{"id":41712,"date":"2026-10-26T09:06:42","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T13:06:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/?p=41712"},"modified":"2026-10-26T09:06:43","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T13:06:43","slug":"patriots-ride-roller-coaster-to-win-3a-regional","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/26\/patriots-ride-roller-coaster-to-win-3a-regional\/","title":{"rendered":"Patriots ride roller coaster to win 3A Regional"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By DEAN JACKSON<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WZBD.com<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

OSSIAN \u2013 Warning: Not recommended for the faint of heart, or anyone preferring a steady pulse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heritage needed five sets Saturday to beat Hamilton Heights in the IHSAA Class 3A regional semifinal at Norwell High School. The Patriots survived 14-25, 25-21, 28-26, 19-25, 15-8 and advanced to the semi-state next week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Heritage advances to face Hanover Central (28-7), which defeated Hammond Bishop Noll 3-2 in their regional. The Patriots have made a habit of coming back all season. Saturday was simply the latest example. By the end of another comeback, Heritage had secured the third regional championship in program history and its first semistate appearance since 2006.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Z Team gives the rundown and wraps up the broadcast with an overview of Saturday’s statistics.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Heritage coach Shelly Schwartz has seen the ride before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey get down, they just don\u2019t freak out,\u201d Schwartz said. \u201cThey just come back and they just keep going and going and going and there\u2019s so much fight in these players, it\u2019s unreal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bickel picks up the block kill for the Patriots.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The afternoon started with a stumble. Heritage dropped the opener 25-14. Schwartz said the plan was simple, but her team did not follow it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe ball was supposed to go to the right side and not to the libero, and every ball went to the libero,\u201d she said. \u201cI told them I had a game plan, stick to the game plan, and they didn\u2019t stick to the game plan. So I chewed them out a little bit.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kinley Galentine puts one down with authority for the Patriots.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Senior Grace Scheumann said nerves played a part. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think we underestimated them a little bit, and we had nerves, but we came back in second, so that\u2019s what matters.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heritage responded with a 25-21 victory in the second set to even the match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Proud to sponsor Heritage Athletics on WZBD.com!<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Set three was the turning point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heritage rallied from an early deficit to briefly take the lead before Hamilton Heights surged ahead 20-13. With momentum slipping away and a split match looming, the Patriots fought back again. The Huskies held set points at 25-24 and 26-25, but Heritage scored the final three points to escape with a 28-26 victory. Hamilton Heights repeatedly tested the Patriots throughout the afternoon and nearly took control of the match in the pivotal third set. <\/p>\n\n\n\n