The College of DuPage women's volleyball team continued championship tournament play on Nov. 13, taking on undefeated No. 3 seed Butler County Community College of Pennsylvania (23-0). The determined Chaps needed all five sets, and extra points in three of them, to knock off the previously unbeaten Pioneers 3-2 (25-20, 24-26, 27-25, 22-25, 16-14).
After dropping the fourth set, DuPage found itself in an 8-1 hole in the fifth with championship aspirations fading. The Chaps responded with a 15-6 run to punch their ticket to the semifinal.
Head coach
Tolis Koskinaris said, "Butler was a tough team with some strong hitters and blockers. We had to dig deep and find a way to survive. We did."
Sami Hornbogen paced DuPage with 15 kills. Three additional Chaps reached double figures:
Claire Rambasek had 14,
Isabella Furmanski added 12, and
Lexi Hornbogen finished with 10 to round out a balanced attack.
Jaime Volz (29 assists) and
Ava Diaz (27 assists) were instrumental in setting up DuPage's offense, while
Amani Harrington found momentum at the service line with three aces.
Rambasek led the Chaps in digs with 23, followed by
Frankie Brandonisio with 21. Furmanski and
Megan Daca each recorded five block assists to anchor DuPage defensively at the net.
The win sends the Chaps to the NJCAA Division III Volleyball Championships semifinal. They will face the No. 10 seed, Dallas College-Brookhaven, at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 14. Live coverage will be available on the NJCAA Network. A victory would send DuPage to the national championship match on Nov. 15.
