MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - For the first time this season in conference play, St. Thomas (18-4, 5-1 TSC) was not the better team, falling in four sets (18-25, 28-26, 21-25, 13-25) to the visiting Warner Royals (12-4, 7-0 TSC).  It marked the ninth straight victory for the Royals, who took sole possession of first place in the Sun Conference.

Marisa Markus led all Bobcat hitters with 12 kills.  She was also solid on the defensive front with seven digs.  Whitney Battoe finished with 11 kills, six digs, and one solo block.  Dana Nowaczyk served up 32 assists, and reserve Kimberly Martino had 10 of her own in spot duty.  Jordan Wiese led the defense with 12 digs.

Ultimately, the Bobcats did not have enough on this day to contend with a Royals offense that had three hitters finish with double digit kills. Warner's Adrienne Czaplewski had a monster day hitting with 18 kills.  Breeanna Navarro chipped in with 13 kills, and Angie Pagan-Perez put down 10 kills on the afternoon.  Feeding them the ball was Jenna Swaffer, who tallied 41 assists throughout the match.

Warner made a statement early with a 25-18 victory in the first.  That seemed to catch the Bobcats attention as a much better effort was put forth in the second set, a 28-26 victory for St. Thomas.  But the quartet of  Czaplewski, Navarro, Pagan-Perez, and Swaffer continued to spell a riddle the Bobcats could not solve.  The Royals took set three 25-21, and ran away from the Bobcats 25-13 in the decisive fourth.

Quick turnaround for St. Thomas, who heads up to Lakeland for a conference battle against Southeastern.  The Bobcats previously defeated Southeastern in four sets.  First serve is set for 5 P.M. E.T. at the Sportsplex.