Ontario Christian girls volleyball team extends postseason success with win over Murrieta Valley

ONTARIO — If you’re successful in the CIF girls volleyball playoffs, you get tougher and tougher tests.

Such is the case for Ontario Christian girls volleyball program, which used to be the little school fighting for respect.

That’s not the case anymore as they have earned that respect.

Now in Division 2, the Knights won their 21st consecutive postseason match with a 25-22, 28-26 and 25-22 sweep of Murrieta Valley in a first round match Thursday night. Ontario Christian advances to play at Foothill in the second round Saturday.

“This is our first year in Division 1/2 and in years past, we’d have a chance to warm up but here every team is good,” Ontario Christian coach Paige Liebhart said. “I don’t want to be in any other division. We want to play with the big dogs.”

Ontario Christian (25-14) won CIF Southern Section and CIF State titles in the last two years of playoffs, in 2018 and 2019.

The Knights moved up from Division 3 this year although only two players, juniors Isabel Badiola and Brooklyn Goedhart played varsity two years ago. Murrieta Valley was a Division 2 runner-up in 2019.

“We knew it would be a battle,” Murrieta Valley coach Ann Romero-Parks said. “We knew they’d be good.”

The schools already are scheduled to play a nonleague match in 2022.

The first set was back and forth with side outs as neither team could win points on its own serve. Of the 47 points, only 10 were won by the serving team.

“I think there were some nerves,” Liebhart said of the first set.

Ontario Christian never trailed in the first set but the score was tied four times, the last time at 20-20. Sophomore Amelia Don scored the final two Ontario Christian points.

The Nighthawks jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the second set, and Ontario Christian didn’t take its first lead until back-to-back kills by Allyson Shim gave the Knights a 17-16 advantage. It was a set of Murrieta Valley errors at the end, however.

“We had two net violations after it was 20 (to 20),” Romero-Parks said. “And those were both on kills. That really hurt.”

The third set was equally tight with the Knights scoring the final five points, culminating with an ace by senior Norah Crespo that was confirmed as an ace after a discussion among officials. Crespo is one of only two seniors on the Ontario Christian roster.

“It was out,” Romero-Parks said of the final ace. “But we didn’t do enough to win tonight.”

Liebhart liked her team’s toughness in tough points.

“I really liked our mental toughness,” she said. “I wouldn’t say we didn’t have it before but I didn’t see it like tonight.”

Murrieta Valley will be saying goodbye to three seniors: outside hitter Madison Bailey and middle blockers Ruby Morse and Gwynnie Wentzel.

“Maddy has just been incredible all year,” Romero-Parks said.