The Big South Conference championship match offers a nice test ahead of section play for St. Peter and Marshall.
While the Saints have been winning, they haven’t been consistently tested. They’re 11-1 in their last 12 matches, with the lone loss coming to St. Clair in the championship of the Cyclones’ home tournament — and they've only dropped three sets in that stretch.
St. Peter (23-5, 8-1) lost to the two best teams its faced so far, falling 3-0 to No. 2-1A Waterville-Elysian-Morristown on Sept. 17, and 2-1 to No. 3-1A Mayer Lutheran on Sept. 8.
This match could gauge the Saints' pulse heading into postseason play, relying on Claire Nussmeier (252 kills) and Paige Hewitt (400 assists). St. Peter can also pressure its opponents with its serving — Allie McCabe has 42 aces while Nussmeier has 41.
Marshall is that test because it knows success: The Tigers are the only team to win the Big South title since the conference’s inception in 2014.
Marshall has balance with hitters Paige Andries, Erica Jones and Bria Morris, and the No. 3-2A Tigers (21-6, 6-0) also have two capable setters in Rachel Schwarz and Logan Sherman.