Sandy Doski, coach of Newtown High School's boys' volleyball team, said during preseason that her goal was for a .500 or better campaign and a state playoff berth. This may have seemed like a tall order on paper given the third-year Nighthawks won just twice last year, but Doski knew her players had practiced hard in the offseason.

It took the Nighthawks only two competitions to match last season's win total, and the Nighthawks earned their first two triumphs in convincing fashion. The Hawks went to Kolbe Cathedral in Bridgeport and defeated the Cougars 3-0 (25-19, 25-12, 25-22) on April 5, then posted a 3-0 (25-13, 25-12, 25-14) victory over Fairfield Ludlowe two days later.

Against Kolbe, Silas Decker had seven kills, two aces, two assists, and a block; Ardi Kodzodziku logged five kills, two aces, and two assists; Gavin Stubbs recorded six kills and a pair of blocks; and Nick Lansing had 12 assists. Newtown dropped a pair of 3-2 battles with Kolbe last spring.

In the win over Ludlowe, Decker had ten kills, three aces, and one block; Kodzodziku compiled six kills, and three aces; Stubbs registered four kills, and one block; and Lansing, Jacob Duffy, and Jackson Fletcher added two kills each.

The Nighthawks have displayed plenty of skill, determination, and good court sense in the early going. Among the highlights from the win over Ludlowe was Kodzodziku making a diving play to keep a ball alive, then backing off after running to track down a long Ludlowe hit that narrowly landed out of bounds during the first game. Lansing had consecutive aces to help Newtown build its lead in game two. The Nighthawks had a slim lead in game three, but pulled away. Decker mixed and matched booming kills with tips that dropped into open space, and Lansing and Duffy scored points to help close things out.

The Nighthawks dropped a 3-1 (25-23, 17-25, 25-13, 25-16) decision to perennial South-West Conference powerhouse Joel Barlow of Redding on April 10. The Nighthawks were blanked 3-0 by Barlow twice last year. Newtown not only won a game in the most recent matchup, but nearly took the first game.

Kodzodziku had ten kills and a pair of aces; Fletcher had six kills, one block, and an ace; and Lansing compiled a dozen assists, to go along with a kill, ace, and block.

Doski notes that the Hawks have learned to get the ball into the right places to put away points, with Decker, Kodzodziku, and Fletcher the team's big hitters, and Stubbs a player who tips the ball well.

"He's a force to be reckoned with," Doski said.

"Their communication is good," Doski said. "The guys worked really hard over the winter season."