The No. 1 ranked College of DuPage men's volleyball team hosted the first-ever Great Lakes District Championship on April 8 in Glen Ellyn, facing familiar Region IV opponent Bryant & Stratton (Wisconsin). The Chaparrals earned a sweep, extending their program-record winning streak to 16 matches with set scores of 29-27, 25-20, 25-13.
Sophomore Danny Overlin led the Chaparrals' attack with 16 kills. Brayden Tejeda and Adam Sanchez each added seven kills in the victory.
Max McDermott paced DuPage in both assists and digs, finishing with 27 assists and 17 digs. Overlin added seven digs, while libero Jahir Lopez recorded eight digs, second-most on the team. Coady Seidler contributed two service aces for the Chaparrals.
Defensively, Overlin, Lance Mueller, and Luc Neczek each recorded solo blocks.
Head coach Tolis Koskinaris reflected on the program's first men's volleyball district championship, noting the team competed short-handed due to injuries.
"These guys are ready to go every time. And I think that goes all the way back to the fall," Koskinaris said. "These guys are just getting reps and the expectation is that they all think they can contribute. I don't know where that comes from, organically within the team, but it comes from somewhere. There's no coaching there — that's just guys being ready."
The win gives DuPage an automatic bid to the NJCAA Men's Volleyball National Championship, which will take place April 23–25 in Glen Ellyn at PEC Arena. Eight teams from around the country will converge on campus for the chance to be crowned the nation's top junior college men's volleyball program.
