Groton — To start off with Monday night, things were trending toward nightmarish for the Fitch High School volleyball team, which appeared to be somewhat disorganized ... and that was before the Falcons were penalized two points for serving out of rotation.

"I told them, 'Look, that game is over,'" Fitch coach Steve Banks told his players prior to game two.

Suddenly, a different Fitch team emerged for the remainder of its match against Eastern Connecticut Conference Division I rival Norwich Free Academy.

The Falcons got 15 kills and nine digs from freshman Nora Ryan and employed a Fitch-like gritty defense, led by 13 digs from libero Caroline Parker, to outlast NFA 11-25, 27-25, 21-25, 25-16, 15-11, blasting the defensive pressure in the final two games to remain unbeaten in the division.

Fitch, which graduated nine seniors last season, resulting in Banks elevating Ryan to varsity status — the first freshman he believes ever to earn that distinction during his coaching tenure — is 5-3 overall, 3-0 in the ECC.

The Falcons' three losses have been to out-of-league powers Avon, Glastonbury and Farmington, all coming by 3-0 margins, something which Banks believed would toughen his team up for conference play, hopefully giving Fitch confidence and not taking it away.

"The more we play, the more we learn, the more we trust each other," Banks said. "... I told the three captains, 'You've got to lead this group that hasn't been to the battles yet.'"

"They're a proud program. They have a good team," NFA coach Bill Howard said of Fitch, which knocked the Wildcats (4-1, 2-1) from the unbeaten ranks. "Anyone can come out flat in the first game. ... We just didn't handle the challenge. They had more energy at the end of the match than we did."

Mackenzie Burke had 19 kills and 18 digs for NFA and setter Kayley Ericson, whom Howard calls one of the best players in the state, had 39 assists and 17 digs.

But while NFA's offense ran smoothly, Fitch soon began getting balls back and winning long rallies, which Banks said can affect a team's morale.

NFA led the second game 25-24 before making a pair of errors. Fitch won the last three points for the 27-25 victory. NFA took control of the third game as Danielle Tirocchi served for three straight points to make it 22-20 and Elianna Jewell added a kill, as the Wildcats took a two-games-to-one lead.

Other than a seven-point scoring string for NFA in game four, bringing the score from 24-9 to 24-16 and prompting a Banks timeout, that was all the damage the Wildcats could muster against Fitch. The Falcons needed just one point to close out the game and, following the timeout, got it from Ryana Kelsey.

Things were even in the fifth game until Fitch took an 8-7 lead, then 9-7 when Mercedes Miller served a line drive that NFA's back line couldn't return. Ryan hit a ball off an NFA blocker which fell on the NFA side of the net for a 10-8 lead, Abby Hagley hit a well-placed point right in the middle of a circle of Wildcats' defenders and Parker served to make it 14-10 and 14-11.

A service error by NFA closed the match.

"Coach started pumping us up and we brought ourselves together," said Ryan, who is 5-foot-11. "... There's a lot of tough expectations (as a freshman), but the team welcomed me in. Coach is very intense, but he's a little more lenient (with us)."

"I had to tell them, 'It's not mean if I raise my voice a little bit,'" Banks said. "You've got to see the temperament of your team."

Ciarra Jimenez added nine kills, Miller seven and Olivia Nordstrom 29 assists for Fitch, but Banks said it was a team effort on defense which was the key against NFA.

Said Banks, in his 20th season: "We grind it out. It's kind of our trademark."

v.fulkerson@theday.com