West Delaware, Mount Vernon meet Thursday in battle of unbeatens

They don't have the championship ring. They don't have the 6-foot-plus, Division-I players.“We don't have the big hitters that Mount Vernon has, but we have a lot of solid players that take care of the ball well,” said Brett Mather, volleyball coach at West Delaware High School.How do the Hawks stack up? Tune in Thursday.

Class 3A third-ranked West Delaware hopes to welcome No. 1 Mount Vernon with a packed gym for a Wamac Conference East Division showdown of unbeatens.Up a class after winning the 2A championship in 2009, the Mustangs (16-0 overall, 3-0 division) are ranked 13th nationally by prepvolleyball.com and have three D-I commitments - seniors Ali Stark (Illinois), Amanda Platte (Drake) and Courtney Kintzel (UNI).That trio combine for nearly 9 kills per game, and the Mustangs boast a team hitting efficiency of .416.“Certainly, our defense is going to have to step up if we're going to have success,” Mather said.Defense is what the Hawks (20-0, 2-0) do best. Like Mount Vernon, this is a veteran squad, led by setter Jenna Hermsen and hitter Allison Pasker.Hermsen is among the state leaders in assists, at 9.4 per game.West Delaware breezed through its home tournament on Saturday.“We're not doing a lot of new stuff,” Mather said. “We're doing the same things we did last year. We're just doing them better.“This match is an opportunity to see where we're at.”

MVC division leaders collide The annual “Battle for the Spike” in Iowa City also features the last two Mississippi Valley Conference unbeatens.Class 4A No. 7 City High (15-3 overall, 3-0 MVC) travels to No. 2 West (18-5, 3-0) on Tuesday. Both teams lead their respective divisions.City High advanced to the championship match of the Fort Dodge Invitational on Saturday before falling to Western Christian, the top-rated team in 2A. West made it to the semifinals at the Dubuque Wahlert Invitational, then lost to 3A No. 2 Waverly-Shell Rock.