The Spartans' Lori LaFave (4) tries to foil the block attempt of Ogemaw's Jamie Lucas.
Ogemaw's Kelly Rosebrugh leaves her impression on the ball.
Brent Baker
Alyssa Gruszynski powers one over net net as teammates Shelby Resmer (13) and Lori LaFave (4) look on.

OGEMAW HEIGHTS - Jan. 10, 2007 - Ogemaw Heights had the momentum and a large crowd on its side.

But when push came to shove, the Pinconning volleyball team responded as it always has over the past two and a half decades, holding on to take a 25-10, 25-19, 25-27, 25-18 over a Falcon squad that desperately wants to unseat the perennial champs.

"The girls kept their composure," said Pinny coach Marion Hornacek. "They showed some guts tonight. I'm proud of them."

It didn't look like the Spartans would need either guts or composure at first. The Falcons came out with a bit too much energy, serving the ball beyond the back line on four occasions in the first game and hitting the ball long four other times. Armed with those eight "free" points Pinny took a 25-10 win. The Falcons started to hit their stride in Game 2. With improved serving and showing their ability to get the ball to front line hitters Renee Wangler, Jamie Lucas, Kelly Rosebrugh and Jordan Foster, stayed within 22-19 before the Spartans were able to finish the game out.

"We came out very nervous and tentative in the first game," said Ogemaw coach Diane Gillette. "The team seemed to pick up the momentum in the next three games, but it was just not enough to come back and take them for the win."

Ogemaw never trailed in the third-game thriller. Wangler had three kills and several tips during an 8-1 Falcon run that gave Ogemaw a 20-12 lead. The Spartans came back behind Alyssa Gruszynski and Lori LaFave, tying it at 24-24 and 25-25 before a Spartan hit the ball into the net. Ogemaw's Alicia Brown took the serve and Pinny was unable to get it back over the net.

"I told the girls to just stay 'in system," Hornacek said. "We just needed to not panic and do what we do every day in practice. We just needed to keep our composure and work through it."

The between-game break helped Pinny a lot more than it did Ogemaw. Gruszynski had three kills early in the game to help the Spartans seize the momentum back and roared to a 23-12 lead.

Rosebrugh kept the Falcons alive with a well-placed ball to the back corner, Amber Schmitt turned in a block and Holly Wangler served consecutive aces to get the Falcon crowd back in the game. Renee Wangler's kill made it 23-18, but Pinny's Samantha Bellhorn found a hole to regain service, and Alisha Ouillette's ace finished the match.

"The girls did a nice job in the third game to force the fourth game of the night," Gillette said. "We now know what we need to work on to have a chance at beating them at the NEMC tourney at the end of the year.

Gruszynski finished with 7 kills, with Bellhorn adding 4 kills, 3 aces and 15 digs. LaFave had 18 assists and Ouillette tallied 25 digs.

For Ogemaw, Holly Wangler had 17 assists, 3 aces and 15 digs; Foster had 20 digs and 8 kills; Renee Wangler had 10 kills; Roebrugh had 15 digs and 2 aces; Schmitt had 5 kills and 2 blocks; Lucas had 8 kills and 2 blocks and Brown had 12 digs.

Pinny improved to 7-10-3 overall (2-0 NEMC) while Ogemaw dropped to 20-6-3 (1-1). The teams will play again at the NEMC final round-robin in late February, along with playing each of the other league teams.