How is this for competition to open the regular season? Facing the Class L State runner-up, then the Class LL State Champion, followed up by a date with a Class LL quarterfinalist, all FCIAC representatives. Talk about a challenging start.

Newtown High School’s girls’ volleyball team’s first three matches were against programs boasting these distinctions. The Nighthawks followed up a 3-1 loss at L runner-up St Joseph of Trumbull on September 3 with a 3-0 setback at home to two-time Class LL champ Darien on September 9. Then the Hawks were set to visit Greenwich, the team that knocked them out in the LL second round in last year’s bracket, on Wednesday.

“I love playing as many FCIAC schools we can get our hands on,” said Newtown Coach Tom Czaplinski, whose squad is to continue its FCIAC welcome-to-the-season party with a home match against Fairfield Ludlowe on Friday, September 13 at 6 pm.

The Nighthawks will also play Class L quarterfinalists East Lyme and Woodstock Academy, two more nonconference toughies, later in the season. Until then, and following the FCIAC showdowns the bulk of the schedule is against South-West Conference programs and Czaplinski is hopeful those out-of-conference clashes help show what his team needs to work on to improve and become a factor in both the conference and state playoffs.

After the first two matches, ball control, getting passes to the right spots, and serving are areas that need work, the coach said. Team chemistry is a strong point the Nighthawks are working to develop even more, Czaplinski added.

Newtown has displayed a good level of competitiveness, winning the first set of the season and hanging in there the rest of the way despite not getting over the hump against St Joes; final scores were 25-22, 17-25, 19-25, and 22-25. Ava Lombardo and Allie Nowacki each had three aces. Nowacki added a dozen kills, three blocks, and two digs; and Lombardo registered two kills, two blocks, and 40 assists. Sara Heinen recorded eight kills; Gianna Galassi had six kills and 11 digs; Emily Daoust had seven digs; and Cassie Pickering and Lauren Murphy logged six and five kills, respectively.

Against Darien, Newtown and the visiting Blue Wave went back and forth in set one, which featured ten ties. But after the Hawks knotted things at 18 apiece the Wave took over and rolled off seven straight points en route to winning the match 25-18, 25-19, 25-11. The Nighthawks had only three aces and 14 kills as a team due in large part to Darien’s stellar defense. Galassi had four kills and five digs; Heinen and Nowacki both had three kills; Daoust had six digs; and Addy Cordova added three digs.

Newtown, following the Ludlowe match, gets into SWC play on Monday, September 16, a home tilt with Stratford at 6 pm. The Hawks visit Masuk of Monroe Wednesday, September 18 at 7, and return home Friday, September 20 to take on Weston at 5:30.

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