SEARCY --- Marion employed a deep rotation this season to win the 5A East conference title, and after one match in the state tournament, it's safe to say that formula traveled to Searcy. The Patriots (24-6-1 overall) impressed throughout in Tuesday afternoon's opening-round victory over Sylvan Hills (12-11), winning in straight sets (25-12, 25-18, and 25-16) at Lion Arena. Seven Patriots tallied kills against Sylvan Hills, led by sophomore Kennedy Bullins' 12, while Kaitlyn Austin finished with 8, and Alexa Shinabery and Kendall Brown stacked 7 apiece. Maggie Miller, who is Marion's all-time assists leader, handed out a match-high 24 helpers, while Abbi Simmons racked up 18 digs, and Taylor Chamness tallied 13 of her own, and Austin got to 10. "Overall, I'm really pleased with how well we played considering how young we still are (Marion has no seniors on its roster)," said Marion coach Lisa Beasley. "This is a big stage, and you really have to play well to be anyone at a state tournament. I thought we played extremely well against a really scrappy team. It's a great win for us." The Patriots will play in the state quarterfinals (round of eight) for the fourth year in a row on Wednesday afternoon when they take on 5A West runners-up Greenwood at 2 p.m. The Greenwood match will be broadcast live on MarionPatriots.com and on the Marion Patriots Activities Network YouTube channel. Marion advanced to its fourth straight quarterfinal round by scoring leads of 5-1 and 11-3 in the opening set. The early onslaught was triggered by Miller and Bullins, who teamed up four times for kills, the last of which gave the Pats a 10-3 lead, and when Miller hit Shinabery for a kill, the Pats led 11-3. But Sylvan Hills didn't back down from Marion's early barage, and the Bears hit the comeback trail when senior Laney Watson recorded three kills to get Sylvan Hills back within 14-7. From there, the Pats got kills from Austin, Shinabery, and Bullins, as well as 3 hitting errors by the Bears to take their first double-digit (20-10) lead of the set. Marion closed the book on the initial stanza when Miller hit Austin, Brown, Bullins, and a Simmons ace put the bow on a 13-point victory in the first set. Sylvan Hills countered Marion in the early stages of set No. 2, as Ella Watson, Ja'Den Brown, and Makenzie Guy racked up kills as the Bears took leads of 3-0 and 4-2. Marion rallied behind a pair of Sylvan Hills hitting errors, a kill and a block from Bullins, and back-to-back kills from Reese Goodwin, the latter gave Marion a 10-6 advantage. Sylvan Hills had to burn a timeout after a Brown kill and a Shianbery ace, and the Pats continued to add on late in the second set with Brown stacking three kills, Austin coming up with a pair, and Goodwin recording one. But the Bears worked within 20-17 following a Brylee Overman ace, leading to a Goodwin kill, a Brown block, and Shinabery pushed the Bears to the brink with a kill and an ace for Marion's final 2 points of a seven-point victory. The teams split the first 10 points of the third set, and Marion pieced together the first big run of that stanza behind Miller, who handed out assists on 6 of 7 Marion points. The fun started when she hit Bullins for a kill, followed by helpers to Shinabery, and Austin for a 9-6 Marion lead. That's when Laney and Ella Watson came up with 2 kills apiece to get the Bears within a point, but Marion bounced back with a Chamness ace, a Goodwin kill, and back-to-back kills from Shinabery that gave the Pats a 17-12 lead. Goodwin and Bullins teamed for a block prior to a Shinabery ace, and when Sylvan Hills couldn't return a Simmons serve, the Bears called time trailing 20-15. Brown took center stage after the stoppage, stacking 2 kills and coming up with another block as Marion punched its ticket to the quarterfinals. "It's always a goal to get to the state tournament and play well once we get there," said Beasley. "It's a big deal to win at the state tournament and our girls approached this with the proper mindset tonight." DAY ONE STATE TOURNAMENT RESULTS Mount St. Mary 3, Batesville 0 Harrison 3, Lake Hamilton 0 Valley View 3, Vilonia 0 Benton 3, Siloam Springs 0 Hot Springs Lakeside 3, Russellville 1 Greenwood 3, Sheridan 1 Paragould 3, LR Christian 1 WEDNESDAY MATCHUPS AT LION ARENA Mount St. Mary-Hot Springs Lakeside, 12 p.m. MARION-Greenwood, 2 p.m. Harrison-Valley View, 4 p.m. Benton-Paragould, 6 p.m.