MURRIETA — The Vista Murrieta girls volleyball team expended a lot of energy in Tuesday’s come-from-behind win over Alemany. So the big question Thursday evening was whether the Broncos might be running on empty for its rematch against Aliso Niguel.
Vista Murrieta’s Claire Little, right, spikes a shot past Aliso Niguel’s Riley Barr, left, during their playoff match at Vista Murrieta High School in Murrieta on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022. Vista Murrieta sweeped Aliso Niguel in straight sets 25-10, 25-22 and 25-22 in a CIF State Division I girls volleyball second-round playoff match. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Vista Murrieta’s Katrina Catalan, 10, celebrates with teammates after winning the opening game of their playoff match against Aliso Niguel at Vista Murrieta High School in Murrieta on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022. Vista Murrieta sweeped Aliso Niguel in straight sets 25-10, 25-22 and 25-22 in a CIF State Division I girls volleyball second-round playoff match. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Aliso Niguel’s Nicole Feliciano, center, returns a shot as Vista Murrieta’s Megan Herbert, left, and Madison Pulsipher, right, defend during their playoff match at Vista Murrieta High School in Murrieta on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022. Vista Murrieta sweeped Aliso Niguel in straight sets 25-10, 25-22 and 25-22 in a CIF State Division I girls volleyball second-round playoff match. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Vista Murrieta’s Claire Little, right, celebrates with teammate Katrina Catalan, left, after defeating Aliso Niguel following their playoff match at Vista Murrieta High School in Murrieta on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022. Vista Murrieta sweeped Aliso Niguel in straight sets 25-10, 25-22 and 25-22 in a CIF State Division I girls volleyball second-round playoff match. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Vista Murrieta’s Madison Pulsipher, right, returns a shot against Aliso Niguel during their playoff match at Vista Murrieta High School in Murrieta on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022. Vista Murrieta sweeped Aliso Niguel in straight sets 25-10, 25-22 and 25-22 in a CIF State Division I girls volleyball second-round playoff match. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Vista Murrieta’s Claire Little, right, spikes a shot past Aliso Niguel’s Riley Barr, left, during their playoff match at Vista Murrieta High School in Murrieta on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022. Vista Murrieta sweeped Aliso Niguel in straight sets 25-10, 25-22 and 25-22 in a CIF State Division I girls volleyball second-round playoff match. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Vista Murrieta head coach Ed Taitano gives directions during their playoff match against Aliso Niguel at Vista Murrieta High School in Murrieta on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022. Vista Murrieta sweeped Aliso Niguel in straight sets 25-10, 25-22 and 25-22 in a CIF State Division I girls volleyball second-round playoff match. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Vista Murrieta’s Madison Pulsipher, right, drops a shot past Aliso Niguel’s Jaslene Massey. left, during their playoff match at Vista Murrieta High School in Murrieta on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022. Vista Murrieta sweeped Aliso Niguel in straight sets 25-10, 25-22 and 25-22 in a CIF State Division I girls volleyball second-round playoff match. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Vista Murrieta’s Madison Pulsipher, right, blocks a shot by Aliso Niguel’s Madyson Smith during their playoff match at Vista Murrieta High School in Murrieta on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022. Vista Murrieta sweeped Aliso Niguel in straight sets 25-10, 25-22 and 25-22 in a CIF State Division I girls volleyball second-round playoff match. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Vista Murrieta’s Megan Herbert, left, returns a shot as Aliso Niguel’s Gabrielle Hackett, right, defends during their playoff match at Vista Murrieta High School in Murrieta on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022. Vista Murrieta sweeped Aliso Niguel in straight sets 25-10, 25-22 and 25-22 in a CIF State Division I girls volleyball second-round playoff match. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Vista Murrieta head coach Ed Taitano speaks with team in between games during theri playoff match against Aliso Niguel at Vista Murrieta High School in Murrieta on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022. Vista Murrieta sweeped Aliso Niguel in straight sets 25-10, 25-22 and 25-22 in a CIF State Division I girls volleyball second-round playoff match. