Marion volleyball tops Yellowjackets in straight sets

Patriots open 5A East conference play today

By Chuck Livingston

Marion School District

Marion Volleyball's 3M Transit Arena has become a rallying point for the Patriots since 1996.

As such, the home opener is anticipated for months in advance.

On Tuesday night, Marion made the wait worth it.

One day after winning their season opener in straight sets in front of a hostile Wynne crowd, the Patriots opened the doors of 3M Transit Arena this fall for the first time, topping Class 5A rival Beebe in straight sets (25-8, 25-13, and 25-6).

'When our girls play like this, I have a lot of fun just sitting back and watching,' said Marion coach Lisa Beasley, who has guided the Patriots to three state championships and 11 conference crowns in her career. 'I thought everything tonight was sharp. Serve/receive, our hitters got going, and we passed well. It was a great effort.'

Sophomore all-conference middle hitter Kendall Brown paced the Patriots with 11 kills, while junior Aynslee Coad finished with five. Senior all-state performer Maggie Miller stacked 16 assists and 10 digs, and sophomore setter Claire Brinkley recorded 13 helpers. Junior all-league performer Kaitlyn Austin checked in with 10 digs, while classmate and fellow All-5A East libero Abbigale Simmons stacked nine digs. Junior all-stater Kennedy Bullins recorded three kills, while senior Alexa Shinabery turned in an excellent all-around performance with eight kills, five digs, and two aces. Sophomores Bren Sutton (four kills), Izzy Fenter (two kills), and Marlee Williams (two kills) also played well.

Senior Kyleigh Wooten topped Beebe with 7 kills.

Marion started fast in its home debut as Bullins pounded a kill to open the scoring, while Miller and Brinkley handed out assists to Shinabery and junior Reese Goodwin for kills, and when Shinabery served an ace, Marion led 6-1 in the first set, forcing a Beebe timeout.

The Pats took their first double- digit lead (15-5) later on when Brown turned a Miller pass into a kill, and Shinabery

See PATS, page A9

Photo by Londa Hamrick PATS

From page A7

and Brown tallied kills down the stretch to send Marion to a sharp 25-8 victory in the first set.

Marion held a slim 3-2 edge in the early stages of the second set when Brown, Bullins, and Austin came up with kills, the latter of which gave the hosts an 8-2 lead and forced a Badger timeout.

Marion pushed its advantage to double-digits again later when Miller hit Sutton for a kill, followed by a Miller ace, and when Miller found Goodwin for a kill and a 17-4 lead, Beebe again called for time.

Beebe did get back into the mix from there, ripping off four straight points, including two kills from Phoebe Caldwell, but the Patriots closed out behind two kills apiece from Brown, Shinabery, and Williams.

'Our passing in the second set was great,' said Beasley. 'It was clean, it was easy on our hitters, and then the hitters got there, they swung away.'

The Pats again led by a point (5-4) early in the third set, when Miller set Goodwin, followed by a Shinabery kill, and a block from Bullins, and when Shinabery smoked a kill off a feed from Simmons, Marion's lead was 12-5 as the visitors took a timeout.

But Marion stayed hot after the stoppage, particularly Miller, who handed out 5 assists after the timeout, finding Shinabery twice, and Austin, Brown, and Goodwin once apiece as the Pats earned an 18-5 advantage.

Leading 18-6, Marion got two kills apiece from Brown, Bullins, and Goodwin, and a Simmons ace to close out the Badgers.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Marion opens conference play on this afternoon inside Fidelity Bank Arena when the Patriots host Greene County Tech. The junior high B game begins at 4:30 p.m., followed by the junior A game, and then the varsity contest. A free, audio-only broadcast of the Greene County Tech contest can be viewed on Marion-Patriots.com, and on the MPAN YouTube channel, and the MPAN mobile app.