After splitting a pair of regular season matches by convincing 3-0 scores with neither team at full strength, the Newtown and Masuk of Monroe high school boys’ volleyball teams had their full lineups for their biggest clash of the campaign — the South-West Conference tournament semifinals on May 24.

Second-seeded Newtown defeated third-seeded Masuk 3-1 (25-9, 25-17, 21-25, and 25-22) to advance to the title match against top-seeded Joel Barlow of Redding on Wednesday, May 26, starting at 5:30 pm.

“We both knew it was going to be a good match,” said Newtown Coach Sandy Doski, referring to Masuk and Newtown.

“The boys played really well today. We worked really hard on defense and doing different things at the net,” said Doski, adding that blocking, footwork, and positioning, including hand placement, were areas of focus in late-season practices.

Middle hitters Jasin Kodzodziku, Luke Hannon, and Brandon Akbas played well offensively and with strong defense. Setter Sawyer Findley compiled 34 assists and did especially well for the Nighthawks, Doski said.

The back row came up with some nice plays, including a pair of diving digs by Matt Mattera and Eli Kirby on the same volley, which led to match point in the closeout set. Masuk hung in there for two more points before a service error ended the match.

Thad Teraszkiewicz was a force, with 14 kills to go along with 11 aces, 11 digs, and a block. Aidan Stout came up with 11 kills, eight digs, and one block. Hannan had three kills, four blocks, and a dig. Mattera logged four kills, five aces, eight digs, and one block. Findley added a trio of kills, an assist, and five digs.

Doski’s team fell 3-0 in both matches against Barlow during the season, but the Hawks were competitive in those defeats.

“Barlow is very tough. They play to win,” said Doski, adding that the Falcons are able to overcome their mistakes with strong serve-receive and service games, generally weak spots for most teams, the coach noted.

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