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Aliso Niguel head coach Richelle Whiting speaks with her team in between games against Vista Murrieta at Vista Murrieta High School in Murrieta on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022. Vista Murrieta sweeped Aliso Niguel in straight sets 25-10, 25-22 and 25-22 in a CIF State Division I girls volleyball second-round playoff match. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Vista Murrieta’s Madison Pulsipher, left, returns a shot as Aliso Niguel’s Jaslene Massey, center, and Kristin Choe, right, defend during their playoff match at Vista Murrieta High School in Murrieta on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022. Vista Murrieta sweeped Aliso Niguel in straight sets 25-10, 25-22 and 25-22 in a CIF State Division I girls volleyball second-round playoff match. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Vista Murrieta’s Claire Little, right, spikes a shot past Aliso Niguel’s Jaslene Massey, left, during their playoff match at Vista Murrieta High School in Murrieta on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022. Vista Murrieta sweeped Aliso Niguel in straight sets 25-10, 25-22 and 25-22 in a CIF State Division I girls volleyball second-round playoff match. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Vista Murrieta showed there is plenty of gas left in the tank. The Broncos cruised through the first set and rallied to win the next two sets for a 25-10, 25-22, 25-22 victory over Aliso Niguel in a CIF State Division I second-round regional match.
The Broncos head to top-seeded La Costa Canyon on Saturday for a regional semifinal. La Costa Canyon beat Vista Murrieta in four sets (25-21, 27-25, 21-25, 25-16) when the teams squared off in a nonleague match in Carlsbad back in early September.
Broncos coach Ed Taitano gave his players a rare day off from practice Wednesday to recover from Tuesday’s emotional match.
“We watched film and gave them some rest,” Taitano said. “We talked about trying to stay focused and hungry for Thursday.”
Vista Murrieta (22-10) nearly saw its season come to end Tuesday night, as it faced a pair of match points against Alemany. The Broncos regrouped and won three straight games to set up a rematch of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 title match.
“When you get that close to losing and having a season end, you realize you’re not ready for it to be over,” said senior outside hitter Claire Little, who had a match-high 18 kills Thursday night. “I think that experience Tuesday really lit a new fire inside of us.”
And that was evident during opening set Thursday. Vista Murrieta excelled in every facet, most notably its service game. The Broncos tallied seven of their 11 aces during the opening set, including three by Lauren Ly and two by Megan Herbert.
Little got off to a fast start, hammering down six kills on 10 swings. Lilliana Montes added three kills for the Broncos.
“We were crisp and clean, and it felt great,” said Little, who was named an AVCA first-team All-American earlier this week.
Aliso Niguel (23-8) cleaned up some of its mistakes and got started to get things back on track during the second game. Madyson Smith and Nicole Feliciano combined for eight kills in the set and helped the Wolverines carve a 15-12 lead midway through that set. Aliso Niguel had a 20-10 lead, but three attacking errors by the Wolverines aided in a 6-2 closing run by Vista Murrieta.
Vista Murrieta was facing a 10-5 deficit in the third set, and flashbacks of Tuesday’s match started to enter some minds.
“There was never a point where I was completely worried, but you never want to give a team like Aliso Niguel a chance,” Taitano said.
Madison Pulsipher had two kills and combined with Montes for a block to spark a 9-4 run that leveled the score at 14, and the Broncos surged ahead when Little and Herbert teamed up to stuff a shot. Aliso Niguel staved off a pair of match points, but Little made sure Vista Murrieta came away with a sweep when she hammered a crosscourt kill to end the match.
“No matter what the score was, we just stayed positive and kept encouraging one another,” libero Miliani Villareal said.
Montes finished with six kills and three block assists, and Pulsipher added four kills and three block assists. Ly tallied a match-high four aces for the Broncos.
Smith and Feliciano each registered nine kills to lead Aliso Niguel, and libero Danet Whiting had three aces for the Wolverines.
