It's very common for a volleyball team to take a few weeks to get its footing early in the high school season. Just don't tell the Marion Patriots. Hosting four of the region's top volleyball programs for its customary preseason jamboree inside Fidelity Bank Arena on Thursday night, Marion emerged 3-0 after topping Nettleton (25-12), two-time defending Class 4A state champion Brookland (25-21), and state powerhouse Valley View (25-23). Marion opens its 2024 campaign on Monday afternoon with a non-conference tilt at Wynne before hosting Beebe on Tuesday at 3M Transit Arena for the team's home opener. The Pats play Greene County Tech in the conference opener at Fidelity Bank Arena. Marion started fast against Nettleton, scoring four of the first five points of the set, including a kill from sophomore all-conference performer Kendall Brown. The Pats kept the pedal down after the Raiders got within 6-4 as senior all-state performer Maggie Miller set Brown, sophomore Marlee Williams, and junior all-leaguer Kaitlyn Austin for kills, and the hosts led 11-5 to force a Raider timeout. Marion got aces from Miller and Austin after the stoppage, and when Miller set senior all-conference performer Alexa Shinabery for a kill, Marion had its first double-digit lead at 18-8. Down the stretch, junior Taylor Chamness took center stage, serving an ace and handing out a pair of assists, including one to classmate Aynslee Coad, to give Marion a 13-point victory. Brookland, which has played for the Class 4A state championship each of the past five years and earned the last two state crowns, got the fast start in the second set. The Bearcats earned a 10-5 lead, which forced Marion to call for time. The stoppage sparked the Pats almost immediately as sophomore Claire Brinkley found Williams three times for kills, Miller served an ace, and when Coad and Brown rejected a Brookland shot at the net for a point, Marion was within 13-11, and the Bearcats needed a timeout. The Marion run continued as the Pats took advantage of a hitting error, and when junior All-5A East libero Abbigale Simmons served an ace, Marion had drawn even at 13. Marion strung together three points in a row to take its first lead (16-15) when Brinkley set Shinabery and Brown, while Brown also came up with a block. The Brookland set featured four ties from that point, including a pair of Miller-to-Austin connections that tied the tally at 20 and 21. It was Miller time from there, as Marion's all-time assists leader set Shinabery, Reese Goodwin, and Shinabery again down the stretch to push the Pats to a 25-21 conquest. The Valley View exhibition proved to be as tight as the Brookland showing, a set that featured eight ties. Marion earned some separation midway through the frame following a Shinabery kill and three hitting errors for a 13-10 lead that forced a Blazer timeout. Neither team earned much separation in the middle stages of the frame, but the Pats claimed a 22-20 lead after Miller set Austin and Williams as the Blazers called for time. Valley View scored the first two points after the stoppage to tie the contest, but Brown turned sets from Miller and Brinkley into kills, and a Blazer service error gave Marion the tight two-point victory. WHAT'S NEXT? Marion plays three volleyball matches next week, traveling to play Wynne on Monday before hosting Beebe inside 3M Transit Arena on Tuesday, and Greene County Tech on Thursday at Fidelity Bank Arena. All three Marion volleyball games next week will be broadcast live on MarionPatriots.com, the Marion Patriots Activities Network (MPAN) YouTube channel, and on the MPAN mobile app.