The Marion Patriots found themselves in an odd spot Tuesday afternoon, less than 24 hours after topping old rival Mountain Home in four sets late Monday night, with a 5A East showdown at Greene County Tech looming on Thursday evening. Searcy invaded 3M Transit Arena and you'd have to forgive Marion if its attention was divided or elsewhere. But it wasn't to be on this day. The Patriots hit their visitors with huge opening runs in the first two sets while saving their big run for later in the third set to down the Lions in three sets (25-5, 25-5, and 25-11). Marion improved to 10 games above .500 for the first time in 2024 with a 13-3 overall mark, and the Pats remained flawless in the driver's seat for a second straight 5A East title with an 8-0 league mark. Marion embarked on a crisp 9-1 run to open the first first set, highlighted by a pair of Claire Brinkley aces, a Kendall Brown block, and an Aynslee Coad kill. The Pats took their first double-digit lead of the first frame when Alexa Shinabery served an ace, followed by another Brown block, and when Abby Simmons set Kaitlyn Austin for a kill, Marion's lead was 14-2 as Searcy called for time. Maggie Miller then served three aces during an 8-0 Marion push, the last of which gave the hosts their first 20-point lead of the set at 24-4, which doubled as the Pats' largest lead of the first frame. Marion's opening run in the second stanza was six points in a row before Searcy scored, and the Marion lead again peaked at 20 points. Miller and Brinkley powered the opening push as that duo combined for 13 assists in the second set alone. Miller took center stage early on, finding Shinabery twice, and Brown, Reese Goodwin, and Marlee Williams once apiece for a 6-0 Marion advantage. Then it was Brinkley who took over, dishing to Brown and Austin twice while serving an ace to give the Pats a 12-1 lead and force a Lion timeout. Brinkley helped cap the Lions late, setting Williams, Bren Sutton, and Williams again to give Marion a second straight 20-point victory in the set. Austin, Coad, and Williams registered kills to give Marion an early 7-4 lead in the third set, and it remained close until Marion got going again when Williams and Brown logged kills for a 16-9 Marion advantage and forced a Lion timeout. Marion took its first double-digit lead on an Izzy Fenter kill, which led to a Taylor Chamness ace, and Marion closed out with kills from Fenter and Sutton. WHAT'S NEXT? Marion continues 5A East play on Thursday afternoon when the Patriots travel to play Greene County Tech. The evening features a junior high varsity match, followed by a senior high B game and then the senior high varsity match. You can watch the Greene County Tech senior high varsity match for free on MarionPatriots.com, on the MPAN YouTube channel, or the MPAN mobile app. 5A EAST RESULTS FROM 9/24 Marion 3, Searcy 0 Valley View 3, Greene Co. Tech 0 Mountain Home 3, Nettleton 1 Paragould 3, W. Memphis 2 5A EAST STANDINGS ON 9/25 SCHOOL CONF. RECORD Marion 8-0 Valley View 7-1 Greene Co. Tech 6-2 Mountain Home 5-3 Batesville 4-4 Paragould 3-5 Nettleton 1-7 Searcy 0-7 W. Memphis 0-7 5A EAST MATCHES ON 9/26 Marion at Greene Co. Tech Mountain Home at Paragould Valley View at Batesville Searcy at Nettleton W. Memphis is open.