Newtown High School’s girls volleyball team defeated visiting Notre Dame Prep of Fairfield 3-0 (25-18, 26-24, 25-22) on October 3. Then, the Nighthawks not only topped Bethel 3-1 (25-19, 25-17, 21-25, 25-8) in a home match on October 7, but — as a program with fundraising efforts — worked to help Assistant Coach/JV Head Coach Lisa Burbank’s sister JoAnn Meyers’ efforts to beat systemic breast cancer.

There were raffles and gift bags containing donations from area businesses, and a sea of pink in the stands, on the bench, and on the court, with fans and players alike decked out in pink.

In the win over Notre Dame, Rylan Kennedy had six kills and two blocks; Cassie Pickering had three aces, five kills, two blocks, and a trio of digs; Addy Cordova had three aces and four digs; Elena Burdo had an ace and four digs; Charlotte Miller registered three kills, a block, and two digs; Allie Nowacki had five kills, and Jordan Kemp and Sophia Galassi each had four kills; Ava Lombardo racked up 28 assists to go along with an ace, a kill, and one block; and Taylor Leighton had a pair of aces.

Against Bethel, the Nighthawks racked up 18 aces, led by seven from Miller, who also had a pair of kills, one block, and a dig. Nowacki compiled 13 kills to go along with two aces, five blocks, and a dig; Lombardo had nine kills, two aces, a block, one dig, and 39 assists; Pickering logged five kills, two aces, two blocks, and a pair of digs; Kemp delivered four kills; and Kennedy added three kills.