MONROE, CT – Pushed to match point and trailing by four, the Masuk High men’s volleyball team came back to win Game 4 and force a deciding fifth set when visiting Newtown on April 7 .
In the end, Newtown won 3-2 (23-25, 25-16, 25-21, 24-26, 15-12).
The Nighthawks led 24-20 and were close to winning before Masuk picked up six straight points. Ryan Barringer’s kill tied things up and a pair of out-of-bounds hits by Newtown capped Masuk’s comeback.
Nathan Kurkoski serves for the Panthers against Newtown.
After Newtown took a three-point lead in the fifth, the Panthers kept things close. Nate McCauley had a block for a point to make it 4-2 Newtown and Owen Smith registered back-to-back kills to make it 5-4 in favor of the visitors.
The set continued to be tight, with the Nighthawks taking four more three-point leads to see the Panthers come back to within a point or two each time.
McCauley and Barringer’s run hits kept things interesting throughout.
McCauley finished with 19 kills, 5 blocks and 13 digs; Barrringer managed 11 wins; Nathan Kurkoski recorded 38 assists; and Jake Moreno compiled 13 digs.
The Panthers have a rematch with the Hawks, on the road, Monday, April 11 at 6 p.m.
