Almost every serve Newtown High School’s boys’ volleyball team put into play put the visiting Joel Barlow of Redding Falcons on their heels.

And on defense, the Nighthawks got to seemingly every ball to keep the momentum going.

In the end, Newtown successfully defended its South-West Conference championship in convincing fashion, defeating the Falcons 3-0 (25-22, 25-11, 25-16) on May 24.

The top-seeded Nighthawks beat the No. 2 Falcons in the pinnacle match for the second year in a row as Ardi Kodzodziku earned Most Valuable Player honors.

Kodzodziku had 15 kills, 12 digs, seven service points, and a pair of aces.

The Nighthawks accumulated 40 service points and a half dozen aces in the triumph.

“We worked on coming up with different serves and serving to different spots,” said Newtown Coach Sandy Doski, adding that the goal was to take Barlow out of its system.

“We are very good at doing that,” said Doski, whose team carries its unbeaten ways into the state playoffs.

The first set was the closest. Barlow was within two points multiple times late in the opening game, and Danny Schreiber ended it with a kill.

Newtown jumped out to the early lead in set two and used a 6-0 run to seize a commanding 15-4 cushion.

Spikes by Kodzodziku, an ace by Kodzodziku, well-placed hit by Eric Moore, and kills by Robbie Morrill and Schreiber contributed to the team pulling away.

Morrill had back-to-back aces, the latter of which landed just inside the back row as Newtown doubled up the opposition’s point total and extended to a 20-10 lead.

The Hawks displayed plenty of power with booming cross-court slams and down-the-middle blasts, but also used some touch. A soft hit by Kodzodziku found open court for an 11-point lead, Newtown finished game two on an 8-1 run, culminating with a Barlow service error.

In the clinching game, Barlow was hanging around, down 11-7, before Newtown went on a 10-2 run to all but put things away.

Kills by Morrill and Kodzodziku led the Nighthawks to a 21-9 advantage. Barlow went on a 5-0 run for a glimmer of hope before Newtown’s MVP restored order with a booming kill for a 22-14 lead.

A pair of James Belden aces made it a ten-point differential and brought things to match point. Barlow staved off defeat with two points, but Kodzodziku’s kill sealed the win.

“It feels awesome considering we just started our team four years ago,” said Kodzodziku, whose squad went from startup to standout in a hurry with last year’s championship.

The encore took a lot of dedication and hard work on the part of the returnees as well as the newcomers to the lineup.

“It feels so good. I’m so happy. This group has really worked from day one,” Doski said. “They worked hard all offseason long. They push each other.”

Newtown’s approach and mindset were every bit as important as its play on the court, the coach believes.

“I think our attitude was a great part of it. We didn’t take them lightly even though we beat them twice earlier this season. Anything can happen,” Doski said.

“They don’t get flustered. They know what to do out there. It’s a fun group to watch play and a fun group to coach,” Doski said.

“Credit to Newtown. They had a great tempo — really discipline team,” Barlow Coach Chris Lovelett said.

Setting by Moore and Max Wrage — a variety of passes to the middle, near and far sides, and some over-the-back feeds — kept Barlow’s defense guessing.

Morrill finished with 11 kills, seven digs, ten service points, and two aces. Moore logged 14 digs, 14 assists, six service points, and two kills.

Wrage had six digs to go along with his 20 assists, as well as six service points, and a one kill.

Robert DiSibio, new not only to the team but to the sport of volleyball, tallied eight kills and five blocks.

Schreiber recorded four digs, eight kills, and a trio of blocks. Belden had nine digs, seven service points, and two aces. Keenan Murphy contributed four service points.

“I think today was a collective effort We all just played our hearts out,” Kodzodziku said.