Hey gang. Are you ready for the playoffs??? They're just around the corner.

The tough part about the final week of regular season play, is the regional matchups are already set, so these matches are, for the most part, just one last chance to tune up for the win-or-go-home atmospheres of late October and November. Davenport Central has already wrapped up a Mississippi Athletic Conference title for the third straight year, and a win over 1-7 North Tuesday would be the first undefeated effort in that string. The Muscatine-Pleasant Valley takes home the regular season bronze. And Moline and Quincy will rematch at the Galesburg Quad on Saturday, with Moline getting one more chance to knot up Quincy and share the Western Big Six championship.

But for the most part, the teams are just preparing themselves for regionals. It's an exciting time of year; Oct. 26 (next Monday!) is the regional start for 4A and 3A in Iowa, whereas the big schools in Illinois will get regionals under way on Thursday, Oct. 29.

For the final time this regular season, here's your Prematch Prep Talk.

Tuesday's schedule (all matches begin approximately 7 p.m.)

Mississippi Athletic Conference

Davenport North (3-18, 1-7 MAC) at No. 11 Davenport Central (16-9, 8-0). No reason to believe the Blue Devils won't come out fired up and lock up that gorgeous 9-0 mark in league play. Central in three.

No. 14 Bettendorf (20-10, 7-1) at Davenport Assumption (8-19, 2-6). While the Blue Devils will, barring a Wildcat upset, be partying with their title, the Bulldogs quietly reload for the inevitable rematch, in the regional semifinals, on Oct. 29. Bettendorf in three.

Pleasant Valley (16-12, 6-2) at Muscatine (29-5, 5-3). PV has struggled against big teams this year, and while nobody on Muscatine is tallying up the big blocks, Haylie Franklin and Emily Hasken will provide matchup problems there. Still, the Muskies seem to have cooled off from that 21-match win streak. PV in five.

North Scott (6-18, 4-4) at Clinton (13-11, 4-4). Clinton started hot, but cooled off midway through the season; North Scott has more of a peaks-and-valleys year. That Muscatine win has to have raised eyebrows, and a road win at Clinton would only bolster confidence further. North Scott in four.

Davenport West (1-23, 0-8) at Burlington (13-13, 3-5). You'd like to think and hope the Falcons can scratch out one, just one, MAC win. But Burlington is starting to come into its own a little bit here, preparing for 2010. Burlington in four.

Western Big Six Conference

Rock Island Alleman (3-6 Big Six) at Galesburg (3-4). This game was originally scheduled at Alleman, but a conflict moved the match to Galesburg. That should help the Silver Streaks produce a repeat of the last meeting, at a Quincy quad. Galesburg in two.

Thursday: Rock Island (1-8) at United Township (2-5). One more chance for the growing Rocks to put together a nice win. But the Panthers have improved as well under first-year coach Callyn Dittmar. UT in three.

Saturday: Moline (7-1), Quincy (8-0), United Township, Galesburg at Galesburg Quad. The big one here, obviously, is Moline-Quincy. The Maroons lost again, last weekend, in the Bradley Bourbonnais Invite. You wonder if Thursday's crushing loss to the Blue Devils will have lingering effects. Quincy in three.

Three things you should know heading into Tuesday

1) Believe it or not, the playoffs began last night ... for Q-C area teams. Clinton Prince of Peace swept East Central last night for the "play-in" game to the Class 1A Region 7 second round. The second round will commence Wednesday night. But meanwhile, the Class 2A Region 7 is chock-full of Iowa area teams, and those first-round matches tip off tonight at 7 pm. Wilton beat Columbus in four last night, but the rest of the bracket will take place Tuesday.

The matchups are: Cascade at No. 14 Northeast, Bellevue at No. 5 Camanche, Louisa-Muscatine at Wapello, West Liberty at North Cedar, and Tipton at No. 11 Durant-Bennett. Those winners move on to next Tuesday's quarterfinals.

2) Sticking with the area for another moment, Camanche is really good. The Indians are fifth-ranked, 37-3, just finished an 8-0 regular league season and won the Big East Conference tournament going away last week. Plus, when all-conference teams were released Monday, Mark Cremer was coach of the year, Ashtyn Dixon was most valuable player, and numerous other Indians cracked the teams.

A regional final date with Durant-Bennett on Nov. 3 at Eldridge, for the right to go to state in Cedar Rapids, could be a real treat of a match.

3) As Andrew Petersen reported in Monday's paper, Davenport Central is 8-9 in non-conference matches. When they play Class 4A teams from Iowa, the Blue Devils are winless in four tries.

Central can congratulate itself for a little while, if it does get by North Tuesday night. But then? Much work to do if that MAC title isn't enough satisfaction for one year.

Three players I'll be watching at the North-Central match

Shaina Barnes, Sr., S, 5-9. Not only is she tied with Muscatine's Julie Wunder currently for the assists crown; I want to see if she truly is the best setter in the metro area this side of Sarah Fetter.

Michelle Ames, So., OH, 5-9. While Shaina's sister, Kendra, has been instrumental as a breakout sophomore, Ames has been a great No. 2 option in the versatile Blue Devil offense.

Tyler Howard, Sr., OH, 5-6. She may well end her North career with a couple of matches against rival Central (the two teams play in the regional quarterfinals on Monday). We'll see if she's the key to a potential upset.

Five players you should watch since yours truly can't be at every match

Haylie Franklin, Sr., MB, 6-0. Still need one or two more eye-popping performances to cement a status as player of the year.

Julie Wunder, Sr., S, 5-6. See Barnes, Shaina.

Aubrey Podschweit, 5-6 and Payton Strawser, 5-9; Jrs., S. I list both because when PV gets into the postseason, the two-setter system may only work so far. Both are capable, of course, but it will be important to figure out exactly who takes the reigns when the Spartans absolutely, positively need a point or a big kill.

Leisha Harris, Jr., MB, 6-0. Haven't watched a ton of Clinton this year, regrettably. Hopefully I'll get to see more of Harris and Co. next season, since the River Queens appear like a tough out for any team in the league, this year and next.

As always, check out QCVarsity.com for complete stats, schedules, and standings, as well as Wednesday's paper for coverage of all your volleyball needs.

That concludes the Prep Talk. Now fire it up one more time.