I am looking forward to see if any of the MAC teams have the fight to make it to State this year.

After great finishes from North Scott, Muscatine and Clinton, we also feel the disappointment at Pleasant Valley with a third-place finish in the MAC. The "what-ifs" plague us when we look back at those matchups. How did we lose to Bettendorf and Central? How do we minimize our errors? How do we fight past the close calls and play to win it all?

And on Bettendorf's side, would they have won against Davenport Central if Megan Hayes and Kristina McKenna were able to compete that night?

Bettendorf gets another chance at Central. Both teams should be set with full rosters. Bettendorf has the advantage of home court. Central has the momentum and the attitudes of "we will not lose!" This will be a great battle.

The winner will have to face Dubuque Hempstead (4th in Class 4A). Both teams have experienced the downside of playing this team. Simply stated, the Mustangs are good.

We will continue on our path of using this new lineup and focusing on the energy and momentum it takes to win. The winner of our match on Thursday will probably be playing No. 2 Iowa City West on Tuesday.

Earlier in the season I predicted that Iowa City West would win state. Now we most likely will have to face them next Tuesday in Tipton. The only advantage we have have is our setter, Aubrey Podschweit. She knows the key players very well, their strengths and weaknesses.

While all this is going on, many of the girls are preparing for high school basketball season to begin, filling out athlete recruiting questionnaires, calling college coaches, setting up visits, studying for the ACTs, and focusing on GPAs.

Some consider high school sports as just a fun time for kids to get together and play. In all honesty, those are the teams who don't make it to state. If you want to succeed in anything, it takes time that you must freely sacrifice.

Our focus is not on the state tournament ... if we do what we plan, the state tournament is our reward. Our focus is on the next practice. To come prepared ready to learn, grow and go on to the next victory. Thursday, we will fight for that victory in hopes to have practice on Friday to prepare for the match on Tuesday. And we will fight for that victory on Tuesday in hopes to have practice on Wednesday, to prepare for our greatest reward.

State.