Prior to Thursday night, Marion had only played one match inside 3M Transit Arena, Patriot Volleyball's home court for 30 seasons, but with the Collierville Dragons in town, the grand old lady gave a throwback performance.
Playing in front of a strong home crowd, Marion avenged an August loss to Collierville, topping the Dragons in four sets (25-21, 19-25, 25-16, and 25-16) to improve to 12-2 overall.
Marion now faces one of the more crucial weeks on its 2025 schedule with three 5A East contests approaching, including second-place Mountain Home at 3M Transit on Monday, a road trip to Searcy on Tuesday, and Greene County Tech on Thursday inside Fidelity Bank Arena.
You can watch all three volleyball contests next week for free on the MPAN YouTube channel, and each match will begin at 4:30 p.m.
Collierville (16-8 overall) got the jump on Marion in the first set Thursday evening, embarking on a 5-0 run for a 12-6 lead to force a Patriot timeout.
Kills from Kendall Brown and Jaida Sturdivant got the Pats within 12-8, but the Dragons scored four in a row later on to take a 17-12 lead and force the second Patriot timeout.
Collierville scored the next two points after the break for a 19-12 advantage, but that's when Marion hit the comeback trail.
A 4-0 Marion run featured kills from Brown and Kennedy Bullins, the latter of which got Marion within 19-16 and forced a Collierville timeout.
Trailing 21-17, Brown came up with three straight kills, and when Reese Goodwin put down a hit of her own, Marion had completed the comeback to tie the initial set at 21 apiece.
Brown and Sturdivant registered kills for a 23-21 lead, and Taylor Chamness served aces for the final two points of the set as the Patriots came all the way back for a four-point victory in the lid-lifter.
Collierville was able to lead from the midway point of the second set to tie the match at one set apiece, pulling away for a 25-19 victory, and the Dragons ripped off six straight points for a 10-7 lead in the third when Marion rallied again.
Brown and Sturdivant came up with two kills apiece, and a pair of Bullins blocks pushed the Pats in front 14-12 as the Dragons called for time.
Marion kept rolling, however, as Kaitlyn Austin, Bullins, and Brown came up with kills, and Abby Simmons served an ace, and when a lift call went against Collierville, the visitors burned their second timeout, trailing 19-12.
Brown was electric down the stretch, recording kills for the final three points of the set as Marion won 25-16.
The Patriots carried the momentum into set No. 4, scoring the first four points as Goodwin and Austin came up with kills, while Bullins had a kill and a block. An Austin ace gave the hosts a 6-1 lead as Collierville called for time.
But the Dragons responded with four straight midway through the set to get within 16-13 when Brown came up with a pair of kills and Simmons served another ace to keep Marion afloat.
Leading 21-16, the Patriots got kills from Sturdivant, Marlee Williams, and Austin to pick up one of their bigger non-conference wins of the fall.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Marion plays three crucial 5A East contests next week, beginning on Monday afternoon with a visit from Mountain Home to 3M Transit Arena. The Patriots travel on Tuesday to Searcy and host Greene County Tech on Thursday at Fidelity Bank Arena. You can watch all three varsity matches for free on the MPAN YouTube channel.
5A EAST RESULTS FROM 9/18
Valley View 3, Nettleton 0
Mountain Home 3, Searcy 0
Batesville 3, Paragould 2
Greene Co. Tech 3, W. Memphis 0
Marion played Collierville (TN) in a non-conference match.
5A EAST STANDINGS ON 9/19
SCHOOL CONF. RECORD
MARION 6-0
Mountain Home 4-2
Valley View 4-2
Greene Co. Tech 4-2
Batesville 4-3
Paragould 4-3
Nettleton 1-4
Searcy 1-5
W. Memphis 0-6
The top four teams make the state tournament, October 27-29, in Marion.
5A EAST MATCHES ON 9/22
Mountain Home at Marion
Valley View at Searcy
Batesville at Greene Co. Tech
W. Memphis at Nettleton
Paragould does not play a conference match.