A venue change and a week-long break did nothing to slow Marion volleyball's momentum. Marion moved its Thursday contest against south Crittenden County rival and 5A East foe West Memphis to Fidelity Bank Arena, but the results stayed the same as the Pats dismissed the Blue Devils in straight sets (25-5-, 25-17, and 25-9). The Patriots (9-4 overall, 3-0 5A East) improved to 35-0 all time against the Blue Devils (2-5, 0-3) on the volleyball court behind sophomore Kennedy Bullins' game-high 16 kills, junior Maggie Miller's 28 assists, and six kills apiece from Kaitlyn Austin, Alexa Shinabery, and Kendall Brown. Marion scored 6 of the first 7 points in the opening stanza for a 6-1 lead that forced a West Memphis timeout. "I couldn't have been much happier with how we played coming out tonight," said Marion coach Lisa Beasley. "We played clean, we played hard. We did the little things right, and that's so important in a big game like this one." Bullins tallied 2 kills while Shinabery logged one during the opening run. The Marion lead hit 13-3 following a Miller ace, a Shinabery kill and a Blue Devil net violation. The hosts led by as many as 20 points twice in the lid-lifter, both on kills from freshman Kendall Brown, the latter of which gave Marion a 25-5 conquest in the opener. But West Memphis did not back down from Marion in the second. The teams split the first 8 points of the set before Marion ran off 4 points in a row, including a Miller ace, a Shinabery kill, and a pair of kills from Bullins as the Pats led 8-4. West Memphis rallied when Chloe Fesperman logged 2 kills and Jordyn Hightower served up back-to-back aces, the second of which gave the Blue Devils a 9-8 lead. The visitors got even later on when Laila Taylor logged a kill, but Marion took advantage of a service error, and kills from Austin, Shinabery, and Brown to take a 16-12 lead and force a Blue Devil timeout. West Memphis twice trimmed the Marion lead to five points late in the second stanza, but the Pats responded with Bullins, who stacked 3 kills, 2 blocks, and an ace down the stretch to push Marion to the finish line. Miller served West Memphis out by scoring the final 2 points of the frame on aces and the Pats led 2-0 in the match. "Give West Memphis credit, they didn't get down after the first set because they played really well in the second," said Beasley. "Their serve-receive was on point and they did a good job blocking." With West Memphis blocking so well, Marion turned to Miller to continue her deft passing, which she did with 10 third-set assists. The junior dished assists on Marion's first 3 points of the frame, two to Austin and one to Bullins, and the Pats took a 9-1 lead following 2 Bullins blocks, an Austin ace, and a Shinabery kill as West Memphis called for time. The stoppage did little to slow the Patriot onslaught as Shinabery and Bullins stacked 2 more kills apiece as the hosts earned a 14-1 lead, and the advantage topped out at 22-2 following a Brown kill. West Memphis fought back late when Laila Taylor, Tyra Taylor, and Hightower logged kills, but the Blue Devils could only get within 24-9 before a Miller kill closed the visitors out for good. "I love how we approached the game tonight because we didn't take anything for granted," said Beasley. "We didn't always play the best, but we were always locked in and focused on the opponent. We can clean up whatever mental mistakes we might have made, but issues with focus are harder, and I'm proud that we had to say very little to them tonight as coaches to get them ready." WHAT'S NEXT? Marion continues its run in 5A East play on Tuesday night when the Pats play at Paragould in a contest that will begin at 4:30 p.m. The contest will be broadcast live on MarionPatriots.com and on the Marion Patriots Activities Network YouTube channel. 5A EAST RESULTS FROM 9/7 Marion 3, West Memphis 0 Nettleton 3, Searcy 1 Valley View 3, Paragould 0 Greene County Tech 3, Batesville 2 5A EAST STANDINGS ON 9/8 Marion 3-0 Greene Co. Tech 3-0 Valley View 2-1 Nettleton 2-1 Batesville 1-2 Paragould 1-2 Searcy 0-3 W. Memphis 0-3