I wanted to get you updated on the chases toward the Class 4A and 3A state volleyball tournaments.

Currently, there are only six teams assured of state berths. In the Northwest District, Jackson and Snohomish have qualified in 4A, while Meadowdale and Ferndale are locks in 3A. Those teams are playing for their respective championships on Saturday (I'll link you to the brackets below).

Issaquah and Newport are also moving on in 4A. They play for the KingCo championship tonight (Thursday) at 7 p.m. at Bothell. Before that, though, there are three loser-out matches (also at Bothell) that could determine a third qualifier. The No. 3 team out of KingCo will play the No. 3 WesCo team for a berth Saturday.

Woodinville plays Roosevelt today, while Inglemoor faces Garfield, both at 3 p.m. The winners then play at 5 p.m. for the right to play that "pigtail" match against WesCo No. 3.

Four teams are still alive in WesCo 4A for that last berth. Loser-out matches are scheduled Friday at 5 p.m. at Marsyville-Pilchuck pitting Kamiak against Monroe and Lake Stevens against Marysville. The winners then play 45 minutes later.

You can find a the up-to-date Northwest 4A bracket here.

Half of the 16 state qualifiers in 4A will come from this weekend's West Central/Southwest bi-district tournament at Kentwood. I'll be there Friday to catch some of the action, when four of the berths will be wrapped up. You can find the complete bracket here.

The remaining three qualifiers advance out of the Big 9/Greater Spokane League regional, which is Saturday at Wenatchee. That tourney includes top-ranked Richland and No. 2 Mead of Spokane, the defending champion. Both have first-round byes.

Mead will play the winner of Saturday's opening match against Lewis and Clark and Wenatchee. Richland awaits either Moses Lake or Central Valley. The first matches are at 1 p.m., followed by those semifinals at 3 p.m. The championship match is set for 6 p.m. and the semifinal losers also play at 6 to determine the third and final seed.

In Class 3A, five teams will come out of the SeaKing District tournament, five out of the West Central/Southwest bi-district tournament, three out of the Big 9/GSL 3A regional and three out of the Northwest 3A tournament.

The SeaKing tourney starts today (Thursday) at 5:30 p.m. at West Seattle and Sammamish. Eastside Catholic, Mount Si, Holy Names and Bishop Blanchet (the defending state champ) all have first-round byes and play at 7:30 p.m. tonight.

It should be a great tournament and you can find the bracket here.

I have been waiting and waiting for the West Central/Southwest bracket to be posted, but it's not there yet. So, I am going to send you to this link, where you can find the bracket with the seeds, but not the teams (and when the update is available, you'll find it there. Plus, you can find the West Central brackets for 2A, 1A and 1B there as well.

I can help you with the seedings -- SSB (which stands for SPSL/Seamount) in order: 1, Kennedy Catholic; 2, Auburn Mountainview; 3, Bonney Lake; 4, Peninsula ; 5, Enumclaw; Narrows: 1, Capital; 2, Timberline; 3, Wilson; Greater St. Helens': 1, Camas; 2, Prairie; 3, Columbia River; 4 Kelso.

That should be another super tourney, and I'll be checking it out Saturday.

You can find the up-to-date Northwest 3A bracket here. Glacier Peak, Shorewood, Oak Harbor and Mount Vernon are battling for the third and final state spot.

The Big 9/GSL 3A regional, scheduled for Saturday at Rogers of Spokane and Mount Spokane, involves six teams. Top-ranked Mount Spokane has a bye along with West Valley of Yakima. West Valley takes on the winner of the first-round match between Kamiakin and Univeristy of Spokane. Mount Spokane awaits Kennewick or Southridge. The semifinal winners are in and the losers play for the third and final berth.

The brackets for both the 4A and 3A regionals are on this page under "3A and 4A Regional Volleyball Bracket".

Hope this helps. Get out and catch some great matches and make your reservations in Kennewick!