By Kim J. Harmon

It seemed like a mismatch on paper, with the Lady Wildcats of Bethel boasting a 9-3 record and the Lady Nighthawks of Newtown holding on to a 5-8 record, but Newtown played much tougher than its record might otherwise indicate . . . despite ultimately losing in a 3-0 sweep.

The ‘Hawks played the first two games as if they knew they could beat the ‘Cats and if was apparent that, with a little luck, they just might. A quick 2-0 lead in Game 1 and a much more solidified 8-5 lead in Game 2 served to rattle the Lady Wildcats quite enough. And when a 6-0 Bethel lead in Game 3 evaporated into 9-9 tie, it became apparent that it was a battle out on the floor.

But Bethel overcame it all for the 15-7, 15-9, 15-9 win.

In Game 1, the ‘Hawks jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks an opening ace from Ally Gellert and a beautiful kill by Amanda Marsilio to the far corner. But a run of mistakes soon after enabled Bethel to overtake the lead, 5-2. With a nice little dink and ace from Lily Fielding and another kill from Marsilio, the ‘Hawks remained as close as those three points, down 9-6, but the Wildcats soon pulled away.

In Game 2, Chrissy DeWeese served up and ace and then was the beneficiary of a strong block by Marsilio and the ‘Hawks were quickly ahead, 3-0. Ashleigh Smarrella took over behind the service line shortly after and put Newtown ahead 5-2.

But Bethel continued to stay close, knocking two points of the Nighthawk lead. But a pair of Gellert aces – bullets, both of them – kept Newtown on top, 7-4. When the ‘Hawks held an 8-5 lead, however, is when Bethel really made its comeback. Newtown last enjoyed a lead, at 9-8, on a DeWeese ace, but Bethel scored seven unanswered points to close out the game.

In Game 3, the ‘Cats jumped out to an easy 6-0 lead and seeming inclined to put a quick end to the match. But the ‘Hawks slowly crawled back into the match, getting their first points off a Laura Hammond dink and Marsilio kill. Down as much as 8-2, the ‘Hawks went on a seven-point tear (Erin Masterson had three aces and Hammond had two kills in that stretch) to take the shocking 9-8 lead.

The run served to wake Bethel up as it once again closed out the game with seven consecutive points.

Marsilio finished the match with 11 kills and five blocks while Hammond and seven kills and six digs. Ashleigh Smarrella notched 25 assists while Masterson had nine points mixed in with her three service aces.

The ‘Hawks were at Foran on Wednesday and then will host Lauralton Hall on Friday. They will close out the regular season on Monday, October 25, with a match against Pomperaug.