Super Tuesday: Four area volleyball matches that will determine league championships

Tuesday night will be one of those nights.

One of those nights in the area volleyball scene, in which you wish you could be at more than one spot at once.

Four spots, at least.

Divisional races come to a conclusion Tuesday in the Mississippi Valley, Wamac and River Valley conferences, and in more cases than not, title contenders meet in massive encounters.

Here is a look at four of them:

MVC Valley: Cedar Rapids Prairie at Iowa City High

City High (14-9, 5-1) put itself into position to gain a share of the title with a five-set win at Cedar Falls last week.

Dubuque Wahlert (19-7, 5-1) is a virtual lock to win at Cedar Rapids Washington, and Cedar Falls (17-3, 5-1) is favored to handle Dubuque Hempstead at home.

That leaves City High, which hosts surging Cedar Rapids Prairie (22-9, 4-2). The Hawks have won 12 of their last 13 matches.

City has a balanced attack led by senior Emmy McComas and sophomores Kaitlin Loria and Hattie Galloway. They will try to neutralize Prairie’s Carly Wazac, a Wichita State commit who averages 4.20 kills per set and attacks at a .351 rate.

Wamac West: Grinnell at Clear Creek Amana

Clear Creek Amana (29-5, 4-0) has reloaded nicely after heavy graduation losses (including 2024 Gazette Female Athlete of the Year Bliss Beck).

The Clippers are gunning for their fourth consecutive divisional title behind a junior-heavy crew led by Averie Lower (4.00 kills per set) and Emily Henderson (8.56 assists per set).

CCA beat Grinnell (11-10, 4-0) at the Tigers’ invitational Aug. 31, 21-16, 21-18. Grinnell is shooting for its first winning season since 2012.

River Valley North: Dyersville Beckman at Anamosa

The teams have identical records — 26-5 overall, 6-0 in the division — and neither has dropped a set to a divisional foe thus far.

Anamosa has won 10 consecutive matches, and its most recent defeat came Sept. 14. Seniors Reise Neuhaus and Lola Holub both average more than 3 kills per set.

Beckman is a third-year member of the River Valley, and won the North Division in both of its first two years. The Blazers are a study of balance, with six attackers at more than 100 kills this season, but none with more than 175. Junior Miley Manternach is the most efficient, at .372.

River Valley South: Mid-Prairie at Iowa City Regina

With the assumption that Wilton (23-3, 4-1) takes care of business at West Branch, the Mid-Prairie/Regina victor will be a co-champion.

Mid-Prairie (22-5, 4-1) enters with a 10-match win streak and possesses arguably the area’s best floor defender in senior Dakota Mitchell (5.39 digs per set), a North Texas commit. The Golden Hawks are balanced at the net, led by juniors Jovi Evans and Harper Pacha.

Regina junior Reese Naeve is the all-class state leader in kills, at 7.32 per set, with a .306 efficiency. She has more than half of the Regals’ kills, and has taken nearly 1,200 swings this season.

The Regals are 15-10, 4-1.

Elsewhere ...

* Cedar Rapids Xavier (22-4 overall, 5-0 MVC Mississippi) already has a share of a divisional title in its pocket, and can win it outright Tuesday with a win at Linn-Mar.

* The same goes for Wamac East leader Mount Vernon (31-3, 4-0), which hosts Marion.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com