The Marion volleyball team drew ever closer to checking off one of the goals that it sets every season. Marion dispatched Nettleton on Thursday night in straight sets (25-17, 25-18, and 25-19) at 3M Transit Arena, improving to 17-5-1 overall and a perfect 9-0 in 5A East action. The Patriots completed a season sweep of their longtime conference foes from Nettleton behind a staggering match-high 27 kills with an ace from sophomore Kennedy Bullins. Junior setter Maggie Miller amassed a career-high 45 assists against Nettleton with seven digs. Freshman Kendall Brown stacked nine kills and two blocks. Sophomore Kaitlyn Austin logged a team-high 13 digs with eight kills against Nettleton. Junior Alexa Shinabery logged seven kills and 10 digs, while sophomore Reese Goodwin finished with 13 digs, served two aces, and a kill. Sophomore libero Abbi Simmons handled seven digs and served a pair of aces. Nettleton hung with Marion early on in the opening set, trailing by just 4-2, but that's when Miller and Bullins emerged as Marion's dynamic duo teamed up for three kills in a five-point span, giving the hosts an 8-3 lead that forced a Raider timeout. The stoppage helped Nettleton get within 9-6, but Miller returned to work, dishing to Brown twice and Bullins once for a 12-7 lead. The Pats strung together three points in a row later on when Bullins recorded a block, Miller came up with a kill, and Miller hit Bullins for a kill for an 18-10 lead. Marion led by eight points twice late in the first set, and the Pats clinched an eight-point victory when Miller set Austin for the final tally. Nettleton took an early 3-1 lead in the second stanza before Marion took advantage of a pair of hitting errors and Miller's deft passing. The all-conference performer of a season ago found Bullins three times, Shinabery and Austin twice, and Brown once, part of a Patriot push that ended with Marion in front 8-6. But the Raiders responded from there, taking a 16-12 lead in the second set when Marion clamped down. Another Patriot run opened with an Austin kill, followed by a Simmons ace. When Miller set Austin, Bullins, and Shinabery for three straight points, Marion had tied the set at 17 as Nettleton called time. But the stoppage did nothing to deter the Pats, and particularly Bullins and Shinabery, who stacked three kills apiece down the stretch of the second set. When Nettleton sent a ball sailing wide, Marion had earned a 25-18 set No. 2 victory. Marion looked to finish Nettleton early in the third set, as the Pats scored the first six points of that frame, highlighted by another Simmons ace, two Bullins kills, and Austin gave the Pats that six-point lead when she slammed a kill of her own. But Nettleton fought back to tie the proceedings at 10 apiece, leading to Miller hitting Bullins, Brown, and Shinabery in succession for a three-point Patriot lead. Miller later set twice for Austin and once for Brown, and after Marion scored on a Goodwin ace and a Brown kill, Nettleton called time trailing 18-12. The Raiders got within four points twice down the stretch, but Miller set Bullins for a 23-17 lead, and Bullins capped off her big night by serving an ace for match point and a six-point conquest. WHAT'S NEXT? Marion plays three games next week, beginning Monday at defending Class 4A state champion Brookland. The Pats jump back into 5A East action on Tuesday at West Memphis before hosting Paragould on Thursday at 3M Transit Arena. The Brookland contest will feature the high school junior varsity and varsity and will begin at 4:30. West Memphis hosts seventh grade, junior high B and A, and senior high B and A. The Paragould tilt has seventh grade, junior B and A, and high school varsity. All three volleyball contests next week can be watched live on MarionPatriots.com and on the Marion Patriots Activities Network YouTube channel. 5A EAST RESULTS FROM 9/28 Marion 3, Nettleton 0 Valley View 3, Batesville 2 Greene Co. Tech 3, W. Memphis 2 Paragould 3, Searcy 0 5A EAST STANDINGS Marion 9-0 Valley View 7-2 Paragould 6-3 Greene Co. Tech 5-4 Batesville 4-5 Nettleton 2-7 Searcy 2-7 W. Memphis 1-8 Top 4 teams qualify for the state tournament in Searcy.