Jamie Lucas (top), Renee Wangler and the Falcon front line controlled the game almost from the outset.
Whittemore-Prescott's Heather Popielarz tries to dig one out against Ogemaw Heights on Wednesday.
Brent Baker
Ogemaw's Kelly Rosebrugh tips the ball past W-P's Catherine Daniels during Wednesday's contest.

OGEMAW HEIGHTS - Feb. 7, 2007 - Whittemore-Prescott had a chance to head into the North East Michigan Conference finals round-robin with a big advantage over its conference foes.

Ogemaw Heights made sure that the final weekend of the regular season will be a free-for-all.

The Falcons dominated the first two games against previously unbeaten W-P on Wednesday, then came back from a five-point deficit in the third game to take a 25-19, 25-17, 25-21 victory over the Cards. Ogemaw, W-P and Pinconning all have one loss in league play and, barring an upset, will have to wait until Feb. 24 to settle things once and for all.

"The girls did a great job putting the pressure on by hitting the ball hard and tipping to the holes," said Ogemaw coach Diane Gillette. "We struggled the last few games on serving and serve receive, but tonight we were mentally prepared and did a good job of executing both."

That was particularly true in the first two games, when Ogemaw came out firing and W-P seemed flat-footed. Jamie Lucas had a block and two kills early in the game to set the tone, and Renee Wangler's ace put the Falcons up 5-4, a lead they never gave up.

Ogemaw never trailed in the second game, quickly opening up a 13-5 lead and never letting the margin get below six.

While the Falcons played extremely well, the Cards were hurt by not having practiced during the days prior to the game due cold-related school cancellations.

"Being denied the opportunity to practice and prepare prior to a big match definitely proved disastrous for the girls," said W-P coach Helen Loomis. "We played sluggish on defense and had too many unforced errors. Despite my pleas to be able to practice the last two days, they were denied by the school administration.

"It's unfortunate we had to meet up with a strong team like Ogemaw after three days without touching a volleyball."

The Cards looked as though the rust had shaken off by the third game as they took a 15-10 lead as Catherine Daniels and Erica Loomis started getting the ball in better position to make plays.

The Falcons responded by turning up the pressure, with Lucas, Amber Schmitt and Kelly Rosebrugh turning in big hits down the stretch, while W-P hurt itself with a number of unforced errors.

"We are definitely in the running for first place in the conference," Gillette said. "W-P is a good team, and we knew we had to contain a couple of their hitters and keep the ball away from them."

Rosebrugh finished with 11 kills and nine digs for Ogemaw (29-10-6, 3-1 NEMC), with Lucas adding six kills, five aces, eight digs and one block. Jordan Foster added seven kills and 10 digs; Alicia Brown had seven digs; Holly Wangler had 20 assists and Schmitt had a block.

For W-P (22-7-2, 4-1), Loomis had nine kills and 14 digs; Daniels had 10 dills and one block; Katie Borushko had 14 digs and eight service points; Heather Popielarz had four service points; Miranda Oakley had 11 digs; Madie O'Farrell had two kills; and Ashley Foco had 17 assists.

The Cards host Tawas Area for their final midweek NEMC contest on Wednesday, Feb. 14, while Ogemaw is at Oscoda the same night and travels to John Glenn for a make-up match on Feb. 20.