By Kim J. Harmon

MONROE – No, folks, it wasn’t a fluke.

A couple of weeks ago, the Newtown High School volleyball team beat Masuk, 3-1, in the quarterfinals of the South-West Conference tournament and – taking into account seedings and records – it was deemed an upset.

And – okay, okay – rightfully so.

But after the Nighthawks defeated the Pantherettes last Thursday night in Monroe, 3-2, in the second round of the CIAC Class L state tournament, perhaps the use of the word upset might have to be reconsidered.

“We didn’t want anyone to think the SWCs was a fluke,” said senior co-captain Ally Gellert.

It was – at times – a monumental struggle, but the ‘Hawks (who certainly did not have the type of performance they had in the SWC tournament) toughed out a long 15-10, 7-15, 15-13, 10-15, 15-10 victory in two hours and 33 minutes.

The 24th-ranked ‘Hawks reached the second round with a thrilling 3-1 upset over 9th-ranked South Windsor the previous Monday.

In the win over Masuk, Erin Carolan had 19 kills (more than a couple of those were quite spectacular) and Gellert turned in 14 kills of her own while Kate Anderheggen added 12 more (to go along with her 10 blocks) – all of which helped the ‘Hawks overcome the absence of Stephanie Logan, who was an imposing force in the previous win over the Pantherettes in the SWCs.

“We told ourselves to basically hang on to every point,” said Caitlyn Elf. “We’re unstoppable when we play as a team.”

It wasn’t always pretty, though. The superior service that helped carry the ‘Hawks over the Pantherettes the last time was absent for long periods of the match – as was the strong front court play, which was hampered by excessive net calls and other infractions.

But the ‘Hawks had other things going for them and muddled through.

“Our passing was unbelievable,” said Gellert. “We took a step up there and everyone played as a team.”

Early on in the first game of the match, it appeared as if the ‘Hawks had regained the earlier magic that had carried them past Masuk in October. Kills by Anderheggen and Carolan, an ace by Shannon Kohn, a spectacular dig by Gellert, and great recoveries by Jaime Lindquist and Anne Schneider helped the ‘Hawks build up a 9-0 lead.

But Masuk – in a long, tedious process – crawled back into the game and had trimmed the Newtown lead to 12-9. Neither team was very sharp at that point and it was more of a case of taking advantage of the other team’s mistakes, but Schneider put Game 1 away with an ace. In Game 2, the ‘Hawks fought their way to a 7-7 tie (thanks to a pair of kills by Carolan), but Masuk scored the next eight points (two of those on aces) to tie the match up at 1-1.

Game 3 – once again – was more of the same. But the ‘Hawks broke open a 3-3 tie with a killer smash by Gellert and three consecutive aces by Jenn Murphy. The Pantherettes did manage to tie the game, 7-7, but a pair of blocks by the frontline duo of Anderheggen and Elf and kills by Gellert and Carolan helped the ‘Hawks stretch out to a 13-8 lead.

A smash by Carolan gave the ‘Hawks their 14th and 15th points, but it was a dink by Elf – after a long, long volley sparked by some remarkable recoveries on both sides of the net – that made the biggest difference.

In Game 4, the ‘Hawks built up a quick, 5-2, lead thanks to a number of Masuk mistakes. But the Pantherettes settled down and eased back into the game, taking the lead midway through and never looking back.

The match was tied, 2-2.

The Pantherettes then took a 4-1 lead early in the decisive Game 5 and maybe the ‘Hawks were thinking that the magic they had experienced three days earlier in the first round of the CIAC Class L tournament – and nine days before that in the SWC quarterfinals – had deserted them.

“I think if we had thought that,” said Gellert, “then we wouldn’t have pulled through.”

Which they did.

The rally started with a smash by Carolan that earned a sideout and continued with kills by Anderheggen, Lindquist and (again) Carolan and all of a sudden the ‘Hawks had taken a 7-5 lead. Jess Phillips came up with a big block and Gellert registered another kill and the ‘Hawks were soon up 10-6.

The Pantherettes did tie up the match, 10-10, but ‘Hawks saw the light at the end of the tunnel and went right after it. After a Masuk mistake helped the ‘Hawks take an 11-10 lead, Gellert rifled off an ace to put the ‘Hawks ahead, 12-10.

Then a block by Elf and a kill by Anderheggen on sideouts preserved the lead, leading to a kill by Anderheggen (13th point), a smash by Carolan (14th point), and a little tipper by Gellert (the 15th– and game-winning point).

It was a thrilling finish, but soon led to the sobering reality that the reward for beating Masuk a second time was a trip to Stratford on Saturday to face the No. 2 team in the state and No. 1 team in Class L – Bunnell.

“No problem,” Elf said with a little wink and a chuckle.

But, of course, it was a problem. The Lady Bulldogs defeated the Nighthawks, 3-0, last Saturday  to advance to the CIAC Class L semi-finals (on Thursday) against Amity Regional, a 3-1 winner over Glastonbury.

Assistant coach Jay Edwards had the perspective, though, as he hustled off the court following the 3-2 win over Masuk.

“Hey, if (at the beginning of the season) you had offered me the state quarterfinals,” he said, “I would have said, ‘sign me up.’ ”

The ‘Hawks finished a solid 2001 season at 11-10.