Newtown High School’s girls’ volleyball team capped off the regular season with three consecutive wins to finish with a record of 16-3. The Nighthawks move onto the postseason, beginning with the South-West Conference Tournament. They lost to only one conference foe, Joel Barlow of Redding, during match play this fall and are the conference’s No. 2 seed behind those Barlow Falcons.

The Nighthawks defeated Stratford 3-1 (25-16, 23-25, 25-10, 25-17) on the road on October 19 and blanked Notre Dame-Fairfield 3-0 (25-8, 25-12, 25-16) on October 21 and New Milford 3-0 (25-16, 25-12, 25-13) on Senior Night, October 23.

In the win over Stratford, the Nighthawks racked up 14 aces led by four from Gabby Soltis and three from Sarah Hubner. Amaro Beard-Galati had two aces to go along with a dozen kills and five digs; Zosia Teraszkiewicz compiled 19 kills and nine digs; Emily Daoust logged two aces and 11 digs; Soltis had three kills, 42 assists, and eight digs; and Liz Anesi had two aces, five kills, and 11 digs.

Newtown was without Beard-Galati for the next two matches due to injury. Beard-Galati and Gianna Galassi are both sidelined as the slate gives way to the postseason, leaving key holes in the lineup. Other players filled in nicely during recent action.

Against Notre Dame, Addy Cordova had two of Newtown’s 15 aces, nine kills, and nine digs; Ava Lombardo tallied 17 assists; Daoust had a trio of aces to go along with two kills and a pair of digs; Soltis recorded four aces, one kill, 20 assists, and five digs; Lauren Murphy had three aces and five kills; Anesi had two aces and three kills; Noelle Meadows had an ace, four kills, and a dig; Sara Heinen logged seven kills and a dig; Hubner had seven digs; and Teraszkiewicz added a trio of kills and one dig.

In the New Milford match, Teraszkiewicz tallied three aces, 16 kills, one block, and six digs; Cordova recorded a dozen kills and two digs; Daoust had three aces and 11 digs; Soltis logged an ace, two kills, 39 assists, and ten digs; Murphy had a pair of aces; Anesi had two aces, four kills, and four blocks; and Heinen had three kills to go along with two blocks and a dig.

Seniors Gabby Soltis, Zosia Teraszkiewicz, Liz Anesi, and Amaro Beard-Galati were recognized prior to the New Milford match.

The Hawks will have a rematch with New Milford, at home, in the SWC playoff opener on Saturday, October 28 at 5:30 pm (time subject to change).

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