Marion Athletics -

MOUNTAIN HOME --- There aren't many home volleyball venues in the state more fearsome than Mountain Home's facility, aptly known as “The Hangar.”

Add in one of Arkansas's more historic and fierce volleyball rivalries, and you have the makings of a memorable event.

Marion came out on the right side of the series on Tuesday evening, topping Mountain Home in three sets (25-17, 25-12, and 25-13) to improve to 23-2 in 2025, with a sparkling 15-0 mark in 5A East play.
The Patriots have already clinched the 5A East conference title and No. 1 playoff seed in next week's Class 5A state volleyball tournament, which will be played Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at Marion.
Marion opens its run at the state tournament at 12 p.m. Monday, October 27, and if the Patriots win the opener, then they would play again at noon on Tuesday, October 28. A Marion semifinal match would be played at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, October 29, followed by the second semifinal at 4 p.m.

Should Marion advance to the Class 5A state final, the Patriots would play at 1 p.m. on Saturday, November 1, at Bank OZK Arena in Hot Springs.

Mountain Home proved capable in the early going of the initial set on Tuesday, as the teams split the first 24 points of the set, but back-to-back Marion points forced a Bomber timeout with the visitors leading 14-12.

Kills by Kennedy Bullins, Kaitlyn Austin, Kendall Brown, and Aynslee Coad extended the Marion run, with Coad's point giving the Pats a 19-15 advantage, and when Austin served an ace for a 22-15 lead, the Bombers called their second timeout of the set.

Kills from Brown and Coad helped Marion close out a 25-17 victory in the opener.

Mountain Home stormed out to an early 4-3 lead in the second stanza, but that's when Marion got back-to-back kills from Brown and an ace by Bullins for a 7-4 lead.

Later on, Reese Goodwin tallied a kill, Bullins registered a block, and Goodwin served consecutive aces to give the Pats a 15-10 advantage.

Marion took its first double-digit lead (22-12) on a Brown kill, and a Bullins ace salted away a 13-point Patriot victory in set No. 2.

The Pats never trailed in the third set, taking the lead for good on a Bullins block, followed by another Goodwin ace for a 3-1 advantage.

Brown and Jaida Sturdivant scored consecutive points, followed by an antenna infraction for a 12-4 Marion lead that forced a Mountain Home timeout.

The Pats pushed ahead by double digits again (18-8) following Goodwin's fourth ace of the set, and Marion closed out with back-to-back kills from Brown and Austin.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Marion concludes its 2025 regular season on Thursday afternoon with a home date against Searcy. The senior B match begins at 4:30 p.m., followed by the senior A game. You can watch both matches for free on the MPAN YouTube channel.
The Class 5A state volleyball tournament will be played next week in Marion, with matches beginning at 12 p.m. on Monday, October 27. You can watch complete coverage of the Class 5A state volleyball tournament for free on the MPAN YouTube channel.

5A EAST RESULTS FROM 10/21
Marion 3, Mountain Home 0
Valley View 3, Searcy 0
Greene Co. Tech 3, Batesville 0
Nettleton 3, W. Memphis 2
Paragould did not play a conference match.

5A EAST STANDINGS ON 10/22
SCHOOL. CONF. RECORD
MARION 15-0*+
Valley View 13-3*
Greene Co. Tech 10-6*
Paragould 9-6*
Mountain Home 7-8
Batesville 6-10
Nettleton 5-10
Searcy 3-12
W. Memphis 0-15
*clinched state tournament berth
+ clinched conference title and No. 1 playoff seed
The top four teams make the state tournament Oct. 27-29 in Marion.

5A EAST MATCHES ON 10/23
Searcy at Marion
Paragould at W. Memphis
Nettleton at Mountain Home
Valley View, Batesville, and Greene County Tech do not play a conference match.