To heck with the Mississippi Valley Conference.
Forgive the Marion Indians if they choose a word that’s stronger then “heck” in this case. They lost four basketball games this season, and three of them were to MVC teams.
That includes Dubuque Wahlert, which pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 59-50 win in a Class 3A district final last night at Cedar Rapids Kennedy.
“I knew it was going to be a battle coming in,” said Wahlert sophomore guard Jake May, brother of Iowa freshman Eric May, who led his team with …

MARION — While you may have thought the Marion Indians would have a more difficult time of it this boys’ basketball season, they didn’t.
“We returned some pretty good kids,” Marion Coach Mike Manderscheid said. “We just tried to do more offseason stuff, things to try and develop chemistry. We tried to get the kids together playing as much as they could.”
Whether it was offseason work or something else, Marion went 18-3 in the regular season, winning the Wamac Conference’s West Division. The Indians are on a 13-game win streak going …

CEDAR RAPIDS — For a quarter, it looked like another Linn-Mar laugher. It wasn’t.
Class 3A third-ranked Davenport Assumption pushed 4A No. 3 Linn-Mar to the wire before the Lions prevailed, 52-48, at Rivalry Saturday last night at the U.S. Cellular Center.
“It was a good test for us,” said Kayla Klopfenstein. “It showed us our weaknesses.”
One of them, surprisingly, was rebounding. Assumption (5-2) posted a 36-24 advantage on the glass.
“We knew they would come after us, and they did,” said Lions Coach Mike Brandt. “We gave them too many second shots, …

CEDAR RAPIDS — Scot Moenck chose Waukon and MFL MarMac as a Rivalry Saturday matchup simply because … well, because both teams are darn good.
He may have stumbled onto a historical moment.
Waukon Coach Gene Klinge goes after his 939th career victory in the 4:30 game at the U.S. Cellular Center.
That would give him sole possession of the all-time record among Iowa girls’ basketball coaches. Currently, he shares the mark with the late Bob Mullen.
“I didn’t expect Coach Klinge to have a chance to break it on our night,” said Moenck, …

The sixth annual Rivalry Saturday girls’ basketball event is set for Jan. 2 at the U.S. Cellular Center.
The schedule:
11:15 a.m. – North Linn vs. Cascade
12:45 p.m. — DeWitt Central vs. Anamosa
2:15 p.m. — Monticello vs. Maquoketa Valley
4 p.m. — MFL MarMac vs. Waukon
6:30 p.m. — Linn-Mar vs. Davenport Assumption
8 p.m. — Marion vs. Dubuque Wahlert

Dubuque Wahlert volleyball coach Julie Kieffer has resigned.
Kieffer led the Dubuque Hempstead to the 2003 Class 4A state championship, then piloted Wahlert to titles in 2004 and 2005.
Here’s a link to a story by The Dubuque Telegraph-Herald.

CEDAR RAPIDS — It’s been six years since Tom Keating coached his last volleyball match at Dubuque Wahlert.
He’s still in the game, though.
Keating will serve as color commentator for Mediacom Communications’ telecasts of the championship matches at the state tournament today.
“It’s another way for me to stay involved,” said Keating, who left Wahlert in the summer of 2004 to become the principal at Cedar Rapids Xavier. “It wasn’t a hard decision for me to say yes.”
Keating won 11 state titles at Wahlert. He continues to work a number of coaches’ …

Class 3A state volleyball capsules, in bracket order:
 
DALLAS CENTER-GRIMES
Nickname: Mustangs
Coach: Angie Reed (15th year, record NA)
Record and ranking: 25-10, unranked
State tournament history: 2nd appearance. Other was 2000.
Probable starters
15 Taylor Wineland 5-6 Sr. S
8 Gail Voelker 5-8 Sr. MB
14 Kristin Messerschmidt 5-7 Jr. OH
4 Britni Reed 5-9 Sr. OH
10 Kaitlyn Johansen 5-9 Jr. MB
6 Zoe Ollendick 5-7 Sr. OH
13 Karlee Powers 5-5 Jr. L
 
SIOUX CITY HEELAN
Nickname: Crusaders
Coach: Lori Slight (3rd year, 129-33)
Record and ranking: 50-5, No. 1
State tournament history: 16th appearance, and 12 in a row. Three-time champions.
Probable starters
6 Leisa McClintock …

CEDAR RAPIDS XAVIER vs. SOUTHEAST POLK
Region: Class 4A Region 4
Site & time: Marshalltown, 7 p.m.
Records & rankings: Both teams are unranked. Xavier is 19-18; Southeast Polk is 16-15.
Notable: Southeast Polk pulled a regional-semifinal shocker, ousting No. 8 Cedar Rapids Washington in five games at Washington. Xavier survived its own thrilled, outlasting Des Moines Roosevelt in five games. SEP is searching for its first trip to state. The Saints have made one voyage, in 2004.
Linder’s pick: Southeast Polk in 5.
 
CEDAR RAPIDS KENNEDY vs. WATERLOO EAST
Region: Class 4A Region 5
Site & time: …

FORT DODGE — It took two years and a lot of convincing, but Moran Lonning finally realized that cross country was the fall sport for her.
“Cross country is really strong (at Decorah High School), and volleyball isn’t,” said Lonning, who had played volleyball for two years before making the switch.
“Some of the girls said, ‘Moran, you have to come out.’ My dad finally talked me into it.”
Lonning was rewarded with a second-place finish in the Class 3A girls’ race at the state meet Saturday at Lakeside Golf Course.
She was timed …