Lisa Beasley stood in front of her team's vacant bench and rattled off names as though she was taking roll for a class. The Marion head volleyball coach was asked how her team had pulled out a riveting five-set victory (19-25, 28-26, 25-12, 23-25, and 15-10) over league rival and fellow state powerhouse Valley View inside Fidelity Bank Arena, and her answer was thorough. "I can't say enough about how Kennedy (Bullins) played, Kaitlyn (Austin) did so many things for us tonight and never got tired. Maggie Miller and Claire Brinkley were nails. Marlee (Williams) played big," said Beasley. "I thought Abbigale (Simmons) and A.B. (Annabelle White) were tough on the back row. Mallorie Sharp keeps playing her part and giving us what we need. We hit it well, we passed it well. We played hard. Everyone on our team did their part tonight, and that's really a lot of fun." Marion (10-2 overall, 5-0 5A East) outlasted Valley View (8-4-1, 3-1) in a match between the past two 5A East champions, but it was the Blazers who struck first in this one, scoring first on a Bonnie Fagan kill in the first set and the Blazers pushed ahead 7-2 on an Annika Wilbanks kill to force a Marion timeout. The Patriots worked within 15-12 later in the set following a Kendall Brown kill, but the Blazers responded with an ace from Mary Kate Rees and a block point by Kate Calhoon, and the Blazers clinched the opening set on a Marion hitting error and a London Bean block for the six-point victory. "They just really outplayed us in the first set," said Beasley. "You name it, they did it. We made mental errors that we usually don't make, or maybe never make. Our passing was off. And they were the opposite, they made all the plays and it showed." The second set was a see-saw battle early as the teams split the first 18 points, but the Pats finally earned some separation when Alexa Shinabery recorded a kill and Marlee Williams blocked a Blazer shot at the net for a two-point lead that forced a Valley View timeout. The Blazers battled back to tie the set at 17 apiece later as Peyton Prater recorded three kills and Wilbanks stacked a pair. Valley View finally took the lead at 21-20 when Riley Owens served an ace, but Marion took advantage of a Blazer hitting error, and a service error, and when Claire Brinkley set Brown for a kill, the Pats led 23-21 as the Blazers again called time. Valley View got even at 26 apiece, but Marion scored the final two points of the frame on a lift call and a Bullins kill to earn an exhilarating two-point victory to even the match at a set apiece. The third set started innocently enough as the teams alternated points through the first 10 tallies, but Marion started to pull away when Maggie Miller found Williams twice for kills, Brown and Bullins once, and recorded one of her own for good measure, the latter of which gave the hosts a 10-5 lead to force a Blazer timeout. Marion took its first double-digit lead of the third set (20-10) when Bullins stuffed a Blazer attempt at the net, and Marion got back-to-back aces from Austin and a Williams kill to slam the door on Valley View for a 2-1 lead in the match. "I definitely felt we had more energy and just played cleaner in 2 and 3," said Beasley. "I thought the energy was good most of the night, but it showed with those two." The teams collaborated for a memorable fourth set as neither team could earn more than a three-point lead at any time, and it was knotted at 23 late in the set as Marion called time. That's when Valley View got an ace from Owens and a Marion hitting error to take down the fourth set and force a decisive fifth frame. Valley View led the first-to-15 fifth set 5-3 following an Owens kill, but Marion got back into it following a Brown kill and consecutive aces from Mallorie Sharp for a 6-5 lead. But the Blazers pushed on, getting a kill from Prater and a Marion hitting error to earn a 7-6 lead. Marion got even with an Austin kill, and the Pats claimed a 10-8 lead following a Bullins kill followed by a block. Another Bullins block gave Marion a two-point lead and when Shinabery slammed home a free ball for a 12-9 lead, the Blazers called for time. Marion earned the marathon victory with another Shinabery kill and a Blazer error. "This wasn't always pretty or fun, but it's a great win for our kids and our program," said Beasley. "It's a lot of fun to compete with them because you know what kind of program they have, and if you can beat them then it's a really big deal." WHAT'S NEXT? Marion continues its initial jaunt through 5A East play on Tuesday, September 17 with a match at West Memphis. The evening begins at 4:30 p.m. with a junior high B game, followed by a junior high A match. After that, the senior high B plays, with the senior high A game capping the night inside Lehr Arena. You can watch the senior high A game on the MPAN YouTube channel, on MarionPatriots.com, or on the MPAN mobile app. 5A EAST RESULTS FROM 9/12 and 9/16 Marion 3, Valley View 2 Greene Co. Tech 3, Paragould 0 Batesville 3, Nettleton 2 5A EAST STANDINGS SCHOOL CONF. RECORD Marion 5-0 Greene Co. Tech 4-1 Valley View 3-1 Mountain Home 3-1 Batesville 2-3 Nettleton 1-3 Paragould 1-4 Searcy 0-4 W. Memphis 0-4 Top 4 make state playoffs October 29-31 in Van Buren. 5A EAST GAMES ON 9/17 Marion at W. Memphis Mountain Home at Valley View Nettleton at Paragould Searcy at Batesville Greene Co. Tech is open.