Patriots outlast Blue Devils in Volleyball Marathon
By LONDA HAMRICK
It will read simply as a win in the record books for the Marion Patriots, but last Thursday’s matchup between the invading Marion squad and the home turf defending West Memphis Blue Devils was anything but simple. The 5A Conference tilt went the full five sets and took a few more points to decide a winner. Marion went up 1-0 by winning a tight first set 25-19 but the Blue Devils evened the score with a 25-20 win in the second set. Marion turned it on and easily took the third set 25-9 to go up 2-1. However, West Memphis rallied and took the fourth set in convincing 25-15 fashion to set up a fifth-set tiebreaker that came down to the wire. In a back-and-forth game, the score was knotted at 12-12, 13-13, and 14-14. Finally, in extra frames, the Patriots were able to get the serve back while up 16-15 to score the final point, winning the set and the match 17-15.
Photos by Londa Hamrick
