A gallon of gasoline cost $1.12.

Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Ross Perot were in the midst of a heated presidential campaign.

And Boyz II Men’s End of the Road was the No. 1 song on the billboard charts.

Ironically, Joanne Sturm was just at the beginning of her road as Mayville’s girls volleyball coach.

Chautauqua Lake head coach Joanne Meadows and her daughter, Katie, react during last Friday’s NYSPHSAA Class D Far West Regional at Letchworth High School. P-J photo by Christian Storms

A lot has changed in the past 30-plus years.

Mayville is now Chautauqua Lake after a 1996 merger. The mascot has transitioned from Golden Eagles to Thunderbirds to Eagles.

And the school’s volleyball team is returning to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association final four for the first time since 1995 when the Golden Eagles won their fourth title in five years.

One thing has not changed — the volleyball team in Mayville is still in the worthy hands of Sturm, who is now Joanne Meadows after her 1997 marriage.

“The last two years, I thought we might get back to states. Two years ago we got swept at regionals and last year we went five sets,” Meadows said Thursday night on the eve of making the nearly six-hour trip to Glens Falls. “Going into it this year, I said to the kids that a lot of people were thinking we were in a rebuilding year. … Let’s let them think that, fly under the radar, build and build until the playoffs and go from there.”

Chautauqua Lake head coach Joanne Meadows gives one of her players at the service line instructions during last Friday’s Far West Regional at Letchworth High School. P-J photo by Christian Storms

The 1986 Eden High School and 1990 SUNY Cortland graduate did her student teaching at Sweet Home High School, and was an assistant coach under the Panthers’ legendary coach Sally Kus for her first two years out of college.

“I knew I wanted to coach volleyball, so when I did my student teaching and they asked for any requests, I asked for Sweet Home because they were the best,” Meadows said. “That was one of the luckiest things of my life.”

Meadows knew she wanted to get into coaching, growing up with her father, Ed, who coached at Eden — most notably boys basketball — for 38 years.

“When I got hired, I wanted to coach and I really thought I’d do it for a very long time,” Meadows said. “I love teaching, but coaching is such a closer relationship with those kids. I think it’s such a chance to help them grow into great people.”

Meadows was hired to replace Penny Hite at Mayville. The Golden Eagles had just won state titles in 1990 and 1991, but Hite left to take a job as SUNY Fredonia’s women’s volleyball coach.

“When I applied, I didn’t know they needed a volleyball coach so that was another lucky move,” Meadows said.

Meadows-led Mayville returned to the NYSPHSAA final four that fall, but was not able to earn a three-peat, losing in the finals.

“I only knew they were the two-time state champs because I went to states with Sweet Home and Section VI won three of the classes,” Meadows said. “When I came in, it was a whole new team. They were the state champs, but lost a lot.”

Undeterred, Meadows rallied the troops and claimed the next two Class D state championships.

“There were very few returning players, but a winning mentality carries you a long way,” Meadows said.

The 1996 merger with neighboring Chautauqua bumped the program up to Class C, but also — maybe more importantly — added soccer and swimming to the fall sports offerings.

“Back in those days, there was only cheerleading or volleyball,” Meadows said. “Once we merged, it divided up the athlete pool a lot compared to what it was.”

Meadows married Roy Meadows in 1997 and the couple had three children — Katie, born in 1998, Mollie, born in 2002, and Brett, born in 2004 — before Roy passed away in March of 2013.

“Volleyball helped us get through it,” Meadows said of her husband’s untimely death. “It was a community and a family that I built up through volleyball that really came to us and helped us get through a lot of stuff.”

Meadows’ two daughters later played for some of her more successful teams.

“I loved having my kids play. It was always important for me to be a mom first and a coach second,” Meadows said. “I’m so blessed in a school that encourages family. Katie was my manager starting in first grade and went with me to everything, fell in love with it and then played it.”

In the past few years, she has coached two former players’ daughters — Jenna Waters and Gracie Gerring — and several former students’ daughters.

“Every once in a while, anybody in my position thinks that it’s a lot,” Meadows said. ” … Every year, I think somebody younger needs to come in and do this, but then you spend a little time with these kids, they trust you and show up for you, and every year I say I don’t want to leave it yet.”

All told, Meadows has won 500-plus matches, 15 Section VI championships and 18 league titles. And win, lose or draw this weekend, Meadows doesn’t plan to hang up her clipboard anytime soon.

“This isn’t 100% yet. This is likely my last year teaching, but I’m going to keep coaching for a while,” Meadows said. “It’s a lot, but it’s where I want to be right now. It is still my passion. As long as these kids are going to show up for me, I’m going to show up for them.”