JONESBORO --- Marion head volleyball coach Lisa Beasley believes in scheduling a challenging non-conference schedule so that her team is as prepared as possible for the regular season.
Against that backdrop, Marion unofficially opened its 2025 season on Thursday evening against three of the top programs in the state of Arkansas, Harrisburg, Valley View, and Brookland inside Valley View's Blazer Arena.
Marion played well in the first set, topping Class 4A semifinalist Harrisburg 25-19, but let Valley View rally late for a 26-24 victory, before Brookland bounced the Pats 25-20 in the third set.
The Patriots officially open their 2025 season on Monday, August 25, at home against the Wynne Yellowjackets.
The Wynne match will be played at 3M Transit Arena (near Marion's Math, Science, and Technology magnet school), and will be broadcast for free on the Marion Patriots Activities Network YouTube channel (youtube.com/mpan-marion).
Marion opens conference play on Thursday, August 28, at Greene County Tech, and that match will also be shown on the MPAN YouTube channel, but the Pats' non-conference match on Tuesday, August 26, at Collierville will not be broadcast.
Marion (23-8-1 in 2024) started well on Thursday evening against Harrisburg, taking the lead early on and staying in front.
The Patriots got a lift from senior Reese Goodwin, who served two aces and registered a kill, while Abbigale “Abby” Simmons led the way with eight digs. Kaitlyn Austin served an ace, tallied two kills, while Kendall Brown came up with five kills and two digs. Kennedy Bullins racked up three kills, two blocks, and a dig, while Claire Brinkley stacked five assists. Marlee Williams had a block, a kill, and an assist, while Jaida Sturdivant had two kills and two blocks against Harrisburg.
Marion scored five straight points in the middle part of the second set to capture the lead against host Valley View, and the Patriots led 22-18 as the Blazers burned their last timeout.
From there, Valley View did enough to slip past the Pats 26-24, despite eight kills from Brown, two kills and an ace from Bullins, and one apiece from Izzy Fenter, Brinkley, and Sturdivant, who also finished with a pair of blocks. Brinkley handed out nine assists in the set, while Simmons got to 11 digs, and Austin tallied three kills.
Marion got within two points often in the final set against Brookland, but the Bearcats were able to hold off the Pats despite Brown and Austin recording four kills apiece, and Bullins' two kills with a block. Goodwin served an ace with a kill, and Brinkley recorded four assists, while Sturdivant had a kill and a block.