Marion Athletics -

A championship season is ultimately defined by just that, a championship.

The presence of the gold medal or the biggest trophy is what most people ultimately remember, but that's not always fair.

The 2025 Marion Patriot volleyball team made history this fall, barnstorming to a stellar 28-2 overall record, but there is much more to this team than the final record.

Here is a handful of final numbers and figures from a season that nobody will ever forget.

0: Teams from the state of Arkansas that beat Marion this fall.
Marion ran roughshod through the natural state in 2025, going 22-0 against in-state competition. The Pats' only two losses this fall were to Tennessee powers Collierville and Houston, and Marion even gained some measure of revenge when it beat Collierville at home in September following an August defeat.

19: Marion's winning streak to end the 2025 season.
It's hard to imagine now, but the Pats were “just” 9-2 on September 6 following a three-set loss (best of three) to Houston in the finals of the River City Classic in Bartlett, Tennessee.
But the Patriots hit the jets from there, losing just six sets the rest of the way.

11: Total sets Marion lost in 2025.
Over 30 total matches. Not too shabby.

3: Teams from the 5A West Marion topped in the 2025 state tournament.
Marion got going in the opening round of this year's postseason with a three-set victory over 5A Central Sylvan Hills, but the Patriots really shined against the deep, talented 5A West.
The run began in the state quarterfinals when Marion slipped an impressive Siloam Springs outfit in three sets, and the Pats punched their ticket back to the final with a straight-set vanquishing of Van Buren in the semifinals.
The Class 5A state final on November 1 against 5A West outright champion Farmington likely took years off the lives of Marion faithful, but the Patriots prevailed in five sets, giving the school....

4: State volleyball titles in program history.
The 2025 outfit joined the 2010, 2011, and 2015 clubs as state champions, and Marion's first as a member of Class 5A after winning the previous three crowns in Class 6A.

2: Five-set victories in arguably the two biggest matches of the year.
On October 9, Marion was in firm control of the 5A East race after dispatching Valley View in September inside Blazer Arena, but the rematch was scheduled for Fidelity Bank Arena, and things got dicey. The Blazers won the first two sets and had the Pats pushed to the brink in the third set with an 18-13 lead.
From there, Marion rallied for a dramatic five-set victory that all but assured the Pats of the outright conference title and No. 1 playoff seed.
November 1 was the day of the Class 5A state final, and again, Marion faced long odds after Farmington beat Marion in set No. 3 for a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five final.
Once again, Marion countered, winning the fourth set easily by 10 points, and the fifth and final set 15-8 for the state crown.

6: Seniors on the 2025 Marion volleyball roster.
Kaitlyn Austin, Kennedy Bullins, Taylor Chamness, Aynslee Coad, Reese Goodwin, and Abbigale Simmons will leave a lasting legacy in the Marion record books after overseeing one of the more prosperous three-year runs in school history, 2023-2025.
All six seniors earned all-conference or all-state honors in 2025, playing heavy minutes throughout the season.

30: Years Lisa Beasley has coached at Marion.
What started as a hope and a dream in the fall of 1996 was cemented this fall as Beasley's Patriots slapped together arguably the finest volleyball season in the school's decorated history.

14: Total conference volleyball titles at Marion.
Including...

4: 5A East titles over the past five years.
Marion has finished atop or tied for first four of the last five seasons, earning outright titles in 2021, 2023, and 2025. The Patriots tied for first place and earned the No. 2 playoff seed in 2024, while the 2022 outfit finished as conference runners-up.