Newtown High School’s girls’ volleyball team won its South-West Conference playoff opener, toppling visiting New Milford 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-14) on October 27. The Nighthawks, the tourney’s No. 2 seed, survived scares in each of the first two games, then pulled away in the clincher to overcome the No. 7 Green Wave in this quarterfinal-round match.

Newtown advances to take on No. 3 Weston, a winner over No. 6 Bunnell of Stratford, in the tourney’s semifinals (scheduled to take place at neutral site Masuk of Monroe on Wednesday, October 29 at 5 pm).

Kyle Dandrea had 14 kills, seven digs, and three service aces; Jamie Calandro had 11 digs and ten kills; Tessa Leon-Gambetta had eight digs; Clara Whaley had seven kills and four aces; Molly McCoy had 36 assists to go along with two aces; Julia Wiberg added four kills; and Tonya Tucker contributed three aces.

Newtown, after pulling out the first game, sweated it out again in game two. The Nighthawks overcame an early 7-2 deficit and didn’t take its first lead until Wiberg’s kill made it 16-15. Down 15-13, Leon Gambetta and Dandrea both had diving efforts to keep the ball in play, leading to a point, then Whaley served an ace to even the score, setting up Wiberg’s go-ahead hit. The Nighthawks added to their lead. Clinging to a slim late-game advantage, Newtown sealed the win with a Calandro kill followed by a Tucker ace.

In game three, Newtown used a 10-2 run to seize a 19-9 advantage and never looked back. Alexa Reilly and Whaley had aces, and kills by Calandro, Whaley, and Dandrea sparked the team’s pull-away. Dandrea served to close out the match and came up with an ace that landed just inside the back line to clinch the win.

Newtown Coach Tom Czaplinski noted that his team was shaky at times, but was pleased that the girls prevailed, and credited the Green Wave for putting up a good fight.

“They broke down a little bit today but they held their composure and managed to get things done,” the coach said.

Czaplinski is hoping his squad returns to its form from the regular season-ending three-set win over visiting East Lyme on October 24. He noted that it was the best his team has played all year long. “It just seemed like everything clicked,” Czaplinski said.

Newtown, with a win in the semifinals, will advance to the championship match which will be held on Saturday, November 1 at 7 pm at a site to be determined.

“Tom [Czaplinski] always says we need heart and self-belief – mental toughness,” said Whaley, noting that the team has to also remain positive as it tries to go deep into the playoffs – SWCs and the upcoming state tournament.

“We just have to keep up our energy and keep up the upswing,” said Calandro, whose squad has won ten straight matches overall.