BROOKLAND --- Marion opened its 2022 volleyball season on Thursday night in a four-team, three-set jamboree at Bearcat Arena. Facing eight-time defending state champion Valley View, Class 4A power and host Brookland, and 5A East rival Nettleton, the Pats finished 0-3. Valley View topped Marion 25-19, Brookland slipped the Pats 25-13, and Nettleton earned victory by a 25-19 count. “You either live, or you learn,” said Marion volleyball coach Lisa Beasley. “I believe we are going to learn from tonight and be better next time.” Playing Valley View in the opener, Marion scored first when sophomore Maggie Miller set senior Kiah Rucker for a kill. Rucker and classmate Meredith Williams registered blocks on consecutive points and Marion pulled within 5-4. The Pats stayed close when Miller set freshman Kennedy Bullins for a kill before sophomore Alexis Shinabery served an ace, and Marion took advantage of a Blazer hitting error to get within 9-8. Marion tied the set at 13 when it took advantage of a net infraction, a hitting error, and kills from Bullins and Madison Allison to force a Valley View timeout. The Blazers responded by scoring five of the next six points to open up an 18-14 lead to force a Marion stoppage. Marion got within three points (19-16) when Rucker and Williams logged kills, and again later when Bullins recorded a kill to make it 22-19 before Valley View ripped off the set's final three points. Against Brookland, the Bearcats wrapped seven consecutive points around a Marion timeout to claim a 15-6 advantage. Following a Rucker block, Brookland scored three more points in a row for an 18-7 lead. Marion strung together three points of its own when Freshman Aynslee Coad logged a kill, and Miller served an ace before setting Coad for a kill, but Brookland logged seven of the last 10 points to win 25-13. The third set against Nettleton was a nip-and-tuck battle early on, and Marion got even with the Raiders at 2 apiece when sophomore Alexa Shinabery served an ace. Nettleton responded with five of the next six points, but Marion got back into it with a pair of Rucker kills, an ace from freshman Taylor Chamness, and a pair of Miller-to-Bullins kills that knotted the score at 9. Four straight Nettleton points forced a Marion timeout, but the Pats got a kill from Williams, a Miller ace, and a Rucker block to crawl back within 14-13. But Nettleton scored five of the next six points to open a 19-14 advantage and despite kills from Allison, Rucker, and Williams late, the Raiders earned a 25-19 conquest. Rucker paced Marion at the jamboree with eight kills, while Bullins finished with six. Miller handed out a team-high 12 assists, and freshman libero Kaitlyn Austin paced Marion with 33 digs. Williams recorded four kills and a block, and Allison logged three kills. Shinabery served a pair of aces and recorded two kills. Marion opens its 2022 regular schedule at home on Tuesday, August 23 against Beebe. That varsity contest will be broadcast live on MarionPatriots.com and on the Marion Patriots Activities Network mobile app. The broadcast will start at approximately 5:30 p.m.