Inductees

If you’re looking for a moment in the late 1980s when Park Hill High School volleyball players knew they were on the verge of something big, make your way down to West Plains High School.

After winning the school’s first district title in 1987, Park Hill competed in the West Plains tournament in 1988. They advanced to the championship and knocked off the hometown Zizzers in two games, ending West Plains’ 87-game winning streak and landing in the USA Today sports section.

“That was the boom,” said Janell Shamet DeVille, who was a sophomore that year and later coached the program. “West Plains was dominant. They had won four state titles in a row. We ended their streak and that was when we all said, ‘This is it. We can do this.’”

That boost of confidence spurred a run of dominance for Park Hill volleyball. For that run, which included three state championships, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted Park Hill’s Volleyball Era of 1987-2000 into the Class of 2025.

After the sports of high school girls volleyball had surged in the 1970s thanks to passage of federal Title IX legislation, it had become highly competitive in the 1980s. Park Hill was among the programs making waves.

From 1987 until 2000, the Trojans earned 11 state tournament berths, all of which ended with at least Final Four finishes. Park Hill won Class 4 state championships in 1988, 1989 and 1997 under head coach Debbie Fay (MSHOF 2020). They also had four state runner-up teams (1990, 1992, 1995, 1996) and took third in 1987 and 2000. The Trojans were also fourth in 1991 and 1993.

“The year that started it, in 1987, we had a great group of talent and so many good seniors,” said DeVille, who was a freshman on that squad. “After we beat Oak Park in the district finals, the headline said, ‘Trojans end 14 years of frustration.’ And that was exactly how it felt. We finally got over that hump.”

That squad ended up taking third in the state before the team won the next two state titles and finished second the year after that.

By then, DeVille said, expectations had changed. This was what Park Hill Volleyball did.

“We had really good depth,” she said. “We had a good group of younger kids, really solid veterans and then kids in the middle. It became the expectation. We were then expected to compete at that level.”

So much so that DeVille says there is a notable difference in the celebrations when she looks back on the video highlights her dad took from those seasons.

“That first district title, when you watch the video, we were so excited,” she said. “The next three years we won two state titles and took second, and you see the excitement change when we would win a district title. We were still so happy and proud to have accomplished that, but we already wanted more.”

Debbie Fay (MSHOF 2020) coached Park Hill from 1983 to 1997 before DeVille, who had become and assistant coach, took over in 1998 and kept the tradition going. Overall, the program had 19 athletes who were named as part of Missouri’s All-State team. Additionally, the program produced 42 collegiate players during the era. Park Hill also won nine conference championships and 11 district titles, and owned a 415-87-24 record in the era – with eight seasons seeing at least 30 wins.

“We all learned so much from Debbie,” DeVille said. “She definitely spearheaded the start of the program. She built us to be tough. We didn’t have excuses. If we said we would do something, we needed to do it.”

DeVille took those coaching philosophies with her when she became head coach.

“We stressed that we have to work hard, respect each other, understand each other’s roles,” she said. “You’ve got to work hard and believe in the people that surround you. It was a family.”

DeVille’s first year as coach was an emotional one. That was the year Park Hill South opened. The team, coaching staff, and families were split between the two schools.

“We had so much ability, but how it worked out PH Volleyball was now shared between two schools,” DeVille said. “But when I look back at it all, I’m thankful that those girls still got to experience the state tournament either in 1997, 2000 or both.”