College of DuPage earned its second split in as many days as play continued Saturday at the NJCAA Men's Volleyball Invitational, played at COD's PEC Arena.
 
The Chaps opened with a 3-0 loss to Monroe College of New Rochelle, N.Y., and then bounced back with an impressive 3-0 win over Northampton of Bethlehem, Pa.
 
COD takes on Finger Lakes at 11 a.m. Sunday for the right to advance to the title match played at 3 p.m. The other semifinal match boasts Monroe and Bryant & Stratton.
 
The third-place match is scheduled for 1 p.m.
 
Monroe 3, Chaparrals 0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-17)
The Chaparrals were held to a .202 attack percentage (30 kills, 13 errors, 84 attacks) and had just one service ace in their loss to the Mustangs.
 
Sam Molitor and Mike Fenley led in kills with eight each. Nathan Perez had 26 assists and the lone ace. Ben Hoover led in digs with nine and Justus Barbel had three solo and three assists on blocks. Vincent Arias had two solo blocks.
 
Chaparrals 3, Northampton 0 (25-14, 25-18, 25-23)
The Chaps held the Spartans to just two kills in the opener and used that momentum early to ride the tide and earn a place in Sunday's semifinals.
 
COD totaled 39 kills and was led by Barbel's 12 kills in just 17 attacks. Arias and Erik Perez followed with seven kills and Molitor added six.
 
Nathan Perez dealt 30 assists and Ben Hoover had four of COD's nine service aces. Barbel had three.
 
Defensively, John Valencia had 13 digs and Barbel had three block assists. Erik Perez had two block assists.
 
Coach Tolis Koskinaris on the day
"We're still getting better every match. Our middles were incredibly dynamic and our defensive reads were right there. It was a great effort by (setter) Nathan Perez, who showed a lot of poise and leadership. I also thought we kept a good emotional equilibrium all day. We didn't get too high and didn't get too low. It was very indicative in the third set against Northampton. It was tight and we hung in there, showed some composure and closed it out."