Newtown High School’s girls’ volleyball team has found different ways to win in the early going, posting a 3-0 blanking of Woodstock Academy in the season-opening match on September 7 and following up a 3-1 loss at Darien on September 9 with a 3-2 comeback victory at home against East Lyme on September 11. Newtown had a busy first week of action with another match September 12 as St Joseph of Trumbull visited. The Nighthawks prevailed 3-1 (25-15, 20-25, 25-13, 25-16).

“Three wins in four matches against quality teams — we’re definitely off to a strong start,” Newtown Coach Tom Czaplinski said. “I think our focus is getting better. We’ve just got to keep our consistency up.”

The season may be young, but the Hawks have already cruised to a three-set win, clawed back from 2-0 down, and won a four-setter, as well as experienced a loss. “We’re definitely testing ourselves. We’re seeing lots of different aspects of the game,” Czaplinski said.

In the win over Woodstock Academy, the Nighthawks won by scores of 25-23, 25-18, and 25-13. Sarah Hubner and Zosia Teraszkiewicz had three and two aces respectively. Hubner had six digs and Teraszkiewicz compiled 11 kills and six digs. Gianna Galassi logged seven kills and three digs; Sara Heinen had four kills; Emily Daoust recorded five digs; and Gabby Soltis piled up 26 assists. Amaro Beard-Galati, Liz Anesi, and Heinen all had three blocks.

Darien won 25-21, 25-11, 25-13. Teraszkiewicz had two aces, nine kills, and nine digs. Beard-Galati had five kills and a pair of blocks; Anesi had four kills; Soltis tallied three kills to go along with four digs, and 25 assists; and Daoust had five digs.

Against East Lyme, the Nighthawks battled back from a 2-0 deficit; game scores were 27-29, 21-25, 25-16, 25-17, 25-10. Newtown logged eight aces with Soltis, Galassi, and Anesi each recording two. Teraszkiewicz had an ace, 15 kills, a block, and eight digs. Beard-Galati recorded a dozen kills and five blocks. Galassi had ten kills, one block, and six digs; Anesi recorded ten kills and five blocks; and Hubner had five digs. Soltis had three kills, four blocks, two digs, and 52 assists.

In the St Joes match, after taking the first set, the Hawks fell behind 10-3 but battled back to tie the score at 14 apiece. A Beard-Galati kill, Galassi cross-court kill, and Galatti smash on the run helped in the comeback effort. The Cadets, however, got the next three points and didn’t relinquish the lead to even the match. Games three and four belonged to Newtown. In game four, it was 8-7 Hawks before they posted a 9-1 run highlighted by Teraszkiewicz’s blast down the middle, a cross-court hit by Galassi, and ace by Soltis. Beard-Galati answered a pair of St Joes points with a hard hit at the net for an 18-10 lead. Key defensive plays kept the ball moving and helped the Hawks close out the match. A diving save by Teraszkiewicz led to a nice over-the-back hit by Heinen for a point which made it 21-13. Galassi had a pair of late kills, one off two sets of hands and the clinching point on hit that found space beyond the Cadet back row and just inside the end line.

Galassi had 14 kills and five digs; Teraszkiewicz logged five aces, 12 kills, and 19 digs; and Beard-Galati tallied an ace, 11 kills, three blocks, and a pair of digs. Daoust had five digs; Soltis registered an ace, three kills, 47 assists, and three digs; Anesi had an ace, five kills, two blocks and three digs; and Heinen recorded four kills and a pair of blocks.

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