Shelby Marshall receives a serve against John Glenn on Wednesday as teammate Mackenzie Diehl looks on.
John Glenn's Lauren Blumn was a big reason why the Bobcats won Wednesday's contest to claim the North East Michigan title.
Brent Baker
Jacie Lucas, who returned late in the year from an early-season knee injury, serves one up against John Glenn on Wednesday.

OGEMAW HEIGHTS - Oct. 29, 2008 - Ogemaw Heights needed to be at its best Wednesday if it wanted to defeat John Glenn and tie the Bobcats for the North East Michigan Conference volleyball title.

Glenn proved to be just a little better where and when it mattered, taking a 25-19, 25-19, 20-25, 25-21 victory over the Falcons to clinch sole possession of the Bobcats first NEMC title.

"(Second place) was definitely not the outcome we had hoped for in conference," said Ogemaw coach Diane Gillette. "We knew John Glenn was going to be tough and we had to play at our best.

"The girls played hard and never gave up. We struggled with being aggressive at the net and tried tipping the ball. John Glenn did a great job of reading our hitters and picking up the tip."

The Falcons got more aggressive as the match went on, but the tip game definitely worked to Glenn's advantage in the first two games. The Bobcats kept most of the Falcon tips from hitting the floor, which set up powerful outside hitters Lauren Bluhm and Sara Vittitow for a most chances for kills. Those two, plus some timely blocking from Holly Duncan, keyed a late 5-0 run in the first game that gave the Bobcats a 22-14, then kept that momentum going in the second game as Glenn raced out to leads of 12-4 and 17-10 before the Falcons fought back.

Jorie Lucas and Angela Carollo had key hits during a 9-5 Falcon run that cut it to 22-19, but kills by Bluhm, Breanne Krager and a game-ending ace from Shannon Demers gave the Bobcats a two-game lead.

The Falcons got their first lead of the match in game three when Kalena Franklin's kill scored the game's first point, and Lauren Gillette followed with five straight serves, including three aces, to make it 6-0. The Bobcats later tied the game up, and Vittitow tried to take over the game as Glenn cut a 23-15 Falcon lead to 23-20, but two Glenn errors ended the game in Ogemaw's favor.

Ogemaw held a slim lead through much of the fourth game, going up 20-18 on Emily Sheltrown's block, but Bluhm's three consecutive kills shifted the momentum Glenn's way. Deidre Wellhousen's two straight aces put Glenn in control, and Bluhm wrapped up the match, fittingly, with a big kill from the right side.

Even with the loss, the Falcons finished the regular season at 25-7-4, 7-3 in NEMC play. The host the Class B District 62 tournament next week, playing Tawas Area or Houghton Lake on Wednesday, Nov. 5, at 6 p.m.

"Second in the conference is not bad, and I'm proud of each and every girl on the team," Gillette said. "We now need to look ahead and focus on the district games next week. Our season is not over and we are going to regroup and focus now on districts."

Ogemaw Stats: Jorie Lucas 5 kills, 5 aces; Lauren Gillette 20 assists, 5 aces, 21 digs; Angela Carollo 7 kills; Kalena Franklin 8 kills, Emily Sheltrown 20 digs.