Although sets two and three easily could have gone either way, Newtown High School’s boys’ volleyball team took care of business in the minimum three games to defeat visiting Danbury in the April 7 season opener. The Nighthawks won by scores of 25-17, 26-24, and 25-23.

First year Newtown Head Coach Abbi Debes said she has worked with the players on staying mentally strong when things get tough from a physical standpoint, such as late in match or toward the end of a lengthy, closely-contested set like the second two in the opener.

“They’ve been ready since day one,” said Debes, whose team prepared with plenty of conditioning in the preseason.

And the mind over matter philosophy paid dividends as the Nighthawks rose to the occasion in a match that easily could have gone at least one more set.

“It’s a good start to the season but there’s still a lot to work on,” said Debes, noting that Newtown’s serve-receive game and defense as a whole were strong but that she would like to see improvement in decision making on offense — when to make a pass instead of going for a quick hit over the net, for example.

“There’s definitely a lot to work on but I’m proud of how we played today,” said A.J. Zatulskis, who finished off the third set with a kill to complete a late-set NHS comeback after the opposing teams traded scoring runs.

After winning relatively easily in the first set the Hawks were pushed to extra points in the win-by-two scenario. A booming kill by Nate Twitchell brought things to set point and Warner Bacon took a little something off his hit at the net to score the set-ending point.

In game three, with their backs against the wall, the visiting Hatters kept things close throughout. Every time the Nighthawks appeared on the verge of building a lead Danbury recovered with a mini run to close the gap, but the Hawks fended off their opponents with key momentum-shifting points.

After building an 8-4 advantage, highlighted by McLeod and Cole Sgagliardich kills, the Hawks saw Danbury tie the score at 9-9. McLeod reclaimed the Nighthawk lead and Zatulskis added to it with a block for point. Twitchell’s cross-court kill answered a Hatter point for a 12-10 NHS advantage. Newtown went ahead 14-11 on Bacon’s kill. Danbury got back within a point and threatened for more. A diving save by Eli Sullivan kept the play alive and led to Noel McLeod’s kill for a 15-13 Nighthawks lead. Back-to-back points by Sgagliardich in the middle extended the lead to 18-14 and an ace by Bacon made it a five-point game.

The Hatters responded with six straight points, capped by consecutive aces, to seize a 20-19 edge. A long serve gave Newtown the tying point; side out. NHS server Dima Frunza dove to save a ball leading to McLeod’s go-ahead hit. The teams traded points before Danbury seized a 23-22 advantage. Zatulskis scored on a kill to tie things and a nice defensive play by McLeod led to Twitchell’s go-ahead smash to close out a long rally.

Facing match point, Danbury called timeout but the Hawks closed things out moments later when Zatulskis scored the final point.

Sullivan racked up 21 digs. Twitchell finished with five kills and 15 digs to go along with a pair of service aces. Bacon had ten kills and an ace. Sgagliardich logged five kills and a trio of solo blocks. Zatulskis recorded five kills and two solo blocks to go along with two service aces. McLeod compiled a dozen kills and ten digs. Frunza had six digs and 18 assists. Kade Deraney added 13 assists, two digs, a solo block, and a block assist.

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.