No. 11 College of DuPage took Region 4 Tourney top seed Harper to the limit Wednesday night, losing 3-2 in the title match.
 
Sophomore Amanda Leibrock led the Chaps with 17 kills in a 17-25, 25-20, 25-10, 19-25, 10-15 loss. Josephine Becker had 11 kills and Melissa Alvarez 10 for COD (22-16 overall).
 
The Chaps tied the match at 1-1 after hitting a match-best .333 (15 kills, 4 errors, 33 attacks) in the second set. COD then took advantage of nine Harper attack errors in the third and earned a 2-1 lead entering the fourth set.
 
Harper forced a fifth set after securing 13 kills in the fourth.
 
The deciding set was tied at 10-10, but the host Hawks were too strong down the stretch and scored the match's final five points.
 
Sophomore Cyd Martinez finished the night with a match-high 17 digs, ranking first in the country with 746. She had seven of COD's 10 service aces and is second in the country with 113.
 
Harper and Region 12 champion Owens play Saturday in the Great Lakes District title for the right to advance to the NJCAA Division III Volleyball Championship on Nov. 9-11 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
 
COD also awaits the NJCAA announcement. The 16-team tourney bracket includes four at-large berths and will be announced at 11 a.m. (Central) on Oct. 31 at www.njcaa.org.