GREENBRIER --- When two of the hotter teams in the state meet in a single-elimination tournament, one team has to lose. So it was Wednesday afternoon when Marion met Benton. In the end, the high-powered Benton Panthers (28-1 overall), outright champions of the 5A Central, outpaced the Marion Patriots in the quarterfinal round of this year's Class 5A state volleyball tournament at Panther Pavilion. Benton topped Marion 25-13, 25-18, and 25-13. Marion ends its season at 19-11, with a runner-up finish in the 5A East. The Patriots wrap 2022 with wins in 13 of their final 18 outings, with the five losses coming to Class 4A Favorite Brookland twice, Class 5A semifinalist and 5A East champion Valley View, a five-set defeat at 5A East No. 3 seed Batesville on the Pioneers' senior night, and Wednesday's loss in the round of eight to Benton, many pundits' favorite to win this season's Class 5A state title. Marion didn't back down early on Wednesday against mighty Benton. The teams split the first 10 points of the game as senior Madison Allison recorded a pair of kills and freshman Kennedy Bullins logged one. Six consecutive Benton points forced a Marion timeout when sophomore Alexa Shinabery turned a Maggie Miller pass into a kill to break the run. But the Panthers responded with four more points in a row for a 14-6 advantage. Allison came up with three more kills, while Shinabery stacked two of her own down the stretch, but Benton closed out with kills for each of the last three points for a 25-13 opening-set victory. Marion's hitters clocked in early in set No. 2 as seniors Kiah Rucker and Meredith Williams logged kills to tie the set at 2. Bullins came back with two of her own while Rucker posted another kill and a block to get Marion within 9-7. Benton ripped off seven straight points, and 10 of the next 14, to take a commanding 19-11 lead, which forced a Marion timeout. Williams and Bullins recorded kills while Shinabery served an ace to get Marion close, but Benton scored the last three points of the set again for a seven-point conquest in the second stanza. Kills from Rucker, Shinabery, Allison, and Williams helped stake Marion to an early 6-4 lead in the third set. A Bullins kill and a Shinabery ace pushed the Pats in front 9-6. However, Benton scored the next five points following the Shinabery ace to force a Marion timeout. Marion snapped the run when Miller found Bullins for a kill, but the Panthers bounced back with the following eight points to take control of the proceedings. Bullins, Allison, and Rucker came up with kills down the stretch, but Benton closed out a 12-point victory in the third set. GRAND CLOSING The Benton game was the last contest for seniors Allison, Rucker, Williams, and manager Cheyenne Kight, who have all been in the program since seventh grade. Allison, Rucker, and Williams started almost every game this season. YOUTH MOVEMENT Marion graduated nine seniors off of its 2021 team that earned the outright 5A East conference title and qualified for the state semifinals, the first time the Patriots accomplished those things since 2016. With just three seniors and no juniors on the 2022 Marion roster, the Patriots wound up starting sophomores Miller and Shinabery, along with freshmen Bullins, Kaitlyn Austin, and Taylor Chamness. The Patriots expect to return for 2023 their digs leader (Austin) and runner-up (Shinabery), assist leader (Miller), and second-leading hitter (Bullins).