When California had Southern Boone on the ropes late in the second set in last Tuesday's volleyball game, the Eagles came within a point of the Pintos at 20-19.
Then California head coach Julie Bailey called a timeout.
The move was effective, as the Pintos reeled off five straight points to close out the set and take home a 25-16, 25-20 victory. With the win, California improved to 12-2 overall and 3-1 in the Tri-County Conference.
"I told them they needed to play with intensity and heart and play at their level instead of just walking out on the court like it's a scrimmage," Julie Bailey said. " They should always want to play at their best."
Though the Pintos have gotten off to a few slow starts this season, that wasn't the case against Southern Boone. California went up nine midway through the first set and took command the rest of the way.
"We came out tonight hitting," Julie Bailey said. "In the first set, we came out and we were finishing and getting good hits."
The Pintos got balanced production at the net. Cameron Meyer and Caitlin Halsey led the way with six kills each. Chloe Schenewerk chipped in with five kills and Gracie George added four. Monica Whitson and Emma Bailey led California with 11 and 10 assists, respectively.
California's dominant first set was in large part thanks to tenacity after blocks and making second and third efforts. Kayla Allison kept the ball alive several times on her way to a game-leading 17 digs. Cassie Dearixon added 10 digs and also two aces.
"It's hard to prepare for blocks because there's very few teams that can do it successfully," Julie Bailey said. "We weren't necessarily prepared for Southern Boone to be the team to come out blocking, but I was glad to see that our girls did cover and that we made the plays that needed to be made."