SWC Volleyball Championship Set And State Playoff Brackets Announced
Newtown High School’s boys’ volleyball team will host Joel Barlow of Redding in the South-West Conference championship match on Friday, May 24, starting at 6 pm. The Nighthawks are the top seed. Barlow earned the No. 2 ranking by defeating Oxford in a tiebreaker match on May 22. Newtown is going for its second consecutive conference crown, having defeated Barlow in last spring’s title match.
The volleyball team is ranked second behind Southington and will have a first-round Class L state tournament bye. The spikers will host the winner of No. 7 East Hartford and No. 10 Trumbull in the quarterfinal on Friday, May 31, at 6 pm.
The rest of the state playoff brackets are set and Newtown’s lacrosse and baseball teams will open up at home; the softball squad begins state tourney play on the road. All times are subject to change; visit casciac.org for updates and complete bracket information for all spring sports.
Boys’ lacrosse: Seeded tenth, the NHS laxmen will entertain No. 23 Brien McMahon of Norwalk in the Class L qualifying round on Saturday, May 25. The teams will meet at Blue & Gold Stadium for a noon matchup. The winner advances to the quarterfinals and visits No. 7 Xavier of Middletown on Wednesday, May 29, starting at 4:30 pm.
Girls’ lacrosse: No. 6 Newtown will host No. 11 Wilton in the first round on Tuesday, May 28, at 5 pm. No. 3 Staples of Westport will host the winner of a qualifying-round matchup between No. 14 South Windsor and No. 19 Westhill of Stamford. The Newtown-Wilton winner either visits Staples or hosts the 14 or 19 seed, if Staples is upset, in the quarterfinals on Thursday, May 30, starting at 5 pm.
Baseball: The second-seeded Nighthawk sluggers host the winner of No. 31 Middletown and No. 34 Stamford in a first-round game on Tuesday, May 28. First pitch is set for 3:30 pm. With a win, the Hawks would host either No. 15 Naugatuck or No. 18 McMahon in the second round, the next day at 3:30 pm.
Softball: Newtown goes on the road but not very far with a first-round visit to Danbury on Tuesday, May 28, at 4 pm. NHS is the 17 seed and Danbury is the 16 seed in Class LL. The winner travels to No. 1 South Windsor on Wednesday, May 29, for a second-round game at 4 pm.
Tennis: The girls' and boys' tennis tourneys are underway and continue through the first week of June.
Nicole Fisher throws a pitch during conference playoff action. The state tourney begins on Tuesday, May 28 for softball, baseball, and girls' lacrosse. Boys' lacrosse state playoff action begins Saturday, May 25. (Bee Photo, Hutchison)