The Heritage Hawks reached the 20-win mark on Monday (Oct. 18) with a two-set sweep at Champaign Judah Christian.

Bri Struck registered a double-double (11 kills and 10 digs) as the Hawks edged Judah, 25-23, 27-25.

Kiley Knoll contributed four kills and eight digs. Lily Ploense chipped in with five digs.

On Tuesday (Oct, 19), the Hawks earned another two-set road sweep, dispatching Argenta-Oreana, 25-12, 25-11.

Struck hammered 12 kills. Bryn Wyant and Knoll each contributed three kills. Lilli Montgomery collected five digs.

Heritage (21-8-1) returns to action on Thursday (Oct. 21) in the regular-season finale at Tri-County.

The Hawks have produced 20-win seasons in three of the past four years. The lone exception was the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season when the team was 7-7.

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A 12-match winning streak came to an end for the Heritage Hawks in the championship match of the Lincoln Prairie Conference volleyball tournament on Thursday (Oct. 7) at Villa Grove.

For the second time this season, Heritage suffered a three-set loss to Toledo Cumberland. The title match result was 21-25, 25-22, 25-15.

After winning the opening set, the Hawks carved a 17-14 second-game lead, but couldn’t finish it off.

“Tonight was very up and down,” Heritage coach Ryan Fitzgerald said. “We executed our game plan to take a 25-21, 17-14 lead.

“I give a lot of credit to Cumberland. They are very disciplined and well-coached. They made good adjustments in the latter part of the second and third (sets). I just couldn’t get my girls to make adjustments like them and that was the biggest difference in the match.”

Torie Rothermel had nine kills and five digs for the Hawks. Bryn Wyant finished with five kills.

Heritage (18-7-1) returns to action on Tuesday (Oct. 12) at Blue Ridge.

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The Heritage High School volleyball winning streak reached eight matches in a row after back-to-back wins to start the week.

On Monday (Sept. 27), the Hawks won at home, 25-17, 27-25 over Tuscola.

To secure the two-set sweep, Heritage needed to recover from a 24-17 second-set deficit.

“We pulled off a 10-1 run to win,” Heritage coach Ryan Fitzgerald said. “I feel like every year I have been at Heritage, we have at least one match with a run like this.

“I was proud of our never-say-die mentality and it paid off big-time.”

Bri Struck pounded 13 kills to go with nine digs. Bryn Wyant had three kills and three digs, plus one service ace.

Mary Roland distributed 27 assists.

On Tuesday (Sept. 28) at Villa Grove, Heritage collected a 25-15, 25-15 victory.

Struck totaled 15 kills and five aces while Roland collected 23 assists.

Torie Rothermel added four kills, two digs and two service aces.

Heritage (14-6-1) returns to action on Thursday (Sept. 30) at home against Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond.

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Kiley Knoll registered a double-double on Thursday (Sept. 23), but two teammates broke school records as the Heritage volleyball team topped Okaw Valley in Broadlands.

The new single-match record-holders are Mary Roland, with 44 assists, and Bri Struck, with 22 kills. Struck matched the 2012 record for kills held by Mariah Coleman.

Roland and Struck also each contributed seven digs.

Knoll put up 12 kills and 10 digs in a 25-18, 20-25, 25-22 triumph.

“We definitely did not play our best, but I told the girls that this win proves, even when we aren’t locked in completely, we can find ways to win the match,” Heritage coach Ryan Fitzgerald said. “Okaw Valley has a strong team, so I’m pleased to have come out on top.

“I say we didn’t play our best, but then find out we broke two school records. So, the sky really is the limit for this group.”

On Saturday (Sept. 25), the Hawks defeated three opponents en route to the team championship at the Arcola Invitational.

Heritage started off with a 25-12, 25-9 win over the host Purple Riders and followed up with a 25-20, 25-16 triumph over Sullivan.

In the championship match, the Hawks topped Marshall 25-21, 24-26, 15-11.

For the day, Struck pounded 56 kills. Torie Rothermel had 15 kills and Bryn Wyant ended with 10 kills.

Roland delivered 89 assists for the day and Paul totaled 27 blocks.

Defensively, Destanee Morgan contributed 32 digs, Lilli Montgomery had 25 digs, Struck had 19 digs and Lily Ploense had 15 digs.

Gracie Tate collected four service aces.

Heritage (12-6-1) returns to action on Monday (Sept. 27) at home against Tuscola.

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The Heritage Hawks posted their fifth two-set volleyball sweep at home on Thursday (Sept. 9), dispatching Arcola, 25-9, 25-11.

Bri Struck led the attack with seven kills. Torie Rothermel and Bryn Wyant each delivered four kills.

Struck contributed four digs and a block. Rothermel served an ace.

Heritage (6-5-1) returns to action on Thursday (Sept. 16) at home against Toledo Cumberland.

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The Heritage Hawks finished 1-3-1 on Saturday (Sept. 4) at the Altamont Tournament.

In Pool Play, Heritage lost to Altamont (21-9, 21-18) and Armstrong-Potomac (21-19, 21-19) and tied Cerro Gordo (19-21, 21-14).

In Bracket Play, the Hawks topped Greenville (25-22, 25-15) before losing a rematch with Cerro Gordo (25-21, 25-16).

For the five tourney matches, Kiley Knoll totaled 27 kills, Bryn Wyant had 19 kills, Adena Paul had 14 kills and Torie Rothermel added 10 kills.

Mary Roland handed out 57 assists for the day.

Lilli Montgomery ended with 43 digs. Knoll had 27 digs, Roland had 25 digs, Wyant had 15 digs and Destanee Morgan had 10 digs.

Rothermel led the Hawks with six blocks. Paul collected four blocks.

Heritage totaled 21 aces for the tournament, led by Roland with eight. Paul served five aces. Knoll and Wyant each landed three aces and Rothermel finished with two aces.

Heritage (4-5-1) returns to action on Tuesday (Sept. 7) at Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin.

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