CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Missy Smith didn’t strive to reinvent the wheel upon being named head coach of the Herbert Hoover volleyball program in June.
Rather, Smith, a five-time state champion as volleyball coach at nearby George Washington, strived to take an already strong program to another level.
On Thursday, that vision was realized when the Huskies nipped Shady Spring 23-25, 25-12, 25-19, 21-25, 15-13 in a thrilling five-set Class AAA final at the Charleston Coliseum.
“They’re all special in their own way and with this one being at a new program for me, I’m back home and it’s special to be here,” said Smith, a six-time state champion coach of Hoover softball . Hoover was here last year. They were in this game and fell short to Bridgeport. The girls remembered that and our goal from day 1 was where we’re standing right now. They embraced every challenge we threw at them.”
The Tigers (40-13-1) began the title game in strong fashion, leading throughout much of the first set, including 21-15 before HHHS came battling back. After the Huskies (55-8-1) pulled to within a point, however, Shady sealed the opening set, 25-23.
Hoover bounced back in a big way, dominating the second set from the outset and getting even, 25-12.
That momentum and play carried over into the third set, which the Huskies again led for the majority of, including at 19-11 before SSHS battled back. The Tigers cut their deficit to 21-19 before Hoover countered with four straight points to take a 2-1 lead.
“We had some nerves this morning. We talked about it, addressed it, but we still had to play them out,” Smith said. “We played our nerves out, got rolling and kept Shady out of system some. When we consistently get balls that we can control and when momentum shifts, it’s hard to stop.”
Shady showed no sign of giving in and immediately rattled off six consecutive points to start the fourth set. Although the Huskies charged back to eventually lead 18-17, the Tigers countered with three straight points to lead for good down the stretch en route to a 25-21 victory that evened the match at two sets apiece.
“Everything they do gives us fits,” Smith said. “They have great players and when they control the ball, they’ll swing hard and go through the block. They’re a very good team and I knew coming in, it was going to be like this.”
Playing to 15 points in the decisive fifth set, Hoover got off to the exact start it desired and led 5-1, though Shady settled in and rallied to tie the match on several occasions, including at 10 and 11.
After Hoover gained a 13-11 lead courtesy of an Ahaziah Smith kill, the Tigers were whistled for a net infraction that looked to give the Huskies match point. However, following a discussion between officials, the point was replayed, and the Tigers wound up winning it as well as the next one to draw even at 13.
A critical service error followed from Shady, before Smith set down a winning kill setup by teammate Lilli Lancaster to give the top seed its first volleyball title and deny the second-seeded Tigers of a seventh.
Set 5: Herbert Hoover 15, Shady Spring 13
Huskies win Class AAA and first state championship. pic.twitter.com/03SSj69tpO
— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) November 13, 2025
“When we started seeding this tournament, we wanted to get the two best teams in the finals,” Smith said. “There are lots of good teams in Triple-A and I feel like we ended up with the two best ones playing, and it showed in how the final played out.”