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The Marion Patriots set their expectations for the 2025 season immediately following the end of their 2024 campaign.

Most of the goals were the same: qualify for the state tournament and win the 5A East for the fourth time in five years.

But Marion believed it could play for a state championship this season, and after three days playing in front of massive crowds inside Fidelity Bank Arena, host of this year's Class 5A state tournament, the Patriots made the goal a reality on Wednesday afternoon.

The Patriots (27-2 overall) laid waste to their competition earlier this week, topping Sylvan Hills on Monday in straight sets (25-12, 25-7, 25-6). Marion was sharp again in the quarterfinals, eliminating Siloam Springs in three sets (25-22, 25-20, 25-21).

Marion will play 5A West champion Farmington at 1 p.m. on Saturday, November 1, at Bank OZK Arena in Hot Springs.

MHS may have saved its best for Wednesday's semifinal when the Patriots avenged their 2024 playoff loss to Van Buren, pounding the Pointers in three sets (25-10, 25-16, 25-13).

"I'm so proud of every girl on our team because we have had the most competitive, toughest, all-out practices the last few weeks," said Marion coach Lisa Beasley. "Everyone has and keeps making an impact on our team leading up to this tournament. It's an unselfish group. It's such a fun group. It's a hard-working group. I'm just so lucky I've been able to have a front-row seat all year. I'm really proud of our girls.”

Marion advances to the state championship game for the eighth time in school history (all since 2000). The Patriots claimed Class 6A state championships in 2010, 2011, and 2015. This will be Marion's first finals foray since 2016.

Marion 3, Sylvan Hills 0
The teams split the first 16 points when Marion ripped off the first run of the afternoon, starting when Jaida Sturdivant tallied a block point, followed by a kill to give the Patriots a 10-8 lead, and when Kennedy Bullins came up with a kill for a 12-8 Marion lead, Sylvan Hills called for time.

Marion's Reese Goodwin served a pair of aces following the timeout and came up with a kill to extend the Patriot advantage, and when Kendall Brown slammed a kill, the Pats had fashioned their first double-digit lead (22-12) of the afternoon, and Marion closed out when Brown served an ace and Kaitlyn Austin registered a kill of her own.

The teams again split the first 8 points of the second set, and Marion took the lead for good on a Brown kill, a Bullins ace, and back-to-back block points from Sturdivant, the latter giving her team a 10-4 bulge.
Marion took its first double-digit lead (16-6) of the second set on a Brown ace, and a second one gave the Pats an 18-6 lead and forced a Bear timeout.

Aynslee Coad, Austin, Bullins, and Brown came up with kills later on to help Marion close out a 25-7 victory in the second set that pushed the Pats one victory away from the state quarterfinals.

Marion gave a stellar effort in the third set, bolting out to a 19-1 lead.

The run began with back-to-back kills from Austin for a 3-0 advantage, and 3 Bullins kills pushed the Pats in front 8-1.

A Brown kill preceded an Austin ace that gave the hosts a 10-1 lead and forced a Sylvan Hills timeout, but the Patriot run continued when Marlee Williams recorded her first of 3 kills in the third set for an 11-1 lead.

Bullins and Williams teamed up for blocks on back-to-back points, followed by a Brown kill that gave Marion a 19-1 lead in set No. 3.

Marion didn't let up late in the set as the Pats got blocks from Sturdivant and Bullins and 2 Brown kills to close out the Bears and advance to the state quarterfinals for the fifth time in six seasons.

Marion 3, Siloam Springs 0
Marion authored a fast start in the first set of the state quarterfinals, scoring 9 of the first 13 points against Siloam Springs (18-11).

A Kendall Brown kill gave Marion a 5-3 lead, followed by kills from Kaitlyn Austin, Kennedy Bullins, and a second from Brown, the latter of which pushed the Pats in front 9-4 to force a Siloam Springs timeout.
That's when the Panthers rallied behind strong play from Emma and Isabel Suarez, and Erika Ellis, who each came up with 2 kills apiece following the stoppage.

The Panthers got within 12-11 following an Ellis kill, but Marion responded with 3 straight points, capped by a Reese Goodwin ace, that gave the Pats a 15-11 lead and forced Siloam Springs to burn its final timeout.

The Panthers got even at 16 with another Ellis kill, and when she registered a block point, the Panthers led 19-17 to force a Marion timeout.

A Story Castagna kill for Siloam Springs pushed the Panthers in front 21-19, but that's when Brown tallied back-to-back kills to tie the score, leading to an Austin kill for the lead, followed by a Goodwin point, and Austin helped Marion complete the comeback with another kill as Marion clinched a 25-22 victory in the opener.

Marion ran out of the gates in the second set as well, getting 2 early kills from Jaida Sturdivant, Bullins, and Brown, and when Austin tallied one of her own, the Pats led 9-4 as Siloam Springs called time.
Following a Brown kill and an ace, Marion led 20-12, and while the Panthers got within 5 points three times down the stretch, the Patriots closed out with an Abbigale Simmons ace and a Bullins kill for a five-point victory in the second stanza.

Marion got 2 kills apiece from Sturdivant and Brown to open the third set, while Austin and Bullins had one each, and the Pats led 9-5 in the early going.

But Siloam Springs worked within 2 points at 12-10 following an Ellis kill, and the Panthers completed the comeback at 15 apiece following an Isabel Suarez block point.

Consecutive kills from Brown and Sturdivant gave Marion a 17-15 advantage, and the Patriots got 3 points from Bullins late in the set to close out the Panthers by 4 points.

Marion 3, Van Buren 0
Marion scored 6 of the first 7 points of the opening set, highlighted by an Abbigale Simmons ace, back-to-back kills from Kennedy Bullins, and a Kaitlyn Austin kill gave the Pats a 6-1 lead.

Kills from Bullins and Kendall Brown gave Marion an 11-5 lead that forced a Van Buren timeout.
But, the Pointers got within 16-10 following 3 kills from senior Aubrie McGhee and a pair from Carley Freeman.

That's when Marion closed the opening set out with 9 straight points, sparked by a Reese Goodwin kill, a Bullins block, 2 kills apiece from Austin and Brown, a Simmons ace, and a Bullins kill, the latter closing out a 15-point victory.

The Patriots claimed an early lead in the second stanza, taking an early 5-1 lead behind a pair of blocks from Bullins, a Goodwin ace, and an Austin kill.

But McGhee and Rhyan Yancey kept the Pointers close with a pair of kills apiece; the latter got Van Buren within 8-6.

Leading 12-8, Marion came up with an ace from Simmons, and kills from Jaida Sturdivant and Austin, the latter gave the Pats a 15-8 lead as Van Buren called for time.

Goodwin and Bullins recorded kills down the stretch to help Marion claim a nine-point victory in the second stanza.

Marion ripped off 5 of the next 6 points as Aynslee Coad tallied a pair of kills, Bullins served an ace, and a Taylor Chamness ace staked Marion to a 10-5 lead as the Pointers called a timeout.

Kills from Sturdivant and Bullins continued the Marion run, and the Patriots claimed a double-digit lead (18-8) following a Bullins block.

Brown came up with a pair of kills down the stretch, while Sturdivant and Bullins tallied blocks at the net.

HOW TO WATCH
You can watch the Marion-Farmington Class 5A state volleyball final, which begins at 1 p.m., at myarkansaspbs.org/live, and you can listen to an MPAN audio-only broadcast at the MPAN YouTube channel. An exclusive deal between the Arkansas Activities Association and AETN prevents schools from producing a video broadcast.