CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Shady Spring was within one set and two points of winning the Class AAA state championship last year, but ultimately fell short against Herbert Hoover.
The Tigers weren’t about to let history repeat itself.
In a rematch with the No. 1 seed Huskies, No. 2 Shady Spring won the first two sets before Hoover responded to win the next two convincingly. That forced a decisive fifth set, and the Tigers regained their focus, maintained their composure and prevailed with a 25-17, 25-22, 10-25, 10-25, 15-12 victory on Thursday at Vandalia Health Center.
“I told them yesterday that we were probably going to go five sets with Hoover,” Tigers’ head coach Trina Olson said. “They’re a great team, they have a great coach and I said don’t expect to come in and sweep like we did the first two games here, because it’s not going to happen. And then winning the first two sets, I was like, ‘OK, maybe it’s going to happen.’
“But I’ve preached all season that you have to keep fighting. It doesn’t matter if the other team is up 10 points. You can make a comeback and we have. We did it against Cabell Midland. I told them all we need is one more set and everybody showed up.”
FINAL: Shady Spring 3, Herbert Hoover 2
Tigers won decisive fifth set 15-12 to avenge a loss to Huskies in 2025 state final and claim Class AAA crown. https://t.co/5LwWA1PrIi
— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) November 12, 2026
A strong start to the fifth set was instrumental in helping Shady Spring (42-10-4) get back on track as the Tigers built a 4-1 lead, before the Huskies ran off four straight points punctuated by Kylie Hackney’s kill for a 5-4 advantage.
SSHS then produced a 4-0 run of its own to go back on top by three points, and that stretch was capped by a kill from Baylee Richmond that was assisted by Callie Olson for an 8-5 Tigers’ advantage.
Hoover didn’t go away quietly, however, and successive kills from Jessica Crook allowed the Huskies to tie the set at 10.
With the fifth game knotted at 11, the Tigers benefited from Alessandra Fragile’s go-ahead kill, and one from Olson moments later made it 13-11.
Bryanna Shrewsberry’s kill provided Shady Spring with game point, and after the Huskies got back to within two, Fragile delivered a game-ending kill that set off a frenzied celebration.
“I’ve talked all season about it not mattering how far you’re down,” Olson said. “Keep working for 6 seconds and get the next point. Point for point, keep working and they listened.”
The finish will rightfully be what’s most remembered, but the start was also imperative in the outcome.
Shady never trailed by more than one point in the first set and garnered control as it progressed, including five straight points to end it after the Huskies were to within three at 20-17.
Olson and Ryleigh Helmer each accounted for a kill during the 5-0 run that sealed Game 1, while Olson also accounted for an ace.
The Tigers were in control for much of the second set and led by as much as seven at 15-8 following an ace from Fragile.
Three straight points from Hoover allowed the Huskies to trail 17-15, and they eventually gained a 20-19 lead on a Crook kill.
But Shady hung in and answered with a 4-0 run that was capped by Fragile’s kill. With the Tigers in front 24-22, Helmer set down a kill to make it 2-0.
For all that went wrong for Hoover (45-5-1) in the first two games, the Huskies were dominant each of the next two while pulling even.
Hoover had leads of 6-1, 16-5 and 20-6 before a Tigers’ attacking error gave the Huskies their final point and a 2-1 deficit.
It was more of the same in the fourth set, though Shady started that one with the first two points and trailed 9-8 at one time. That’s when the Huskies showcased why they were the No. 1 seed and outscored Shady 16-2 the rest of the way, including nine straight points after leading 16-10 to win its second straight set by 15 points.
“You don’t want to see a blowout, and I knew it wasn’t going to be one,” Olson said.
Yet that momentum wasn’t enough to carry the Huskies across the finish line, and instead Shady finished strong to capture its first state championship since 2020.
Fragile and Richmond paced Shady with 15 kills apiece, while Olson and teammate Brooklyn Green each had 22 assists.
“To work really hard all season and the time you and the girls put in, to almost get there and come up short is a terrible feeling. I’m glad I don’t have that feeling right now,” Olson said.
Crook and Ashlyn Clay had 23 kills apiece among the Huskies’ 63 as a team.
Lillian Lancaster and Hackney added 26 and 25 assists, respectively, in defeat, while Lauren Pleska had four aces.
CLASS AAA ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Natalie Cook, Winfield
Taylor Randolph, Bridgeport
Ashlyn Clay, Herbert Hoover
Jessica Crook, Herbert Hoover
Lillian Lancaster, Herbert Hoover
Bryanna Shrewsberry, Shady Spring
Callie Olson, Shady Spring
Alessandra Fragile, Shady Spring