AVE MARIA, Fla. --- The Ave Maria volleyball team was defeated by the Warner Royals in three sets on Wednesday evening. Senior Lauren Ruby recorded her fourth triple-double of the season.
 
Ave Maria moves to 5-14 overall and to 2-11 in Sun Conference play while the Royals improve to 13-12 overall and to 9-5 in TSC action.
 
For a second straight game, senior utility player Ruby led AMU in kills and digs with 11 and 22, respectively. She also had 13 assists, one behind team leader Cassie Davis who finished with 14 on the night.
 
Alejandra Suarez (16), Katie O'Donnell (13), and Daniella Jaramillo (13) also tallied double-digit digs for the Gyrenes.
 
As a team, the Gyrenes hit .113 but weren't able to keep up with the .224 hitting by the Royals. For the first time all season, the Gyrenes were also held to without a service ace.
 
Warner led for the entire opening set. They jumped out to a 16-6 lead en route to a 25-13 win to take a 1-0 advantage.
 
AMU fell behind early in the second set but kept within striking distance and eventually pulled even and ahead of Warner, 22-21, after four straight Gyrene points. The Blue and Green had three straight set points but weren't able to convert. After fighting off a set point by Warner, AMU had their fourth set point at 29-28. Three straight points by Warner gave the Royals a 31-29 set two win.
 
After four straight points by Warner to start the third, AMU responded with five straight of their own to take an early lead. The Royals won six of the next eight points and continued to extend their advantage the rest of the set. Warner went on to win the set 25-18.
 
Ave Maria returns to action on Saturday when they hit the road for the final time this season at Johnson & Wales. The match is set to begin at 2 p.m.