Pintos volleyball sweeps Fatima in Oct. 4 game

Caitlin Halsey and Chloe Schenewerk challenge for a block in California's win over Fatima on Tuesday.
Caitlin Halsey and Chloe Schenewerk challenge for a block in California's win over Fatima on Tuesday.

With an experienced and athletic roster, California is a matchup nightmare for the average opponent. Last Tuesday's match against Fatima was no different.

Offensively, the Pintos came out hitting all the right sports on the floor, and defensively, they came up strong time and time again down the stretch to come away with a 25-17, 25-23 victory.

"I was just happy with the way we played the whole game," California head coach Julie Bailey said. "That second set, Fatima started hitting our holes, but we called a timeout, talked about it, and we adjusted and pulled ahead. It's what you want to see when you're getting ready for districts."

An energized Comets team came out in the second set and gave California trouble from the get-go. Despite some good early blocks by Cameron Meyer, Caitlin Halsey and Chloe Schenewerk, the Pintos trailed Fatima midway through the second set and forced a timeout.

The breather seemed to benefit the Pintos, who reeled off eight of the next nine points to rally and earn the sweep. The key came on the defensive side for the Pintos, particularly with Kayla Allison's activity in the middle of the back row. Allison had a team-high 19 digs.

"(Kayla) was coming up and reading the ball well and making the plays," Julie Bailey said. "She's an outstanding libero, without a doubt. She's been MVP of the conference before because of her outstanding play and many teams are jealous that we have her."

While California's second set was all about filling the holes on the floor defensively, the first set was defined by its offense exploiting Fatima's defensive gaps. Meyer led the Pintos with eight kills while Emma Bailey had a team-high 10 assists.

"We cut back on our hitting errors, which is something we'd been struggling with a lot this season," Julie Bailey said. "I was happy to see our hits going in and we forced their defense to do things they had trouble with."

Pintos take second in Versailles Tournament

California was in action again this past Saturday and won five of its six matches to finish second at the 12-team Versailles Tournament.

The Pintos won their pool with sweeps over Stover, Eldon and Hallsville to enter the tournament quarterfinals as the No. 2 seed.

California drew Stover again in the quarters, this time taking victory in three sets with a 15-25, 25-17, 25-10 win. In the semifinals, the Pintos topped Versailles for the third time this season in a 25-22, 25-9 win.

In the championship match, the Pintos fell to Blair Oaks 7-25, 21-25. It was the second time the Falcons defeated California this season.