BEEBE --- Coaches love it when a team starts fast and plays to its potential from the word go. By that standard, the 2023 Marion volleyball team left quite an impression in its season opener. Playing at perennial state tournament qualifier Beebe, Marion did not trail until the third set, and even then only briefly, as the Patriots bested the Badgers in straight sets (25-7, 25-10, and 25-14). Marion's (1-0 overall) serve-receive game dazzled many of the crowd inside Beebe Sports Arena on Tuesday night as the Pats handed out 16 aces in the non-conference tilt, including seven from sophomore libero Abbi Simmons, five from sophomore Kennedy Bullins, three by Kaitlyn Austin, and one from Taylor Chamness. Simmons, who also recorded a team-high 11 digs, sparked a 9-0 run to open the first set by serving an ace on the initial play of the match. Junior Maggie Miller, who recorded an eye-popping 27 assists at Beebe, started her assault by feeding Bullins and Austin for back-to-back kills for a 3-0 Marion lead. Following a hitting error and another Simmons ace, the visitors led 5-0 as Beebe called for time. The stoppage did nothing to slow Simmons, who served aced on three straight plays to push Marion's lead to 9-0 before the Badgers broke the scoreboard. It was Austin's turn on Marion's next rotation as the sophomore wrapped a pair of aces around a Miller-to-Alexa Shinabery connection, and the Pats' lead swelled to 13-3. A Bullins Block and Austin's third ace gave Marion a 16-3 bulge. Miller fed freshman Kendall Brown for consecutive points later on, the latter of which gave Marion a 20-5 lead, and Miller found Austin twice and Brown again down the stretch to give Marion a stellar 25-7 victory in the opener. The teams split the first six points of the second stanza, but Marion hit Beebe with seven straight points, spearheaded by three Bullins aces in a four-point span, and capitalized by a Miller-to-Shinabery connection as Marion's lead hit 10-3. Miller set Brown twice and Austin once, and when Chamness (six digs and two kills) served an ace, the Pats had a 16-6 lead. Following a Bullins block and back-to-back aces by Simmons, Marion's lead was 20-7 as the Badgers called for time just before the Pats closed out strong for a 25-10 conquest. Beebe pushed back in the third set, claiming two-point leads twice in the early stages before Brown came through with her breakout performance. With the set knotted at 4, Brown turned Miller passes into kills on three of four points, and the fourth point in that span was a block for an 8-4 Marion lead. From there, Shinabery and Brown alternated points until Marion took a 12-4 lead to force a Beebe timeout. A Bullins ace gave Marion its first double-digit lead (14-4) of the third set, and Miller handed out eight assists down the stretch to four Patriots to help Marion close out the Badgers. Brown logged a game-high 10 kills, while Austin racked up eight, Bullins finished with seven, and Shinabery stacked six. Brown and Bullins paced the Pats with two blocks apiece, while Miller and Austin each recorded 11 digs, while Bullins finished with 10. WHAT'S NEXT? Marion continues the non-conference portion of its schedule on Thursday night when it plays at Collierville, Tennessee for a junior varsity/varsity contest. That match will be broadcast live on MarionPatriots.com and the Marion Patriots Activities Network mobile app.