Alli O’Deen set to return soon for No. 3 West

The agony of Alli O'Deen probably is about to end.“It kills me to sit on the bench,” said O'Deen, an all-state outside hitter for Iowa City West.O'Deen tore an anterior cruciate ligament in February. Despite a setback in April, O'Deen has made a speedy recovery.Her condition will be reassessed by a physician Wednesday. If she is cleared, she will begin practice immediately and could be in West's lineup in about two weeks.“If we get her back Oct. 1 or Oct. 15, we're going to have a pretty nice team,” said West Coach Kathy Bresnahan, whose team has started 13-3 without her and holds a No. 3 ranking in Class 4A.O'Deen, who has committed to play at the University of Iowa, averaged 3.6 kills and 4.1 digs and posted a .368 kill efficiency last year as the Women of Troy reached the 4A state final.She has gone through light drills on the side while her teammates have practiced. And once she joins the Women of Troy in full force, she'll wear a brace on her knee.“There's a little pain, but it doesn't bother me,” O'Deen said. “Once I get back on the floor, all I will be focused on is playing.“I'm probably just as quick, but my jump might not be quite as high.”O'Deen's absence has forced her teammates to adjust.“Our other kids have gotten stronger,” Bresnahan said. “I hope when Alli returns, she can have a stellar end to her season.”

MVC theme: Parity, depthJust two weeks into the Mississippi Valley Conference schedule, and it's a murky mess.Two teams - West (13-3 overall, 2-0 MVC) and No. 2 Iowa City High (9-2, 2-0) - are unbeaten. Three are winless. That leaves nine at 1-1.Eight of the state's top 11 teams in Class 4A hail from the MVC.No. 5 Cedar Rapids Xavier (11-2, 1-1) has posted as nice a work of art as anybody.The Saints defeated Linn-Mar in the semifinals of the Warrior Invitational - a tournament the Saints eventually won - Sept. 4 at Cedar Rapids Washington, rallied from a two-set deficit to beat Waterloo East on Sept. 7, then toppled City High in the semifinals of the North Scott Invitational on Saturday at Eldridge.Bettendorf beat the Saints in the final.Cedar Rapids Kennedy (14-2, 1-1), which graduated a bevy of talent from its state-semifinal team, went 6-0 at the Des Moines Metro Tournament on Saturday.