GAYLORD - Jan. 13, 2007 - Oscoda faced some tough competition at the Gaylord Invitational on Saturday, earning a split amongst the four matches the Owls played on the day.

The Owls opened with a 13-25, 29-31 marathon loss to Alpena, split 14-25, 25-18 with Rudyard, then lost to Gaylord 14-25, 15-25 and Pellston 15-25, 7-25.

"It was another hot-and-cold outing," said Oscoda coach Linda Hennigar. "We would play real well against some pretty tough teams and then around 15 points we would fall apart."

In the second game of the opener against Alpena, the Owls trailed 22-19 but came back to take a 24-22 lead. The teams traded the lead back and forth five times before the Wildcats pulled out the win.

"We played well during that 17-point stretch," Hennigar said. "The best that we played the rest of the day."

The Owls gave up 15 straight points in the first game against Rudyard, mostly on unforced errors, but came back to earn a win in the second game.

Against state-ranked Pellston, the Owls briefly held an 8-5 lead in the first game.

"We played better than we did Wednesday night against Alcona," Hennigar said. "We faced some pretty tough competition. My main concern right now is our lack of consistency of our play, because we play well for a period of time that tell me we are capable of playing some pretty good volleyball.

Now I have to find a way for us to constantly play well."

Leading the Owls (2-19-3 overall) were Margaret Negro with 13 kills, 2 tips, 6 blocks, 4 aces and 24 service points; Jeri Carl with 11 kills, 3 tips and 6 blocks; Briana Findeisen with 5 aces, 25 points and 14 digs; Krystin Inman with 24 points and 100 percent serving; Emily Schwedler with 24 assists; and Heather Patterson had 17 digs and played a strong defensive game.