Nighthawk Volleyball Team Spikes Southington — Captures State Crown

By Andy Hutchison

WATERBURY — Whether it was a clutch defensive effort to keep a ball in play, a perfectly executed bump-set-booming spike, or well-timed soft touch for a point, Newtown High School’s girls’ volleyball team had it all working in the November 19 Class LL state tournament championship match.

It proved to be just enough for the third-seeded Nighthawks to outlast a resilient fourth-seeded Southington squad 3-1 (25-23, 24-26, 27-25, 26-24) at Wilby High’s gymnasium.

In addition to all of the games being nail-biters, three of the four required extra play since it takes two points to decide a match and the first team to reach 25 had to break a 24-apiece deadlock to get there in games two, three, and four. The closeness of the match made coming out on top feel immensely rewarding for the Nighthawks.

“That’s the best part of it. Southington was a very good team — every game decided by two points — and they wanted it as much as we did,” Newtown Coach Tom Czaplinski said. “It was fun to be a part of.”

The Nighthawks got 23 kills from most valuable player Emma Herring, who not only complied nearly a game’s worth of points, but also prevented several Southington tallies with blocks at the net through-out this back-and-forth battle.

“Emma was amazing for us again today — she wanted the ball,” Czaplinski said.

“I just fed off of my teammates — they kept their energy up. Jess [Lynch’s] sets were phenomenal,” Herring added.

Lynch, the team’s setter on almost every sequence, compiled 40 assists. Libero Abbey Doski dove all over the floor and accumulated 34 digs. Sam Steimle had ten kills, and Riley Wurtz and Alyssa Finkenstadt had five and four, respectively. Wurtz added seven digs, and Cassie Ekstrom, Amanda Rowan, and Courtney Escoda all came up with contributions to help send the Hawks into a season-ending celebration.

“It feels great. We’ve been looking forward to this for so long,” Doski said. “It’s always been something that’s fallen just out of reach. To have [the championship] feels surreal.”

The Nighthawks, who also won the South-West Conference title for the second year in a row, moved the ball around well, used strong communication, and good decisions as to where and how hard to hit the ball during the pinnacle state match.

“There’s no such thing as a perfect game but the girls came as close as you possibly could to it today. They never gave up, they had their heads in it the whole time. They wanted it today,” Czaplinski said.

Herring finished off a tight-throughout game one with a dink setup-heavy hit finisher. Herring went up high for a kill and softly touched the ball over the net, sending three Southington players scrambling for the ball. They got it back over the net but were in no position — all on the floor — to handle her game-ending smash.

Game two was all Newtown in the early going. The Hawks established a 7-1 lead, capped by Ekstrom’s kill, and a well-placed Wurtz dink opened up a 10-2 lead before Southington clawed back. After the Nighthawks found themselves deadlocked at 13, they scored the next three, with a Lynch ace making it 16-13, but Southington went on a 7-1 run to seize a 20-17 advantage. Newtown fought back to tie the score four times. Wurtz got up high to slow down a kill attempt, which led to Herring’s kill to make it 23-23. Southington reached match point at 24-23 but another Herring kill again tied it. Southington, however, got the last two points to even the match at a game apiece.

Game three was a virtual mirror image of game two, with Southington jumping out to a 9-2 lead only to see its counterparts come roaring back. Herring’s strong serves, which included an ace, helped Newtown to four straight points and an 11-10 edge. Doski’s ace staked Newtown to a 16-12 lead, prompting a Southington timeout. The teams traded points before a late-game Southington mini-run forged a 23-all score. Timeout Newtown.

Southington grabbed a one-point lead and, again, was at match point, only to see the Hawks knot the score and force some extra play. Southington went up 25-24 and was — yet again — one point away from claiming the game win. Finkenstadt’s kill drew Newtown even, Wurtz came up with a clutch service ace, and Steimle’s kill finished off the 27-25 thriller.

Then came the fourth game. The Hawks had everything working from the onset, and established a seemingly commanding 7-0 lead. Newtown maintained its momentum en route to a 15-4 advantage. The Hawks scored points in a vast variety of ways, but Southington wasn’t going away, scratched and clawed, and finally got the game tied at 22. Steimle’s kill, following some strong defensive plays to prevent a Southington point, made it 23-22 NHS. The teams matched points until a Doski dig/save set up Escoda’s game-ending hit — too hot for the Southington players to handle, the kill iced it.

The Nighthawks avenged last year's state tournament elimination handout from Cheshire with a win in this year's state tourney's semifinals at Foran High in Milford on November 17.

The Nighthawks were in the same position a year ago, leading the Rams 2-0 and seemingly on the verge of closing out their counterparts. Then came a 3-0 Rams rally that sent the Nighthawks home with a second-round departure and an empty feeling.

Fast forward to this year's matchup. Newtown again built a 2-0 lead, but put the proverbial axe down to close out the win with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-22) triumph over the second-seeded Rams.

Newtown, before dropping one to Southington, hadn't lost a game in this year's state playoffs; after earning a first-round bye, Newtown toppled Norwich Free Academy in the second round, then Staples of Westport in the quarterfinals. Despite winning each match in the minimum number of games, Newtown certainly has had to work hard for it. The Staples match featured scores of 25-22, 27-25, and 25-21. Against the Rams, after pulling out a five-point win in game one, NHS established a commanding double-digit game two lead before the opposing team climbed back into the match, ultimately succumbing to the Hawks on Rowan's game-ending kill. Then, in game three, neither team led by more than two points — going back and forth — until the Hawks finished things off with a 3-0 run.

In the semifinal win, Herring led the way with 17 kills, Finkenstadt had 11 kills, and Wurtz and Ekstrom had six and four, respectively. Doski compiled 14 digs, Wurtz had eight digs, and Escoda and Lynch both contributed five. Lynch had 38 assists to go along with a trio of kills. Herring had three service aces, and Lynch and Finkenstadt each had a pair of aces.

Southington knocked off previously unbeaten Darien, also by a 3-0 score, in the other semifinal match.