COLLIERVILLE, TN. --- Marion's volleyball team wanted to find out how good it could be early this season, so Coach Lisa Beasley looked across the bridge for one of the top programs in Tennessee. What she found was a talented group of Collierville Dragons that had started 9-0 in 2023, dropping only one set along the way. Beasley's Patriots took a set off the Dragons inside My Towns Arena on Thursday afternoon before losing in four sets (25-17, 25-21, 21-25, and 25-18). Marion (1-1 overall, No. 8 in ScoreBookLive's weekly volleyball rankings) opens its home schedule on Monday afternoon with a non-conference tilt against Class 4A Wynne before a much-anticipated league opener on Tuesday against No. 4 Valley View. Both matches will be broadcast live on MarionPatriots.com and on the Marion Patriots Activities Network mobile app, with coverage beginning at 4:30 p.m. Collierville (10-0 overall) started fast hosting Marion, scoring the first seven points of the opening set, but the Pats cracked the scoreboard when junior Maggie Miller recorded the first of her team-high 41 assists to classmate Alexa Shinabery (nine kills at Collierville) for a kill that tried to get Marion on the tracks. Miller later served an ace and set sophomore Kennedy Bullins (15 digs, 11 kills, two aces, and one block) for a kill and when Shinabery served an ace, Marion was within 11-6. But Collierville ripped off six points in seven tries later in the set to lead by as many as nine points on four occasions. Marion tried to rally down the stretch as Miller set Bullins twice, Shinabery once, and sophomore Reese Goodwin once to get Marion within 23-17, but the Dragons scored the final two points to turn away the visitors. Collierville was hot out of the gates again in the second set, scoring the first four points, but the Pats hit the comeback trail behind sophomore Kaitlyn Austin (team-high 13 kills and three aces, with 10 digs). Miller set Austin thrice following Collierville's opening run, and when Miller served an ace, Marion was within 5-4. Miller teamed with Shinabery for two of three points later on, the latter tied the score at 7. Freshman Kendall Brown (10 kills and two blocks) registered a kill and both blocks later on to get Marion within 10-9, but the Dragons scored four in a row to take a 14-9 lead and force a Marion timeout. The Marion response was swift as the Pats embarked on a fun of seven points in eight tries, and when Miller found Shinabery and Bullins on back-to-back plays, the Pats had taken a 16-15 lead. A Bullins ace and a Brown kill gave Marion the lead momentarily later on in the second stanza, but the Dragons finished strong, scoring five of the last six points to earn a four-point victory. The Dragons scored the first four points of the third set, but the Pats had no intentions of going away. A Marion rally started when Austin mashed a kill down the line in front of the Collierville student section and immediately served an ace to cut the Dragon lead in half. From there, Miller took control when she recorded four aces and a kill during a Patriot run that got the Pats within 15-11. Miller and Bullins teamed up three times late in the third set for Marion points, the last of which tied the set at 16, which forced a Collierville timeout, much to the delight of the healthy Marion cheering section. Shinabery, Goodwin, Brown, and Austin turned Miller's passes into points as the Pats finally took the lead at 20-19. Austin served an ace and when Miller teamed with Shinabery for a kill, Marion had taken a set off of Collierville for just the second time in 2023. Marion was fast out of the gates in set No. 4 when Bullins, Goodwin, and Shinabery logged kills for the first three points before a double-tap extended the lead to 4-0. Bullins helped Marion maintain the lead when she blocked a shot and recorded two kills, followed by a pair of Brown kills, but the hosts took the lead by scoring seven of eight points, including five in a row for a 12-11 advantage. A Brown block helped Marion tie the set at 16 apiece, but the Dragons finished strong for a 25-18 victory in the fourth set that gave them the match. Sophomores Taylor Chamness and Abbi Simmons produced excellent defensive games with nine digs apiece, while Miller was tops with 17 digs. Chamness also finished with two kills and an ace. WHAT'S NEXT? Marion hosts Wynne on Monday for a non-conference contest featuring the high school junior varsity and varsity before No. 4 Valley View comes to town in a showdown between the two teams many believe are most likely to win the 5A East conference title. Marion travels on Thursday to Nettleton for a league match. Every match next week will begin at 4:30 p.m. And will be broadcast live on MarionPatriots.com and on the Marion Patriots Activities Network mobile app. RANKINGS RUNDOWN Reputable high school sports website ScoreBookLive released its initial Top 25 rankings of Arkansas volleyball for 2023 this week, and only two 5A East schools were featured. Valley View checked in at No. 4, with Marion ranked eighth. Defending state champion Benton was No. 3, while 5A West favorite Greenwood checked in at No. 7. Little Rock Christian took the ninth slot in the rankings, while last year's semifinalist Mount St. Mary's holds down the No. 11 spot. Van Buren (14) and Hot Springs Lakeside (15) round out the Class 5A teams in the rankings.