and propelled his team to victory, defeating Bryant & Stratton 3-2. The final scores of the set were 25-23, 24-26, 25-22, 23-25, 15-13, improving the Chaps' record to 5 wins and 9 losses.
“[Perez] He sat patiently and was a great teammate for most of that game,” head coach Toris Koskinaris said. “Eric has always been good at waiting his turn. We've done that to him many times over the past two seasons, so he knows how to get into a corner sometimes. I think the fifth set was decisive. He came in when we really wanted to. That was a big step forward for us.”
Huberty remained atop the team leaderboard in kills for the second straight game with 13 of 44 attacks and seven errors. In the fifth set, he made an ace to help the Chaps take the lead, but also made four service errors. In addition, Huberty led the attackers with 14 goals and had one set assist. He described his mindset while serving in the fifth set.
“'Ace every time,'” Huberty said. “Every time I went up, I was thinking, 'I've got to serve this ball as hard as I can,' and I'm going to do what I can. At the end of the day, my job is to get them out of the system and hopefully have a good offense.” So do it.”
Freshman outside hitter Sam Molitor tied Huberty for kills (13) with six errors on 34 attempts. Molitor also had eight digs, one block assist and one set assist. He called the Bobcats a tenacious team, but said the Chaps have the skills to finish them off.
“We disposed of it more severely,” Molitor said. “[Bryant & Stratton] are a finicky team, so they had to match that to win. Our defense was spot on. Our service was excellent. I think we did everything right. ”
Freshman outside hitter Osiel Cruz had 12 kills on 32 attempts and made six errors. Additionally, Cruz scored with an ace, had two set assists, and helped COD's defensive game with 10 digs, one solo block, and one block assist. He explained how training at practice helped the team play energetically for long periods of time.
“We’ve been running uphill lately,” Cruz said. “We pushed the whole game, so our conditioning helped a lot. [We were] Play hard, swing deep, swing hard, keep up with everything. We're definitely getting there, but we're not done yet. We can still push further. ”
Sophomore setter Poulin Cosmapinun led the team with 23 set assists. Kosumapinun also had 16 digs. He said COD's latest win over its conference rival gives it perspective heading into the national tournament in April.
“We know what will happen in the coming months,” Cosmapinun said. “This shows how hard the team has worked. We have worked to increase our mental strength and play our game. This is the result. We beat our rivals again. We took it to the fifth set and this time we took it. I'm happy to be on top of the world, but I'm focused on the next big step.”
Freshman middle hitter Justus Barber had 11 kills on 22 attempts and made four errors. He hit one ace but committed four service errors. Defensively, he had 10 digs and one block assist. He said the win proved the team is moving towards consistency.
“We're just building,” Barbel said. “This is the momentum we've been talking about. We've been trusting the process, waiting and moving forward. The trend is emerging, so now we can only go up.”
Koskinaris explained what challenges COD will face against their next opponent.
“We’re going to have a really tough game against North Central,” he said. “[They’re] Persistent Top 10 DIII Program. Their opponents will be second-tier players, but they will still be very high-level players. Hopefully we can go into this match with the right mindset and see if we can get a set or two. ”
The Chaparrals will play the North Central College junior varsity Cardinals on March 5th at 6 p.m. in Naperville, Illinois.
