Newtown High School’s boys’ volleyball team defeated host Shelton in the first round of the Class L state tournament on June 2. The Nighthawks, seeded ninth, prevailed 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-16) and avenged a 3-2 regular season loss to the eighth-seeded Gaels.

Thad Teraszkiewicz had 15 kills, six digs, an ace, and one block; Luke Hannan logged seven kills, two digs, and a trio of blocks; Matt Mattera had seven kills, six digs, four aces, and two blocks; and Sawyer Findley registered 34 assists to go along with one dig.

The Nighthawks benefitted from having setter Findley and libero Eli Kirby back in the lineup; they were both out for the first meeting between the teams.

“The boys played hard from the first whistle, putting up several blocks, serving tough, and getting Shelton out of system. They have been working hard on different offenses, and that kept Shelton guessing where the ball was going,” Newtown Coach Sandy Doski said.

With the win, the Hawks earned a trip to top-seeded Darien for a quarterfinal-round match on June 4. Newtown hung tough but fell 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-19). Mattera had seven kills, five digs, and three aces; Aidan Stout logged six kills, 14 digs, and an ace; Teraszkiewicz had six kills, nine digs, and one block; and Findley compiled 21 assists, seven digs, and an ace.

“Newtown played a great match against a very strong and disciplined Darien. Newtown played tough through all three sets, Just untimely, unforced errors let the Blue Wave gain momentum and carry that through to winning the set/match. The boys played the best they could have against them,” Doski said.

This was quite a season for the Nighthawks, all things considered. They went 11-5 during the regular slate and reached the South-West Conference championship match despite being inexperienced.

“For having a team with no varsity experience and making it all the way to the quarterfinals in states is a great accomplishment for these boys. I am very proud of the way we played against a very solid team who has won numerous state titles over the last 12 years,” Doski said.

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