It was a little more comforting for players and coaches alike knowing that three teams would advance to state play.

That was the standard procedure for many years regarding Western A divisional volleyball.

Now that all the divisionals in Class A have been realigned, the number of state qualifiers has been trimmed to two. And suddenly the Northwestern A divisional volleyball tournament becomes a little more frightening to all involved.

"It's scary when it's only two," said Whitefish coach Jackie Fuller.

"Three is nice, especially as tight as this conference is."

Whitefish, which claimed the regular season title this year with a 9-1 mark, benefited a year ago as the No. 3 divisional state qualifier. That allowed Whitefish to stretch its state tournament appearance string to seven straight.

Last year's Western divisional was also much larger, featuring 10 teams.

"I like the bigger atmosphere," said Fuller.

"Thought it was fun. Having those (four more) teams there made for a lot of volleyball."

This year the Northwestern A has been scaled back to six schools - Bigfork, Columbia Falls, Libby, Polson, Ronan and Whitefish.

The other four teams from last year's Western division - Frenchtown, Hamilton, Stevensville and Corvallis - have moved over to the Southwestern A divisional with Anaconda and Dillon.

Now all four divisions in Class A are comprised of six teams. Each division sends two teams to state, Nov. 18-20 in Bozeman.

"With this distribution, it's fair overall," said Bigfork coach Yvonne Peck.

"Same number of teams, two out of six, all the way across."

But Peck said teams must now focus on the task at hand.

"What that does for us, it forces us to be a little more competitive at the divisional," she said.

Bigfork enters the tournament on a high, handing Whitefish its only league loss on the final night of regulation play.

"Gave us some confidence," said Peck.

"Throughout that match, I saw the kids grow as a team."

Bigfork and Libby tied for the second best league mark, 7-3, but Libby won the tie-breaker.

Whitefish and Libby have first-round byes and do not play until Friday.

Tournament action begins today in Libby at 6 p.m. with Ronan (7-8 overall) vs. Columbia Falls (5-10). Bigfork (11-3) faces Polson (3-13) at 8 p.m.

Whitefish (12-3) meets the Ronan/Columbia Falls winner Friday at 11 a.m. while Libby tangles with the Bigfork/Polson winner at 1 p.m.

Consolation matches will follow at 3 and 5 p.m.

The semifinal match will take place Friday at 7 p.m.

The championship match Saturday at 5 p.m.

Libby claimed last year's regular-season title, going 16-0. The Loggers went on to take divisional honors by defeating Columbia Falls and finished second at state.

Libby hosted divisional play back in 1995 and also won it that year.

"The conference is tight this year," said Libby coach Cindy Ostrem-Johnston.

"I'd like to say we have one of the tougher conferences around right now."

As a result, Ostrem-Johnston says you better be prepared or suffer the consequences.

"If you make an error, you better make up for it fast," she said.

"Rebound quickly."

Ostrem-Johnston said the Loggers must do three things to be successful this weekend.

"Stay focused, keep our composure and work as a team."

Northwestern A divisional

Today At Libby High School

6 p.m. - Ronan (7-8) vs. Columbia Falls (5-10)

8 p.m. - Bigfork (11-3) vs. Polson (3-13)

Friday

11 a.m. - Whitefish (12-3) vs. Ronan/Columbia Falls winner

1 p.m. - Libby (10-6) vs. Bigfork/Polson winner