Newtown High School's girls' volleyball team made it back-to-back three-set wins, following up a victory at Bassick of Bridgeport on October 7 with a minimum sets victory over visiting Bethel two days later.

The Nighthawks beat Bethel 25-19, 25-16, 25-22. Middle blockers Darla Paul and Mia Sullivan had nine and seven kills, respectively; outside hitter Rylan Kennedy had six kills; and middle blocker Sophia Galassi added four kills. Newtown racked up 15 service aces led by four from Remy Plummer, three from Ava Ashla, and two apiece from Aaliyah Erat, Diana Chomiak, Leah Botta, and Kennedy. Taylor Leighton compiled 15 assists and Sullivan had four blocks.

In the first set, after jumping out to a 7-0 lead, the Nighthawks went up to double digits before the Wildcats rallied and clawed all the way back to tie things. The Hawks finished strong with kills by Sullivan, Kennedy, and Emma Kozek, along with a set one-clinching service point by Botta helping the Hawks close it out.

Newtown led 5-4 before scoring eight unanswered points to seize control in the second set. Solid serving by Ashla and a timely kill by Paul sparked the momentum-grabbing swing. Newtown went up 22-9 with Erat's crisp serving game leading the charge. Bethel again refused to back down, using a 7-2 run to hang in there before Kennedy's kill put the Hawks up two games to none.

The third set was certainly a hard-fought battle. Bethel took its first lead of the match, at 7-6, and added to it, going up three points. The Hawks fought back to tie things at 10 apiece on Plummer's ace and reclaimed the lead, 11-10, on her ensuing service point. Paul's kill ended a long rally for a 12-10 advantage. NHS went up by as many as three points and held a 16-15 lead when a series of impressive plays kept the ball alive and led to a point. Chomiak and Botta had consecutive sliding saves, with Botta's going over the net and Bethel's back row for a point.

Clinging to a 19-17 edge, the Hawks again used great athleticism to earn a point. Kennedy got low to dig the ball from the center of the back row. Paul vacated her front row position to make a diving play to keep the ball alive and Botta hit it over the net for a 20-17 advantage.

The Wildcats and Hawks traded points, with a service point off the net by Plummer, Paul's kill off contact, and kills by Chomiak and Sullivan helping put away the victory.

"Hustle is fantastic," Nighthawk Coach Tom Czaplinski said of his team's play. "There were moments. We still have to work on being mentally tougher but we never give up — that's for sure."

Newtown improved to 8-5 overall following an 0-3 start against tough nonconference foes.

"Definitely making small improvements. We just need to keep working toward being a better-skilled team," Czaplinski said.

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