The California Pintos' volleyball team won first place in the tournament at Versailles Oct. 7.
The team went 6-0 in tournament play and improved to 26-5 on the season. It is the second time the team has won a tournament this year.
California defeated Stover in two sets, 25-12 and 25-17; Southern Boone County in two sets, 25-15 and 25-17; and Marshall 25-8 and 25-18.
Head Coach Julie Bailey said that even though the team has won matches rather convincingly, the team has to be careful not to overlook teams.
"We talk a lot about maintaining our intensity, remembering our goals, and playing at our level," Bailey said. "We have had some games where we seemed to possibly look past teams and sets were closer than (they) should have been, which helped us to wake up and realize we shouldn't over look any team.
"We have to stay focused on our goals and play at our level. We can't overlook any opponent and must play with intensity."
The Pintos were the top seed among 12 teams in the tournament and defeated Marshall for a second time in the first round, 25-15 and 25-12.
In the second round, the Pintos defeated Green Ridge, 25-9 and 25-16, and the team defeated Eldon for the championship, 25-17 and 25-19. It was the second time that the Pintos played Eldon in a championship game for a tournament this year. They were defeated by Eldon in the championship game at the Fulton tournament Sept. 9.
Bailey said that the team was excited for the rematch.
"We were excited to get to face them in the championship game of the Versailles tournament," Bailey said. "It gave us a chance to return the favor and take the championship game from them, this time. I felt like we were much more consistent than we had been in the Fulton tournament. In the Fulton tournament we were up on Eldon and let them back in the game to take it from us. This time we were on top and stayed on top."
Bailey said that the team continues to have strong play on a consistent basis.
"Each player contributed throughout the day and it was a great team effort," Bailey said. "I was proud of how hard the girls played all day and worked together as a team to accomplish their goal."
Caitlin Halsey led the team with 13 aces in the tournament and Chloe Schenwerk was second with 10 aces. Hailey Cain led the team with 37 kills and Halsey was second with 28. Cain had a team high 59 digs and Gracie George had 47. Schenewerk had a team high 60 assists and George had the second highest with 41.
Bailey was happy for the team winning its second tournament.
"It was really exciting to win our second tournament of the year," Bailey said. "The girls have worked extremely hard to accomplish these goals and it is gratifying to see all that hard work pay off for them."
The Pintos have earned the top seed and a first round bye in the Class 3 District 8 tournament. They will face the winner of the Fulton versus Southern Boone game Oct. 18 at Marshall High School.