OGEMAW HEIGHTS - Nov. 6, 2008 - A week ago, the Ogemaw Heights volleyball team had to regroup after a disappointing loss to John Glenn cost the Falcons a share of their second straight North East Michigan Conference title.

But after Thursday's 25-18, 25-15, 12-25, 25-15 victory over Gladwin, the Falcon grabbed hold a prize that they haven't had in their hands for eight season: a district championship trophy.

The Falcons dominated three of the four games to claim their first district title since the 2000-2001 season.

"We didn't forget about the John Glenn loss," said Ogemaw coach Diane Gillette. "But after that game we focused on districts. We wanted this badly.

"We didn't want to lose out on two (goals). The girls worked hard all week."

The Falcons seemed in command after taking the first two games with relative ease and even held a 5-1 lead in the third game.

Gladwin didn't go down easily, though. Britni Balzer served up 16 straight points for the Flying G's, including five aces, and Kaylynn Dimond dominated the net offensively in a way she hadn't in the first two games.

By the time the Falcons regained service, they trailed 18-6 with virtually no hope of recovering Game 3.

"They had a huge lead," Gillette said, "and we probably weren't going to get back in it. I told the girls to focus on getting a few more points before the game ended, regain some momentum and take that into the fourth game."

The Falcons outscored Gladwin 6-5 before the G's finished off the third game.

Jorie Lucas took over the serve with the Falcons up 5-4 in the fourth game, and Ogemaw ran off seven straight points as Lucas had a pair of aces and Emily Sheltrown had three blocks and a kill during the run.

"Emily was just outstanding during the whole tournament," Gillette said.

After Gladwin pulled back to within 13-9, Angela Carollo had two kills and scored off a tip and Sheltrown added an ace as the Falcons went up 17-9 and never led by less than seven the rest of the way.

"Angela had a real nice fourth game," Gillette said. "Our passing was much better than last week. We stressed that we needed to be in control, and other than the third game tonight, we did that all week."

The Falcons (29-8-4) now await the winner of the U.P. district, which won't be known until Saturday. The regional tounament at Standish-Sterling is currently scheduled to begin Tuesday but may be rescheduled due to travel considerations.

This article will be updated as information becomes available.

Ogemaw Stats: Emily Sheltrown 18 kills, 28 digs, 3 blocks; Lauren Gillette 7 kills, 6 aces, 29 assists; Jorie Lucas 7 kills, 6 aces, 22 digs; Angela Carollo 9 kills; Shelby Marshall 19 digs, 5 aces; Paige Bachelder 5 kills, 9 digs.