Lady Horns Stopped One Step Short of the State Volleyball Tournament
The Schulenburg High School volleyball team took on Thrall High School in a regional final contest last Saturday in order to earn a bid to the state tournament in Garland.
The Lady Horns played at a high level, but fell short in three sets with a final score of 25-17, 26-24, 25-15.
It was the second consecutive season Thrall defeated Schulenburg in the regional finals.
“Got to give credit to their setter,” said Schulenburg head volleyball coach Donald Zapalac. “That setter really puts the ball in a hittable place on every play. She’s really good.”
The setter Zapalac is referring to is junior Aaliyah Couch.
“That’s what really took us out of our game. I didn’t think we did a very good job of setting the ball where our hitters could get a hit. We had to get them off balance and we just didn’t do a good enough job getting them off balance. I was really proud of the way we competed this year. We just ran into a team today that was better than us,” Zapalac said.
Schulenburg took a 4-1 lead in the first set that was started by a kill from sophomore middle blocker Meredith Magliolo. Thrall then scored six unanswered points and Schulenburg decided to call a timeout. A serve in the net from Thrall out of the timeout made it a 7-5 ballgame in favor of the Tigerettes. Thrall then went on another six point streak and made the score 11-5 on a kill from outside hitter Melaina Grissom. Schulenburg bounced back on a kill from senior outside hitter Jordan Sommer and a ball in the net from Thrall to make it 13-9. The Tigerettes then scored nine consecutive points to take a 21-12 lead.
Three aces in a row from Lady Horns sophomore libero Kieryn Adams put the score at 24-17 but Thrall closed out the set on a tip ball for a 25-17 win.
Thrall took a 3-0 advantage to open the second set. Schulenburg answered with a point and a tip ball to put it at 3-2. The Lady Horns kept fighting and tied the set at six with a kill from sophomore hitter Jessalyn Gipson.
A block from Thrall gave their team the lead back and eventually stretched it to 13-8. A ball out of bounds from the Tigerettes and an ace from Adams made for a 13-11 scoreboard. Magliolo then notched a tip ball and a kill, which forced Thrall to call a timeout as their lead decreased to 17-16. A block from Schulenburg tied it at 18 as both teams battled it out. Sommer put down two more kills later in the set and the score read 23-21 in favor of Thrall. A ball out of bounds from Thrall and a kill from Schulenburg senior outside hitter Claire Antosh tied the set again at 23. The Tigerettes then misplayed an assist, giving Schulenburg a 24-23 lead. Thrall spiked a kill in response and a ball in the net from the Lady Horns won Thrall the set at 26-2 and they never looked back.
In Friday’s regional semifinal, Schulenburg had beaten Harper 25-13, 25-20, 25-11.
Jordan Sommer had 11 kills on that match. Tamara Otto had 31 assists and Kieryn Adams had 25 digs.
In Saturday’s loss to Thrall, Adams had six aces and 16 digs. Sommer led in kills with five .
Schulenburg ends its season with a 36-11 record.
Lady Horns Awards
Congratulations to the following young ladies for being named to the Texas High School Coaches Association Academic All State Volleyball Team. Ath letes were selected from all classifications in the state (1A-6A) based on Student GPA, SAT, and ACT scores. 1,013 players were selected for 4 teams (Elite, 1st, 2nd, and Honorable Mention).
2nd Team - Kloe Kutac
2nd Team - Megan Ohnheiser
1st Team - Jordan Sommer
Elite Team - Claire Antosh
The ELITE team was composed of the top 20 student athletes from across the State of Texas.
“It is a true honor to see these Lady Horns accomplish great things on the court and the classroom,” said Schulenburg head coach Donald Zapalac.