To be the best you have to beat the best. That is a motto that Parkland head girls volleyball coach Mike Krause stresses every year with his team. That is why, besides playing a competitive conference schedule, Krause schedules opponents that will challenge his Trojans team, which currently sits at No. 1 in the state.

Last Saturday Parkland hosted a tournament featuring schools that had either won district championships last year, or were in the running for one.

The four teams that the Trojans were paired up against in the pool play style tournament were Bethlehem Catholic, Lansdale Catholic, Marian Catholic, and Bishop Shanahan.

"To get teams that are this good outside of our district classification is good for us," said Krause. "They are all good ball-control teams and challenged us. We need to be challenged if we want to get to where we want to be."

The Golden Hawks were District 11 Class AA champs. The Spartans won a District 1 championship last year, and Bishop Shanahan made it to the final four of District 1 Class AAA a season ago.

Each team played two games against one another. The Trojans were victorious in 7 of 8 games. They beat Becahi, Marian Catholic and Lansdale Catholic by 2-0 scores, and split two games with Bishop Shanahan.

"In those eight games, every one was close because they work hard and they keep the ball in play," said Krause. "You have to maintain a consistency with your offense, and that's what we did. It helped us a lot."

Even with a hectic conference schedule, Krause and his team were able to see different competition and prove themselves against the best of the best.

"That's what we wanted to do," said Krause. "We have to handle the mental part of it more than anything. Their bodies are going to be tired, but their minds can't be. It helps them to maintain focus, and they value taking care of themselves. If they let up, these teams will take advantage of that. We were able to maintain our consistency and that's what let do a good tournament."

Parkland finished off the invitational strong with a 2-0 win in the final over Shanahan by scores of 25-22 and 25-15.