East powers lead Wamac tournament field

There is an imbalance of volleyball power in the Wamac Conference.

Four Wamac teams grace the Class 3A top 10. All of them reside in the East Division.

"There are a lot of good teams on our side," said West Delaware Coach Brett Mather. "It's been extremely competitive (during the regular season)."

The Wamac tournament opens Tuesday with four pools of tour teams at two sites (at Solon and Tiffin), then all 16 teams gather Thursday at Marion for bracket play.

The top two teams from each pool play will compete in the championship bracket, the others play in the consolation bracket.

Class 3A second-ranked Solon (23-1) is the favorite.

"They've got to be," Mather said. "They put up an incredible block, and their libero makes an incredible amount of digs."

Solon outlasted No. 6 West Delaware (30-5) in five sets last Tuesday to win the division title. Maquoketa (24-4) and DeWitt Central (19-12) are ranked eighth and 10th.

Marion (23-10) and Clear Creek Amana (18-7) shared the West Division title.

Bracket play Thursday begins at 4 p.m.

West pursues 4th straight in MVC

Iowa City West has the home-court advantage and recent history on its side for Saturday's Mississippi Valley Conference tournament.

The Women of Troy have won three consecutive MVC tournament crowns.

"We'd like to make it four straight, but it's going to be pretty wide-open," said West Coach Kathy Bresnahan. "(Cedar Rapids) Kennedy, (Iowa) City High, (Dubuque) Wahlert ... they're all standards."

West (26-6) and City High (29-2) are ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in Class 4A, and Wahlert is top-rated in 3A. City High has clinched the Mississippi Division title.

Pools will be determined after Tuesday's divisional matches. Pool play begins at 9 a.m., with bracket action starting around 2 p.m.