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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Despite 17 kills by Bri Struck and 11 digs by Kiley Knoll, Heritage suffered a 25-11, 15-25, 25-16 volleyball loss to Decatur Lutheran on Thursday (Oct. 14) in the Hawks’ final home match.

Struck also had seven digs and Knoll contributed three service aces. Lilli Montgomery connected for eight digs.

“Tonight was a very up and down match,” Heritage coach Ryan Fitzgerald said. “There were times we controlled the ball really well – in the second set especially.

“When LSA really got going was when our ball control struggled. This was a good learning opportunity, as we hope to see them across from us in our regional.”

Heritage (19-8-1) returns to action on Monday (Oct. 18) at Champaign Judah Christian.

Heritage and Decatur Lutheran are both assigned to the Martinsville Class 1A Regional, where they are the top two seeds.

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Third-seeded Heritage extended its winning streak to 12 matches on Tuesday (Oct. 5), overpowering second-seeded Blue Ridge 25-14, 25-15 in the semifinals of the Lincoln Prairie Conference volleyball tournament at Villa Grove.

Bri Struck socked 18 kills and added five digs. Kiley Knoll contributed eight digs and two service aces. Torie Rothermel chipped in with four kills and one block.

Heritage (18-6-1) takes on fourth-seeded Toledo Cumberland in the championship match on Thursday (Oct. 7) at 7 p.m. at Villa Grove.

On Monday (Oct 4), in the quarterfinals, Struck tied her school record for kills in a match for the second time in 11 days, swatting 22 in a match at Broadlands.

The Hawks needed three sets to turn back Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond for the third time in 10 days, 25-19, 20-25, 26-24.

Knoll hammered nine kills and Rothermel landed four kills against AL/AH.

Knoll posted eight digs, Struck added seven digs and Rothermel collected six blocks.

Knoll totaled three blocks and Struck contributed two blocks. Knoll also served two aces.

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All four Heritage High School seniors were instrumental in the volleyball team’s ninth straight win on Thursday (Sept. 30) in a Senior Night match against Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond.

The Hawks pulled off a 26-24, 25-22 victory.

Bri Struck – who was chosen as the AVCA/MaxPreps Illinois Player of the Week – put up 12 kills and seven digs. Torie Rothermel collected four kills. Kiley Knoll chipped in with three kills, two service aces and one block while Lilly Ploense totaled four digs.

Struck, Rothermel, Knoll and Ploense are all seniors.

Heritage (15-6-1) returns to action on Monday (Oct. 4) when the Lincoln Prairie Conference Tournament starts. The Hawks are the No. 3 seed and will play host to sixth-seeded Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond.

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Among their highlights includes winning the Arcola Invitational where Struck accumulated 56 kills while Rothermel added 15. Roland delivered 89 assists and Ploense had 15 digs. 

The Hawks have gone on to defeat Tuscola and Villa Grove. They will travel to Judah Christian for a tournament this weekend before finishing their season with five games leading up to Regional play. 

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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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With multiple players providing key contributions, the Heritage Hawks registered a two-set volleyball sweep on Monday (Sept. 20) at Chrisman.

Bri Struck pounded 16 kills and teammates Kiley Knoll and Torie Rothermel each landed five kills as the Hawks dispatched Chrisman, 25-11, 25-22.

Knoll and Lilli Montgomery each contributed six digs. Mary Roland doled out 28 assists to go with three digs.

Struck added five digs, Rothermel had two blocks and Knoll served two aces. Montgomery had three assists.

On Tuesday (Sept. 21), the Hawks swept Cerro Gordo/Bement in Bement, 25-23, 25-14 with a double-double by Struck spearheading the attack.

Struck landed 12 kills to go with 10 digs. Adena Paul chipped in with five blocks and two service aces.

Heritage (8-6-1) returns to action on Thursday (Sept. 23) at home against Okaw Valley. Seven of the Hawks’ wins have been in two-set sweeps.

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The Heritage Hawks had Toledo Cumberland on the ropes on Thursday (Sept. 16), but couldn’t secure the volleyball win, suffering a 23-25, 25-21 25-21 setback at home.

Bri Struck collected a double-double for Heritage with 14 kills and 17 digs. She also had four blocks and two assists.

Mary Roland dished out 27 assists to go with five digs.

Kiley Knoll contributed seven kills, 11 digs, five service aces and three blocks. Adena Paul added five kills, two blocks and one ace.

“Tonight was a good learning experience,” Heritage coach Ryan Fitzgerald said. “We had a lot of time to prep for Cumberland and I thought from the first point, up until we led 20-15 in the third set, we had executed really well.

“What doomed us tonight was our fear of losing overtook our desire to win the match. Hats off to Cumberland, they have a great team, but I feel like this was a game we should have won and would have been a great resume builder for the postseason because Cumberland now sits at 12-2.”

Heritage (6-6-1) returns to action on Monday (Sept. 20) at Chrisman.

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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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Bri Struck hammered a season-high 20 kills on Thursday (Aug. 26), but Heritage dropped a 21-25, 25-18, 25-19 decision against Salt Fork in Catlin.

Struck also had nine digs and one block.

Mary Roland handed out 31 assists and Kiley Knoll collected 13 digs.

Heritage (1-2) returns to action on Tuesday (Aug. 31) at Oakwood.

Both of the Hawks’ losses have been in three-set matches.

“We just aren’t really clicking right away to start the season,” Heritage coach Ryan Fitzgerald said. “Better now than later, and these long challenging matchups are only going to help us come October. Hopefully, we can get something going soon because we just aren’t quite where we should be.”

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