Contenders galore in MVC, Wamac

A contender? For sure. The favorite? Craig Pitcher hedged.

'I don't know if I'd consider us the favorite,” said Pitcher, the volleyball coach at Iowa City High. 'I think we'll definitely be in the mix. But you can play Rock Paper Scissors to pick the team that will win (the Mississippi Valley Conference tournament title).”

Championship Week for area leagues is in full force, in various stages. A reset:

* The MVC tournament is a one-day event, Saturday at Linn-Mar High School and Excelsior Middle School.

* Pool play for the Wamac is Thursday at Epworth and Vinton, with championship-bracket play Tuesday at Mount Vernon.

* The final eight teams have been determined for the River Valley Conference tournament, which concludes Thursday at West Branch.

* In the Tri-Rivers, pool play is Thursday at four sites, with bracket action Saturday at Wheatland.

There isn't a clear favorite in any of them. In the MVC and Wamac in particular, the list of contenders is lengthy.

'I think (the MVC) is wide-open,” said Pitcher, whose Little Hawks (16-8) were unbeaten in winning the Mississippi Division. 'Last year, Cedar Falls got hot and won it.

'A lot of it comes down to matchups. We're pretty balanced offensively, but we're probably the shortest team in the league.”

Other legitimate contenders in the MVC include Valley Division champion Cedar Falls (22-10), along with Cedar Rapids Prairie (20-9), Iowa City West (22-9), Cedar Rapids Kennedy (20-10), Linn-Mar (22-10) and Dubuque Hempstead (15-12).

'There are some players out there that can carry their teams in a couple matches at the end of the day,” Pitcher said.

West Delaware (35-2) and Marion (27-5) are champions of the Wamac's East and West divisions and headline a pack of about a half-dozen teams capable of standing at the end of Tuesday night.

'Geez, it's going to be a battle.” West Delaware Coach Brett Mather said. 'Our division has three or four teams that could win it. The other division has two or three.”

Hawks libero Emily Thole doesn't mind being cast as the favorite.

'We definitely go in thinking we're the team to beat,” she said. 'We like playing good competition. The better the competition, the better we play.”

The pack of contenders looks the same as it did at the beginning of the season, with Solon (23-6), Mount Vernon (25-5), Independence (27-6) and Clear Creek Amana (18-6) figuring to push West Delaware and Marion for the title.

'We're looking forward to it,” said Mount Vernon Coach Maggie Willems. 'We look at it as a fresh opportunity, a new season.”

In the River Valley, South Division champion West Branch (28-5) and runner-up West Liberty (31-4) are the favorites to meet for the title, which North Division champ North Cedar (27-10) and Durant (25-5) also in the mix.

Alburnett (17-7) and Bellevue Marquette (23-3) were divisional champions in the Tri-Rivers. They earned the right to host Thursday pools, as did North Linn (10-10) and Midland (14-12).

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@sourcemedia.net