MONROE, CT — Down 2-0 the Masuk High girls volleyball team rallied to defeat visiting Newtown on Wednesday night. The Panthers prevailed 24-26, 28-30, 25-20, 25-20, 15-9.
After a pair of hard-fought setbacks in which the Panthers and Nighthawks went extra points to decide things, the Panthers kept the match going with a third set win. In the third, Masuk built an early lead and withstood a 6-0 Nighthawk run that trimmed the advantage to a point at 21-20 before finishing on a 4-0 run capped by an ace from Casey Frangus.
In set four, Lily Yerrington’s kill capped a 7-0 run for an 8-4 lead and, after the Panthers fell behind by five, they reeled off another six in a row with Sophie Gustinis making a block at the net for a 16-15 lead. The set went back and forth until Masuk finished with three straight points highlighted by another Frangus ace and a point by Gustinis.
In the fifth and decisive set, Abby Urkawich, Laura Micu, Gustinis and Frangus had key kills to earn the victory.
In the Wednesday win middle hitter Yerrington had an ace, 10 kills and 5 digs; outside hitter Micu recorded 2 aces, 7 kills, 2 blocks and 15 digs; outside hitter Urkawich had 2 aces, 15 kills, 1 block, 10 digs and 2 assists; setter Mia Tyler had 2 aces, 28 assists and 10 digs; and middle hitter Gustinis recorded 3 kills and 3 blocks.
“Newtown is always an exciting match. We look forward to it every year,” said Masuk Coach Carol Ortiz, adding that the matchup creates a lot of energy on the court.
The latest matchup took about two-and-a-half hours and featured some long rallies.
“They’re exhausted but they fought for it and they really earned it for sure,” Ortiz said.
The Panthers were coming off a 3-1 home win over Immaculate on Monday. Masuk came back to win three in a row after dropping the first set.
Urkawich had 4 aces, 12 kills and 18 digs; Addison Scott posted 2 aces and 11 kills; Tyler racked up 40 assists to go along with 11 digs; Micu had 14 kills and 9 digs; and Yerrington added 2 aces, 11 kills and 2 blocks.
The Panthers will play their third match in five days when they host New Milford tonight at 7 p.m.
