By Kim J. Harmon

NEW MILFORD – Things were NOT going well early in the South-West Conference volleyball match between Newtown and New Milford . . . at least, NOT for Newtown. The Nighthawks looked as discombobulated as any group of six girls could be.

But somewhere along the way the tide – or the worm, as it were – turned. It probably happened when Shannon Kohn stepped to the service line and rifled an ace to give Newtown its first point of the first game.

The ‘Hawks slowly, but surely, woke from their slumber and then lumbered off to a 3-0 (15-12, 15-4, 15-7) win that boosted their record to 7-4 overall, 7-3 in the SWC. A couple more wins and the ‘Hawks will clinch a spot in the conference tournament.

But on Tuesday, they got off to a terribly slow start. There was little communication going on, no sharp passes, and little aggressive at the net and it showed as the Green Wave opened with a quick, 6-0 lead.

Then Kohn came up with her ace.

A few moments later, the rally really started to shape up when Jenn Murphy reeled off a couple of service points. Kate Anderheggen followed with a nice stuff at the net and Ally Gellert whipped off two consecutive aces and all of a sudden Game #1 was tied at 7-7.

Gellert, in fact, was at the service line as Anderheggen slammed a kill to give the ‘Hawks their first lead, 8-7. A long hit by the Green Wave gave the ‘Hawks another point and a 9-7 lead. Strong service by Brittany Hutchison and Kristen Correa kept Newtown moving and Kohn seemed to really put the match away with a couple of aces.

The Green Wave, though, did manage to get as close as one point, 13-12. But that’s when Jessica Phillips stepped up and exerted some influence on the game. She had two great hits on sideouts and a block that set the ‘Hawks up for the winner, a block by Anderheggen.

Game #2 went much more smoothly for the ‘Hawks. Thanks to a pair of aces from Gellert and kills from Anderheggen, Jamie Lindquist and Erin Carolan, the ‘Hawks jumped out to an 8-0 lead. The Green Wave was never in the game and Phillips finished ‘em off with another kill.

Game #3 was a bit more of a struggle. Murphy started the ‘Hawks off on a 2-0 lead, but the Green Wave rallied for three consecutive points to take their first lead since early in Game #1. The ‘Hawks got down only as much as two before rallying themselves. A kill by Stephanie Logan, a beautiful back line ace by Correa, another ace by Correa, and a Logan block put Newtown ahead, 7-5.

A nifty save by Anne Schneider was the highlight of Game #3. From there, the ‘Hawks pulled away. The Green Wave did get as close as 10-7, but the ‘Hawks scored the final five points – a big smash by Carolan being the most dramatic – to put the game and match away.

Gellert finished with four kills and seven digs while Phillips finished with six blocks and Logan recorded five kills.

The ‘Hawks – who have won five of their last six matches – will travel to Bridgeport on Friday to take on Kolbe-Cathedral and then will host Masuk on Monday in a 7 pm contest. On Wednesday, October 17, they will travel to Milford to battle Jonathan Law.