A spirited comeback effort in a pivotal third set fell just short and Newtown High School’s girls’ volleyball team lost 3-1 (22-25, 25-13, 25-23, 25-18) to visiting St Joseph of Trumbull in the season-opener on September 2.

This was the first of five consecutive matches with FCIAC opponents out of the gate before the Nighthawks dip into their slate with South-West Conference rivals.

“We were hoping to set a tone for the season. We didn’t do that but there is room for improvement,” captain and middle hitter Allie Nowacki said.

After winning the first set the Nighthawks found themselves down 15-9 and climbed to within two points at 20-18. St Joe’s pulled ahead 24-18 and sent things to set point but the Nighthawks fended off defeat five times before the Cadets finally closed out the win to take a 2-1 match lead.

Kills by Jordan Kemp and Rylan Kennedy, a service ace by Elena Burdo, and strong hit by Nowacki that led to a point helped the Nighthawks chip away and nearly steal the momentum.

In set four, the Cadets jumped out to a commanding 12-3 lead despite nice defensive plays by libero Leah Botta and Burdo, some of the diving variety. A smash by Cassie Pickering and cross-court kill by Kennedy sparked a short-lived bit of Nighthawk momentum and St Joseph went ahead 20-8. Newtown again showed fight, going on a 9-1 run to make it 21-17. Nowacki’s block/kill started the surge. Pickering’s kill of contact, and a Kemp hit to cap off a long back-and-forth rally, along with some Cadet mishits, allowed the Hawks to make things interesting.

After the Cadets stopped the bleeding, the Hawks answered when Burdo made a diving save that led to a point, but St Joe’s closed things out with the next two points.

Newtown made St Joe’s earn many of their points but some unforced errors, both in the service game and in the flow of play — including hits into the net or out of bounds — hurt the home team, which features several faces new to the starting lineup this fall.

Nowacki finished with 13 kills, three aces, and five blocks; Pickering logged 11 kills and a block; Kemp had seven kills and a pair of blocks; and Botta had two aces and three digs.

“Our team dynamic is good,” said Nowacki, anticipating bouncing back in upcoming matches.

“I’m very excited — it’s my senior year so I’m hoping to make my mark and build up the team this year,” she said.

Newtown, after matches with Darien, Ridgefield, Greenwich, and Fairfield Ludlowe, will face its first SWC competition in a Monday, September 15, visit to New Fairfield at 5:30 pm.

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