Following a back-and-forth first-set loss, Marist only held the lead for just two points in the ensuing two sets, as Saint Peters commandingly swept the Red Foxes, 3-0.
The win for Saint Peters (4-9, 2-5 MAAC Conference) matches their most wins in MAAC play since 2021, with two. Marist (1-16, 1-5 MAAC) tallied a staggering 37 errors in three sets of the game to drop their second consecutive match, going winless on the weekend trip to New Jersey.
Neither team’s offensive attack remained consistent throughout the match. The leader in kills – Marist’s sophomore outside hitter Sara Dasic – only recorded 13. Dasic’s teammate Taylor Miller and Saint Peter’s Valeria Pagan Munoz followed closely; both freshman outside hitters scored 12 kills of their own.
Saint Peters controlled the serve-receive facet of the game early on, helping them take an 8-5 lead. At that point, three points came on aces, while another two came from Marist serving errors.
Marist settled in with Dasic at the line, quickly scoring four straight points to take the lead. The Red Foxes held the advantage until late in the set, when a four-point Peacock run scored 23-20 in favor of the home team. The late-set push proved everything Saint Peter’s needed; they won the set three points later, 25-21.
Marist’s error-riddled play cost them in the first set. Neither offense played well, failing to record hitting percentages over .200. In total, Marist handed out 17 free points: seven attack errors, five missed serves, four ball handling errors and one block error.
Before Marist could focus on cleaning up their errors, the Peacocks immediately pressured them in the second set. Saint Peter’s won nine of the first twelve points, swinging .300 in the process, with their offense seemingly having woken up after a solid finish to the first set.
Marist head coach Sean Byron called a timeout, hoping to prevent the set from getting away from the Red Foxes. The timeout proved immediately effective; Marist won six of the following nine points. Saint Peter’s head coach, Fernando Colon, called a timeout after an ace from sophomore libero CC Potter-Pessoa.
Though Marist took back the lead shortly after, Saint Peter’s found its footing on offense and defense. The Peacocks put 12 kills past the Marist block while shutting down the Red Foxes’ offensive attack. Saint Peter’s blocked seven Marist swings, limiting them to a measly .053 hitting percentage.
After ending the second set on a 7-2 run to win 25-18, the Peacocks carried their momentum into the third, earning a quick 6-2 lead. Marist came back to shrink the lead to two points, but that was as close as the Red Foxes got. The Peacocks scored three straight to stretch their lead to five, prompting another timeout from Byron.
This time, the pause in play and words of encouragement and advice did not turn the set around for the Red Foxes. Saint Peter’s cruised to another dominant win, 25-17, to sweep the match.
The straight-sets defeat marks the first time in conference play that Marist has been swept, coming at the hands of one of the bottom teams of the MAAC. The Red Foxes and the Peacocks entered the day at 1-5, but Saint Peter’s played much higher than Marist.
Marist returns home for their next match, where they will play Quinnipiac. Hoping to gain their second in-conference win, the Red Foxes are set to play at McCann Arena at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Edited by Jaylen Rizzo
Photo by Jaylen Rizzo
Graphic by Quinn DiFiore
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