Lady Horn Seniors Shine in Regional Final

One huge key to Schulebburg’s victory over Flatonia in the Region IV-2A volleyball title match was the play of the Lady Horns four seniors.

As they faced down the prospect of what could have been their final high school volleyball match, Landry Zapalac, Reagan Dusek, Clara Magliolo and Grace Schramek all shone brightly when their team needed them most.

“Everyone had to play their role ... and it was a tremendous job by those four,” said Schulenburg head coach Donald Zapalac.

We are proud to honor the four Lady Horn seniors as this week’s Fayette County Athletes of the Week.

Together they have made it to three state semifinals in their four years of high school.

We caught up with all four after Tuesday’s epic match: As the setter, Landry Zapalac is the floor leader for the Lady Horns and had a whopping 56 assists and 11 digs for Schulenburg Tuesday.

“I’m very excited,” Landry Zapalac said about returning to the state semis. “We were very disappointed that we missed out last year .... I don’t think people realize how big of an accomplishment it is to get this far. We have four seniors, but we have a lot of younger people playing key positions, I am just so proud of this team.

“We have been talking about making it this far since the summer. We truly showed we wanted it more.”

Making this return trip extra special is that she’s doing so, again, one last time, with her father, Coach Zapalac.

“I don’t think I can talk about her without crying like a baby,” Donald Zapalac said.

Senior hitters Reagan Dusek and Clara Magliolo were dominant forces in Tuesday’s match. Dusek had 15 kills, including the match’s final point. Magliolo had five kills, three aces and seven digs.

“Reagan and Clara, they See are undersized but they give everything they have,” Zapalac said. “They jump well and they have some hammers when they hit it. Those two really stepped up.”

“It was stressful,” said Dusek of Tuesday’s match, which was nearly standing room only and saw fans on both sides screaming for two hours straight. “And being a senior, it’s, like, do or die.”

“The score was close but we knew we had to keep pushing and playing our game,” Magliolo said.

She said the way this team practices made surviving Tuesday’s five-set thriller easier. The Lady Horns were down two sets to one early Tuesday.

“In our practices our coach does drills when it gets super tight,” Magliolo said. “And we have to work our way back up.”

For senior Grace Schramek this year’s trip to the state semifinals is especially rewarding.

“I’m just happy we’re going one last time,” Schramek said. “Last time we went to state I sat on the bench so I’m happy to be playing this time.”

Schramek had three kills at key moments in Tuesday’s match.

“Grace being the lefty, she doesn’t get as much of the limelight,” Coach Zapalac said. “She plays a tremendous role for us.”

All those seniors played their roles Tuesday and they have another regional title to show for it.