MAPLE — Shelby Hessel leaped off the floor and gave it everything she had.

The Tigers’ senior outside hitter drove the ball into the heart of Chetek-Weyerhaeuser’s defense to score the final point of a four-set (25-22, 25-18, 21-25, 25-16) win in a Division 3 regional semifinal on Thursday, Oct. 23.

Northwestern head coach Charlie Hessel said it wasn’t always as well executed as he would have liked, but his Tigers finished the job and punched a ticket to a regional championship for the first time since 2020.

“We made it a little bit more work than what it needed to be,” Hessel said. “When we didn’t swing, they took advantage of it. I think it could have come back to haunt us. It didn’t, but we can’t afford to do that on Saturday.”

Defeating Chetek-Weyerhaeuser avenged a loss at the han

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