Marion Athletics -

HOT SPRINGS --- The Marion Patriots haven't had to play many extra sets so far in 2025, but when the time came, they were ready.

Marion erased a 2-1 deficit in Saturday afternoon's Class 5A state volleyball final, winning the final two sets over Farmington to earn the fourth state championship in school history in five sets (22-25, 25-21, 16-25, 25-15, 15-8) inside Bank OZK Arena.

The Patriots wrap their stellar 2025 season with a final record of 28-2 overall, including a 16-0 mark in the 5A East, which Marion won for the fourth time in five seasons.

The 2025 Class 5A crown joins Class 6A titles in 2010, 2011, and 2015. It was Marion's eighth appearance in the state finals in the program's 30^th varsity season.

Marion senior Kennedy Bullins earned Class 5A finals MVP after stacking 11 kills and blocking five shots. Senior Abbigale Simmons racked up 14 digs and served a pair of aces. Senior Reese Goodwin recorded five kills, four digs, two assists, and an ace. Kendall Brown logged 20 kills and 11 digs, three blocks, and an ace. Kaitlyn Austin tallied seven kills, with a team-high 18 digs. Taylor Chamness served a pair of aces, and she paced the Patriots with a team-high 23 assists, while Claire Brinkley finished with 17 helpers. Annabelle White recorded two digs and an assist. Aynslee Coad logged four kills and four digs. Jaida Sturdivant stacked eight kills and three blocks.

Farmington (22-5-1 overall) took the lead for good in the opening set at 9-8, and the Cardinals held off a late Marion rally to win the lid-lifter by three points.

The teams split the first 26 points of the second stanza, but Marion embarked on the set's first run when Goodwin came up with a kill, followed by an ace to give Marion a 14-13 lead.

After a Bullins block for a 16-13 lead, Farmington called for time.

Kills from Coad and Brown gave Marion a 20-15 advantage, and the same duo came up with Marion's final two points in a four-point victory in the second frame.

Farmington led by as many as 12 points in the third set en route to a nine-point victory.

The teams split the first 16 points of the fourth set, but Goodwin came up with a kill and an ace on back-to-back plays for a 10-8 Marion lead.

Brown and Sturdivant came up with block points on consecutive chances for a 16-13 Marion lead that forced a Farmington timeout.

Chamness and Brown served aces after the stoppage, the latter giving Marion a 21-14 advantage, and Marion clinched the fourth set with a Bullins block.

The teams split the first six points of the fifth and deciding set, but Marion took the lead for good on a Coad block point, followed by a Sturdivant block, a Brinkley kill, and when Sturdivant tallied a kill for a 7-3 Marion lead, Farmington called for time.

The Cardinals got within 7-5 on back-to-back kills, but Brown recorded a kill, Bullins came up with a block, Simmons served an ace, and when Bullins registered her fifth and final block of the match, Marion stormed the floor after winning its fourth state title in history.