Newtown High School’s girls’ volleyball team won consecutive matches, defeating host New Fairfield 3-0 (25-10, 25-14, 25-7) on September 22, and topping visiting Masuk of Monroe 3-1 (21-25, 25-10, 25-16, 25-10) on September 24.

“We’re trying to build our confidence so the last two matches, this one especially, have helped with that,” Newtown Coach Tom Czaplinski said after the Masuk match, referring to the fact Masuk was more challenging than New Fairfield.

“Our passing has gotten a lot better. ... We’re controlling the ball a lot more,” said Czaplinski, adding that communication is an area in which the Nighthawks need to improve.

Against New Fairfield, Newtown logged 29 aces, led by nine from Zosia Teraskiewicz, seven from Shannon Muckell, and five apiece from Haley Austermann and Chloe O’Connell. Amaro Beard-Galati had six kills, and Keyera Smith and Delia Clouden had five and four, respectively.

After dropping the first game to Masuk, the Hawks surged back to even things, led by strong serving from Teraskiewicz. Newtown went up two games to one by fending off the Panthers. The Hawks jumped out to a 6-1 lead in game three and withstood Masuk’s rally to pull to within 8-7. A diving save by Lauren Young led to a Smith kill as part of a 4-0 answer to Masuk’s run of points, staking Newtown to a 12-7 lead. The Panthers did not go away, pulling to within 16-14 before the Nighthawks seized control. A kill and consecutive aces by Clouden and cross court kill by Smith helped set things up for Beard-Galati’s game-ending block at the net.

Clouden’s strong serves, including some of her five aces in the match, helped Newtown grab control early in game four to close out the victory.

Smith finished with 18 kills and five digs; Teraskiewicz had eight kills, 21 assists, and a pair of aces; Beard-Galati logged seven kills and a block; Clouden had eight kills; Muckell racked up 25 assists; and O’Connell had five digs and two aces.

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