No favors for West, Kennedy

Iowa City West and Cedar Rapids Kennedy are fixtures at the state volleyball tournament.There's no guarantee either of them will get back."It looks like there might be some new teams this year," West Coach Kathy Bresnahan said as the Women of Troy prepared for Monday's Class 5A regional quarterfinal match against Muscatine.West is the reigning big-school champion (the Women of Troy were 4A state champs in 2010 and 2011). Kennedy has been to the semifinals four straight years. Neither of them have a free ride or a smooth road to the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena.With just 40 teams in 5A, that means three teams per region draw first-round byes while two kick off tournaments on opening night. Count West (19-16) and No. 9 Kennedy (22-12) among those jumping in right away.West hosts Muscatine (19-11) in the opening round in Region 8; Kennedy entertains Marshalltown (22-16) in Region 5."Muscatine is going to be a tough, tough matchup for us," Bresnahan said. "I think the (Mississippi Athletic Conference) is tougher overall than (the Mississippi Valley Conference) right now. We played horribly Tuesday night (in a loss to Cedar Rapids Prairie), and we need to stop talking about things and just do it."Volleyball is a game of mistakes, and we're making too many unforced errors."If the Women of Troy advance, they'll face No. 4 Iowa City High in the regional semifinals. Kennedy would likely have to get past No. 3 Dubuque Hempstead in the regional finals to get back to state.MVC tournament runner-up Cedar Rapids Washington (25-13) hosts Cedar Rapids Jefferson (4-31) in a Region 7 quarterfinal.Class 4A and Class 3A regionals also kick off Monday. No. 6 Solon, No. 7 Maquoketa and No. 9 Cedar Rapids Xavier all drew first-round byes in 4A, but No. 8 West Delaware and No. 10 Marion were assigned first-round dates in 4A Region 7.West Delaware (28-11) opens at home with Decorah (11-24) while Marion entertains Western Dubuque (11-23). If the Indians advance, they'll host No. 13 Dubuque Wahlert in the semifinals Thursday.There's one area match in 3A that features two ranked opponents. No. 7 Union (30-7), a state semfinalist last year, hosts No. 13 Waterloo Columbus (24-13).Regional quarterfinals are Tuesday in 1A and 2A. 

MONDAY'S

CLASS 5A REGIONAL QUARTERFINALS

Region 5Marshalltown at Cedar Rapids Kennedy (Byes: Waterloo West, Waterloo East, Dubuque Hempstead)

Region 7Cedar Rapids Jefferson at Cedar Rapids Washington (Byes: Linn-Mar, Cedar Rapids Prairie, Pleasant Valley)

Region 8Muscatine at Iowa City West (Byes: Iowa City High, Ottumwa, Burlington)

MONDAY'S

CLASS 4A REGIONAL QUARTERFINALS

Region 4Boone at Ballard (Waverly-Shell Rock, bye)Des Moines Hoover at Grinnell (Benton Community, bye)

Region 5Pella at Newton (Solon, bye)Carlisle at Indianola (Oskaloosa, bye)

Region 6Knoxville at Fairfield (Mount Pleasant, bye)Washington at Clear Creek Amana (Cedar Rapids Xavier, bye)

Region 7Decorah at West Delaware (Vinton-Shellsburg, bye)Western Dubuque at Marion (Dubuque Wahlert, bye)

Region 8Fort Madison at Keokuk (North Scott, bye)Davenport North at DeWitt Central (Maquoketa, bye)

MONDAY'S CLASS 3A REGIONAL QUARTERFINALS

Region 5Crestwood at OsageNew Hampton at WaukonOelwein at Dyersville BeckmanWaterloo Columbus at Union

Region 6Monticello at CascadeIndependence at Center Point-UrbanaAnamosa at NortheastCamanche at Davenport Assumption

Region 7East Marshall at Mount VernonSouth Hardin at South TamaWilliamsburg at West LibertyMonroe PCM at Baxter CMB

Region 8Chariton at AlbiaDavis County at CentervilleCentral Lee at Columbus JunctionMid-Prairie at Mediapolis