Coming off a pair of defeats to FCIAC and state powerhouse programs St Joseph of Trumbull and Darien, Newtown High School’s girls’ volleyball team was staring at a very real possibility of falling to 0-3 to start the campaign. South-West Conference rival Joel Barlow of Redding visited on September 18, and the Nighthawks stepped up their game for a 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-22) triumph.

It’s too early for a team to have a must-win match, or is it?

“We needed it. We definitely needed it for team morale,” Newtown Coach Tom Czaplinski said.

With the third game of the match even at 22 apiece, Newtown’s Julia Wiberg executed a kill to give the Nighthawks a lead they didn’t relinquish. A pair of errant Barlow hits for the final two points of the match sealed things.

The 3-0 outcome is a bit deceptive, and the fact Newtown won in three games might have been a bit surprising, but the score of each is an indicator of how evenly-matched the teams really are.

“We knew it was going to be a fight but we really pulled together,” said Newtown captain Jamie Calandro, who registered 11 kills, four digs, and three service aces.

Molly McCoy had 11 assists, three kills, and four aces; Zoe Beals came up with eight digs, four kills, and four aces; Sarah Bender had ten assists, five digs, and three aces; and Tessa Leon-Gambetta had seven digs.

The serving game proved to be key for Newtown’s success in this match. Leon-Gambetta got 100 percent of her serves in, Kaitlyn Schneider, Bender, and McCoy all did a nice job of putting the ball into play with accuracy.

Newtown’s clash with Barlow is the first of two this fall; and was a nonconference meeting (the first only counts in the state standings, and the second will impact both state and SWC standings/seedings).

In addition to facing St Joe’s and Darien, Newtown will match up against Woodstock Academy and East Lyme in potentially challenging out-of-conference battles.

“The tougher the team the better you’re going to be,” said Czaplinski, adding that teams stand to learn more from losing than winning. “Hopefully, we’re learning from it. We definitely have improved each game.”

“It’s kind of a reality check of what’s out there,” said Leon-Gambetta, whose Nighthawks lost in four close games to St Joe’s and bounced back from a 3-0 setback to Darien with the win over Barlow. “We know we can compete with them. That boosts our confidence for the season.”

Newtown continued its winning ways with a 3-0 (25-9, 25-7, 25-20) triumph over visiting Kolbe Cathedral of Bridgeport, on September 21. Calandro had seven kills and five aces, McCoy contributed five kills and six aces, and Leon-Gambetta came away with six digs and four aces.

The Nighthawks will host New Fairfield on Friday, September 25, beginning at 5 pm. The matches with Woodstock Academy and East Lyme, and rematch with Barlow, won’t be until October, but Czaplinski has them circled on the schedule as his team strives to improve and be in position for deep postseason runs.

“We want to play the toughest teams we can possibly get,” Czaplinski said.