Two of the Kanawha Valley’s most successful volleyball programs – Herbert Hoover and Buffalo – are going through a transition period as the 2025 season begins.
Both have new coaches taking over this season, with Janessa Bailes now leading the Bison and Missy Smith moving over to the Huskies after previously coaching at George Washington.
The two teams faced each other Tuesday night as part of a four-team encounter that included Sissonville and Elkins.
The Huskies swept all three matches of the quad, including the head-to-head with Buffalo, 25-11, 25-19. That continued a good start to the season for Smith, who took over the program after longtime coach Anita King stepped down in the spring.
“The girls came out ready and executed pretty well the whole evening,†Smith said.
The matchup between the Bison and Huskies was the second match of the evening for each team. Buffalo first swept Sissonville 25-9, 25-12, led by the efforts of its two returning starters, Jocie Harris and Amya Bias.
Bias scored two kills during a 12-1 stretch of the first set against Sissonville. Harris recorded one during the first set and two during the second set.
Against last year's Class AAA state tournament runner-up Herbert Hoover, however, Buffalo got off to a sluggish start. The Huskies jumped to a 14-2 lead in the first set against the Bison, who made the Class AA state tournament in 2024.
It was 22-9 when Buffalo finally was able to string together a run of three points, its longest of the set.
“I think they definitely came out timid, and I told them that they were playing scared,†said Bailes, a 2021 Buffalo graduate who played for previous coach Barry Clendenin.
Bailes had been a volunteer assistant under Clendenin and took over once the position became open earlier this year. Bailes had stepped in to coach the Bison during the state tournament last fall.
Buffalo is in a rebuilding mode, having graduated experienced players with multiple years of state tournament experience, Bailes said. Improving the on-court chemistry is the task in front of the Bison, who have begun the year 3-3.
Buffalo dropped its third match of the quad in three sets to Elkins.
Herbert Hoover swept the Tigers 25-17, 25-19 and then closed out the night with a two-set sweep of Sissonville, 25-5 and 25-10.
Sissonville dropped both its sets against Elkins as well.
The contest, at The River in Elkview, was the second quad for the Huskies, who opened the season on Saturday. Hoover improved to 7-1-1 on the season with Tuesday’s sweep.
Rick Elmore covers sports. He can be reached at 304-348-5122 or relmore@hdmediallc.com. Follow @ElmoreSports on Twitter/X.
