Still standing, but for how long?

No matter what, the Quad-City Times will be heading to the U.S. Cellular Center next week for the Iowa volleyball state tournament.

Camanche and Durant-Bennett, a couple of highly successful teams out of Class 2A, made sure of that by setting up their highly anticipated "three-match" tonight at Eldridge. The winner of this battle heads on to the state quarterfinals, just a trio of victories away from championship glory.

But the question is not just who comes out of that matchup of rivals still standing. Will that victor be joined by anybody else, say, out of the Mississippi Athletic Conference?

Davenport Central and Pleasant Valley are still standing. Both with a load of confidence, too. Central finished off a perfect regular season in conference play, then backed it up with an emphatic win at North and an emotional five-game victory at Bettendorf to get this far. PV has finally found the rhythm it's been looking for all year, pounding Burlington to reach the regional final.

But how long will these two teams be standing? If a couple of top-five teams have their way, not very long. PV heads to small-town Tipton having to go through No. 2 Iowa City West for a return trip to state, and No. 11 Central will jaunt over to Clinton to play No. 4 Dubuque Hempstead.

PV will have its hands full, no doubt. IC West is a much taller team, and pretty experienced, too. But the Spartans do have that state banner up in its gym from 2008 for a reason, so you can't really count them out, especially since they've got that swagger back.

But to me, the Central-Hempstead matchup is an intriguing one. I spoke with Clinton coach Mark Massey just hours after his team lost to the Mustangs in four games. Clinton was swept by Central not too long ago, so I simply posed the question to Mark: "Can Central win?"

Massey, I could tell, smiled on the other end of the phone, and coyly explained that he didn't want to put a ton of pressure on rookie Lady D's coach Amber Hall and her program. But he did point a couple things out; among them, that Central is more experienced on Clinton's floor than Hemp-stead, and that the Devils have thrived on a balanced attack.

"Amber has done just a fantastic job as a first-year coach, and I know she'll have them well-prepared," Massey told me. "Hempstead is a good team, but Central beat a very good Bettendorf team, and Central will be up for the challenge.

"I'm confident Amber will have them ready to go, and they've got a very good shot."

It was certainly high praise from a man who has 700 wins coaching in this league, for a woman who has 19. And had none two months ago.

If Hall can reach No. 20 tonight, it would be a huge coup for that program. And for the Mississippi Athletic Conference. Same if PV can get No. 19.

Onto tonight's official matchups, which were also listed in today's Quad-City Times.

Iowa Class 4A Region 7 final - at Clinton, 7 p.m.

WHO: No. 11 Davenport Central (19-9, 9-0 Mississippi Athletic Conference) vs. No. 4 Dubuque Hempstead (31-4, 7-1 Mississippi Valley Conference)

PREVIOUS MEETING: Sept. 26, Dubuque Invitational; Hempstead won, 21-6, 21-11

KEY PLAYERS: Central - Kendra Barnes, So., 5-10, OH (14 kills, 9 digs in regional semifinal win at Bettendorf); Kelsey VandenBerg, Sr., 5-11, OH (8 kills, 11 digs at Bettendorf). Hempstead - Heidi Splinter, Sr., 5-11, OH (4.75 kills per game, 4th in Class 4A; 3.4 digs).

DIG THIS: The day Central lost to Hempstead, it lost later that day in the tournament quarterfinals to Iowa City High; the Blue Devils are 6-0 since. The Mustangs have won all five matches against MAC opponents this season.

Iowa Class 4A Region 8 final - at Tipton (K-8 building), 7 p.m.

WHO: Pleasant Valley (18-12, 7-2 MAC) vs. No. 2 Iowa City West (36-2, 8-0 MVC)

PREVIOUS MEETING: Sept. 3, MAC/MVC Challenge; IC West won, 21-15, 21-10

KEY PLAYERS: Pleasant Valley - Emily Podschweit, So., 5-7, OH (7 kills, 11 digs in regional semifinal win vs. Burlington); Stacy Clark, Jr., 6-1, MB (7 kills, 5 blocks, 3 aces vs. Burlington). Iowa City West - Jessica Gehrke, Sr., 5-10, OH (4.06 kills, 44 percent kill efficiency).

DIG THIS: Both PV and IC West qualified for the 2008 state tournament, with the Spartans losing in the quarterfinals while the Women of Troy defeated Hempstead in the opening round. Both teams' seasons were ended by eventual champ Ankeny.

Iowa Class 2A Region 7 - at Eldridge, 7 p.m.

WHO: No. 5 Camanche (40-3, 8-0 Big East Conference) vs. No. 11 Durant-Bennett (31-5, 10-0 Cedar Valley Conference)

PREVIOUS MEETINGS: Oct. 3, Northeast Invitational; Camanche won in pool play, 21-10, 21-17, and in championship, 25-13, 25-22

KEY PLAYERS: Camanche - Chelsea Moore, Sr., 5-9, OH (3.13 kills, 2.7 digs, 1.2 aces); Ashtyn Dixon, Sr., 5-8, OH (2.74 kills, 3.4 digs, 94 percent server). Durant-Bennett - Renee Telsrow, Sr., 6-0, OH (3.64 kills, 1.6 digs); Makenzie Meyer, Sr., 6-0, MH (2.65 kills, 0.5 blocks, 94 percent server).

DIG THIS: Moore, Dixon, Tiana Bark and Ashley Gonzalez each averaged at least two kills per game in that Northeast tournament when the Indians knocked off the Wildcats twice. Durant-Bennett ended Camanche's season in the 2008 regional semifinals, on the Indians' home floor.