STANDISH-STERLING - Sep. 2, 2009 - Standish-Sterling hung with Ogemaw Heights for the first game of Wednesday's NEMC volleyball matchup but couldn't sustain its momentum as the Falcons pulled away to a 25-23, 25-11, 25-11 sweep of the Panthers.

Ogemaw Heights coach said her team awakened after a slow start.

"We started really slow and tentative," she said. "In the second and third games we picked up the tempo and played our game.

"It was a total team contribution."

The Panthers took an 11-4 lead in the first game, but faded from there.

"We started out very strong," said SSC coach Becky Murphy. "We had a couple of injuries that seemed to take away our steam ... We just couldn't get it together after that. We were playing 'not to lose' rather than playing to win."

For the Falcons, Shelby Marshall had 12 digs, eight assists and six aces; Tori Rabadue had 11 digs; Jorie Lucas had seven kill and three aces; Alissa Thorson had eight kills; Sara Meier had six kills; and Andrea Gillette had 10 assists.

Leading the Panthers were Brooke Bartlett with 29 assists; Emily Meschke with six digs; Jessica Fenner with 11 attacks; and Meschke, Kelsey Prohaska, Emily Meschke, Danielle Milan and Christy Schott all with 100 percent serve efficiency.

Ogemaw improved to 4-6-2 (2-0 NEMC) with the win, while SSC fell to 1-6 (0-2).