Newtown High School’s boys’ volleyball team is hoping to pick up where it left off in 2019. After all, the team went 19-0, won the South-West Conference, and went all the way to the semifinals of state tournament before falling to Darien.

But the reality is that there will be some rebuilding for the Nighthawks, and just being back on the court is a thrill for starters.

“I am so happy we are able to play this year. It was heartbreaking to hear that we couldn’t play last year, understandably with the pandemic. The boys have still worked really hard in keeping volleyball as part of their routines, playing winter ball, doing clinics, playing outdoors in the summer,” Coach Sandy Doski said. “Having a year off breaks the momentum that we were building with this sport as it is still relatively new at Newtown, but I am looking forward to the challenge of building it back up and winning another SWC championship for Newtown.”

Doski points out that the Nighthawks, like other teams, have to rebuild following the lost season.

“We have several juniors that this is their first year playing, so we are going to take it one game at a time. I feel we will gel relatively quickly as the experienced players are helping the new players adjust and learn the game quickly. My goals and the team’s goals for this year is to win the SWC again and put another year on our banner in the gym,” Doski said.

Captains are senior libero Eli Kirby, junior middle hitter Matt Mattera, and junior outside hitter Thad Teraszkiewicz.

Other returning players are setter Sawyer Findley, middle hitter Jasin Kodzodziku, outside hitter Aidan Stout, and libero/defensive specialist Collin Granville.

“We have several players that have played throughout the winter and I will be looking at those players to help guide the younger players through the nerves of being out on the court. We are working really hard on the fundamentals of the game and once we master that, we will be a very competitive team. We have height, speed, agility, and a great understanding of the game with our core players. This will help us out in tough games and be a great teaching experience for the younger players,” the coach added.

Doski said Pomperaug of Southbury is putting together a team for the first time, Oxford has a new coach, and numbers are down at Masuk of Monroe and Kolbe Cathedral of Bridgeport. The NHS coach believes Joel Barlow of Redding might be the team to beat, given it has the most returning players of the conference teams.

“Every team is going to be tough. Any given day one team can be on and the other team will be struggling. This holds true for us, as well, so we are going into every match as if it is a tough match and we have to play our best to win,” Doski said.