Newtown High School Volleyball Team Bounces Back In State Tournament

By ANDY HUTCHISON

Published: Nov 14, 2008 12:00 am

By Andy Hutchison

After falling in the South-West Conference Championship match for the second year in a row, the Newtown High School girlsâ volleyball team avoided following suit with another early exit in the Class LL State Tournament.

In fact, not only did the Nighthawks win their first state tourney match, but they also won their second this past week to move halfway through the bracket toward a state championship.

No. 2 seed Newtown, after a first round bye, blanked No. 15 Danbury 3-0 (25-15, 25-14, 25-21) in the second round and No. 7 Staples (25-16, 25-20, 25-20) in the quarterfinals to advance to Thursdayâs semifinal match against No. 6 Fitch (after The Bee went to press).

This equals the deepest an NHS squad has gotten in states in the ten years Coach Tom Czaplinski has been with the team. With a win in the semis, Newtown would face the winner of top-seeded and unbeaten Greenwich and No. 12 Norwich Free Academy.

Last yearâs Nighthawks, after an undefeated regular season and defeat in the SWC finale, lost in their first state tourney game. The returnees felt the satisfaction of bouncing back this year, all the while, remaining hungry to keep winning and keep their season alive.

âThis yearâs squad has a little more hunger and a little more fight in it,â Czaplinski said.

Certainly the sting of SWC championship game defeats two years in a row contributed to the returneesâ motivation.

âWe came back in states knowing we wanted to go further and we put our hearts into it,â said senior captain Jocelyn Pasko.

In the win over Danbury on November 6, Newtown got 10 kills, 12 digs and eight aces from captain Jordyn Good, who celebrated not only the win but also her birthday with her teammates. Pasko had five kills; Ashley Rothacker contributed 22 assists; Megan Casey compiled 10 digs and seven aces; and Abbey Doski had seven digs.

âIt feels good. Itâs just good to know weâre back. Itâs nice to know we are mentally tough enough to rebound from such a devastating loss like that,â Good said of rebounding from the 3-2 heartbreaker to underdog Bethel in the SWC final.

On Saturday, Newtown beat Staples behind 22 digs from Doski, 20 digs and nine kills from Good, 25 assists from Rothacker, and 12 digs and 10 kills from Casey.

âWeâve been playing well. Weâre doing a lot better than we did in the SWC Tournament and in the season,â Czaplinski said. âThe intensity has picked up â the confidence has picked up.â

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It seems a lot of the discussion around the flagpole focuses on vilifying drivers who pass on the right, but the real issue is being overlooked. If Chapter 248 Section 14-251 were enforced, we wouldn’t see this problem to begin with. That statute prohibits stopping in the middle of a roadway to yield to cross traffic—as so often happens with cars waiting to turn from Church Hill. When vehicles stop illegally in the travel lane, they effectively create a blockage. Other drivers then either sit through unnecessary delays or carefully pass around them on the right, which is fully permitted when the vehicle ahead is “illegally parked” in the roadway. Instead of punishing drivers reacting to the obstruction, enforcement should focus on the cause: vehicles unlawfully stopping and backing up traffic in the first place. If that behavior were addressed, the need to “go around” would largely disappear.

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John, you raise an important point — these situations are tragic, complicated, and often far less clear-cut than the headlines make them seem. In the Fredericksburg case, the full facts still aren’t publicly known, and like so many of these stories, there’s conflicting information. It was apparently the back door at 3 a.m. — was it justified to use deadly force? We don’t know yet. What we do know is that the homeowner has been charged, and as you rightly noted, that is very serious. But this is also where perspective matters. These cases are quickly sensationalized in the news and on social media, yet when the dust settles, the outcomes are rarely publicized. People forget that in our system, you are innocent until proven guilty. Try to find much coverage of the convication in the case of the Fairfield Realtor vehicle homicide, or updates on the woman who shot her husband a couple of Christmases ago, or even the pedestrian death in Sandy Hook a year or so back. The follow-through simply isn’t there, and public opinion is often shaped only by the first round of headlines. At the end of the day, these situations remind us how split-second decisions in the middle of the night can change lives forever — which is exactly why the right to protect one’s property, home and family is so fiercely debated, and lucky constitutionally protected.

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First the low hanging fruit. Dave; it was a joke, please get over it. You are the only person in Newtown that thought I really wanted to build a stadium on 6 Commence Rd. Now on to Alex. You might not appreciate my writing style or my selection of words, but let's not loose sight of the fact that by responding to my letter in the manner that you did, you have removed any doubt whatsoever that you have no idea of the quantifiable benefits you are dismissing not only for the town, but also for protesters. Either you stopped listening at the word "ordinance" or you never started.. Your constitutional rights to assemble were never in question and would actually be strengthened and there would be literally no impediments. We could even title it "The Alex Villamil Ordinance" if you want. It could be your legacy and actually show Newtown your willingness to work in a bipartisan way for the betterment of the town. Businesses would be protected. Traffic wouldn't be interrupted. The town would save hundreds of thousands of dollars in police overtime. And maybe most importantly, the town could prevent another tragedy while mitigating legal risk in the event something terrible happens at a protest. Nothing bad could never happen in Newtown right? All that could be accomplished by a simple, non-intrusive ordinance unless all the detriments to our town are intentional in order to bring more attention to your cause. Alex, this was not me throwing a temper tantrum. Believe me, you will know it if that happens. I am just putting Newtown first. From that perspective, if you think critically, the regulation is necessary. It makes sense logically, rationally, and is reasonable. There is absolutely no down side. None. I would be willing to sit down with you to see if we could come to some type of compromise if you want. Let me know. You would be amazed how much you can accomplish when there is dialogue amongst neighbors.

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Newtown High School Volleyball Team Bounces Back In State Tournament

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