WEST MEMPHIS --- One of the defining moments of the 2021 Marion Patriots volleyball team has been the ability to produce game-changing runs and pull away from the competition. That trend continued in Tuesday night's tilt against West Memphis at Lehr Arena, and those spurts pushed the Patriots to a three-set victory (25-20, 25-7 and 25-9). Marion's 23rd consecutive victory improved the Pats to 23-1 overall and 13-0 in the 5A East. The Patriots clinched their first conference title since 2016 last Thursday at Jonesboro. The West Memphis win gave Marion its first outright league title since 2015. It's the 11th conference championship in school history (all since 2001). "(Winning a conference championship) is always one of our goals," said Marion coach Lisa Beasley, who is the only Marion volleyball coach in program history. "I'm glad we can check that one off and concentrate on our other goals. Being able to win a conference championship at this level of play speaks highly of our talents and is a real honor." Marion senior Daedrianna Cail posted a team-high 19 kills at West Memphis while classmate Anna Caroline Fesmire dished 19 assists and logged 13 kills. Lauryn Keith handed out a team-high 22 assists. Madison Keith, twin to Lauryn, tallied a team-high 14 digs and served four aces. Senior Kora Wilson, who started her day by finishing third in the Class 5A girls tennis doubles tournament, posted seven kills and served three aces. Kiara Ledezma logged five kills while Emerson Miller recorded 13 digs. Presley Crader paced West Memphis in assists (eight), tallied seven kills and served an ace. Samantha Holt logged a team-high 20 digs while Clamesha Prackett stacked a team-high nine kills. Marion and West Memphis split the first four points of the opening set before the visitors produced their first run of the night. Cail gave Marion a lead it would not relinquish by digging a ball on the back row and rerouting it to Fesmire, who lofted a perfect pass leading to a Cail kill. Fesmire and Cail teamed for another kill on the following point before a Wilson ace gave Marion a 5-2 advantage. A Fesmire kill preceded a Kiah Rucker block for a 9-4 Marion lead that forced a West Memphis timeout. Marion's second big burst started when Lauryn Keith set Cail for a kill that kicked off a stretch of five straight points. West Memphis worked within 23-20 following a Prackett kill but a hitting error and a Cail kill gave Marion a 25-20 victory in set No. 1. The Pats shot out of the gates in the second set, streaking to a 10-0 lead behind three Cail kills, two West Memphis errors, a pair of Ledezma kills and an ace by Wilson. Lauryn Keith emerged as the key playmaker in the second set, handing out seven assists. Lauryn Keith found Wilson twice and Fesmire as Marion's lead swelled to 16-6. A pair of Madison Keith aces and two Cail kills pushed West Memphis to the brink after a 25-7 conquest in the second set. The Pats and Blue Devils were dead even through eight points in the third set when Marion ripped off seven straight points, led by a pair of Cail kills and an ace and three Lauryn Keith-to-Fesmire connections. Lauryn Keith set three more kills (two to Fesmire and one to Rucker) while Madison Keith served two aces to swell Marion's lead to 18-8. Lauryn Keith's deft passing dragged Marion across the finish line as the senior assisted on four of Marion's final five points (three kills from junior Madison Allison, and one apiece from Wilson and Fesmire) as the Pats won the third set 25-9. "Our girls have all accepted their roles, bought into our system and are great teammates," said Beasley. "It's just amazing to watch how we've morphed into something so special this year." Marion will be the No. 1 playoff seed in the Class 5A state tournament this season, which will be held at Fidelity Bank Arena. The tournament begins Tuesday, October 26. Marion hosts Batesville Thursday night in the conference finale. Nine Patriot seniors will be honored prior to the varsity match. The ceremony and varsity contest will be livestreamed on MarionPatriots.com and on the Marion Patriots Activities Network mobile app.