Newtown’s volleyball team, the No. 20 seed in the Class LL field, visited No. 13 Trumbull and lost 3-1 (20-25, 25-18, 26-24, 25-16) in the first round of the state tournament, on November 9. Newtown went 11-8 in the regular season, and Trumbull was 14-6.

Despite the outcome, Newtown Coach Tom Czaplinski and captain Jamie Calandro were pleased with how the Nighthawks performed.

“We didn’t give up on each other, and we didn’t give up on game point,” said Calandro, whose Hawks were on the brink of elimination before scoring three straight points to hang in there until Trumbull closed out the match.

Calandro had a pair of aces to go along with 13 kills and a dozen digs, and was the focus of Trumbull’s game plan. Using a defensive strategy to counter Calandro’s abilities, Trumbull Coach Tamara DeBerry implemented a four-person serve-receive setup on the court, using four back row players instead of the generally standard three.

“The plan was to serve away from her because she can do everything,” said DeBerry, adding that the Eagles scouted the Nighthawks in the South-West Conference tournament. “I knew going in that they were going to be a very good team.”

Calandro still managed to make her presence felt, but might have done more damage if not for Trumbull’s strong defense.

Newtown’s captain said the team came together as a unit and played well.

“As a group, I think we passed well, served,” Czaplinski added. “And we made very little errors I thought for the most part.”

Tessa Leon-Gambetta had 22 digs; Molly McCoy registered 12 digs, 11 assists, and five kills; Kaityln Schneider recorded 11 digs and two aces; Julia Wiberg had a trio of kills and two blocks; Sarah Bender had a dozen assists and nine digs; and Erin Burns had four kills and six blocks. Zoe Beals had some strong serves for the Hawks.

With the match even at a game apiece, Newtown was on the verge of going up 2-1 when Burns’ kill gave the visitors a 24-22 lead. The Eagles, however, scored the next four points to win the game.

McCoy’s kill gave the Nighthawks a 6-3 lead in game four, before the Eagles got three straight points. Calandro had kills — one on a hard hit and the other on a soft shot between Trumbull’s front and back rows — to answer a pair of Trumbull points. The fourth game was mostly back and forth until Trumbull used a 5-0 run to turn a one-point lead into a 17-11 advantage.

The Nighthawks battled as Leon-Gambetta and McCoy dove to keep balls in play, and the Hawks set up Calandro for hits at the net.

Czaplinski said he especially enjoyed working with the team this fall. The seniors, Calandro, Bender, and Wiberg, will leave big shoes to fill.

“I’m absolutely going to miss them — they were a great group,” the coach said. “It was a great group of girls to be around.”