GAME 1 STATS     GAME 2 STATS    GAME 3 STATS    GAME 4 STATS

ST. CHARLES, Mo. – The Royals traveled to St. Charles, Mo. this past weekend (Jan.25-26) to play in the 2008 Lindenwood Invitational.  The tournament consisted of 12 teams, nine that were nationally ranked in the NAIA Top 10. The Royals faced two of the ranked teams, going 1-1 against ranked opponents and improving their overall record to 3-1.

The Royals opened the tournament facing the host team, #3 Lindenwood University.  The Lions proved why they were the third ranked team in the nation, sweeping the Royals in three straight sets (22-30, 19-30, 18-30).  The Lions had a balanced attack against the Royals, with five players registering five or more kills in the match.

The Royals had two players register double figures in kills, Shedrick Forbes led the offensive attack for the Royals, recording a match high 14 kills and Matt Gizzi followed with 13 kills. Setter Sergio Rios registered 33 assists.

Defensively, Gizzi recorded a game high 10 digs.

The Royals had a much better showing the second match of the evening when they faced Moody Bible Institute (Ill.), sweeping the Archers 3-0 (30-27, 30-25, 30-18).

Forbes and Gizzi registered a double-double for the match as they led the team on offense and defense. Fobes and Gizzi tied for a team leading 13 kills. The duo backed up their offensive attack by playing well on defense with Gizzi leading the way with 13 digs and Forbes right behind him with 10 of his own.

Rios registered 41 assists to go along with six digs for the match.

The Royals did not let the cold weather of Missouri effect them as they remained hot on the court, carrying the momentum from the win on Friday into Saturday, the Royals went 2-0 for the day as they first defeated #10 Graceland University (Iowa) 3-1 (28-30, 30-23, 30-26, 30-25) in the early match.

The Yellow Jackets opened the match by narrowly defeating the Royals in the first game 30-28, but the Royals bounced back to defeat the Yellow Jackets in three straight sets. 

The Royals registered 68 kills for the game, and Forbes accounted for 38% of those kills as he led the team with 26 kills.  John Grotowski also played well on offense, registering 18 kills.

Grotowski was equally as good on defense as he led the team with 13 digs. Rios registered a personal tournament high 56 assists for the match.

In the final game of the tournament, the Royals defeated Holy Names University (Calif.) 3-1 (24-30, 30-20, 32-30, 30-19). For the second time, the Royals lost the first game before storming back to win three straight sets.  In the third game, the Hawks pushed the Royals to extra points with the Royals finally taking the game 32-30.

The Royals had three players record double digits in kills. Forbes saved his best game for last, registering a personal tournament high 30 kills. Gizzi and Grotowski each tallied 16 and 15 kills respectively.

Defensively, Gizzi also led the team with nine digs and Rios registered three blocks and five digs to go along with his 54 assists.

Forbes was named to the All-Lindenwood Invitational Team, finishing with 83 kills and 33 digs in the two-day event.

The Royals take a week off from competition before they face University of Central Florida’s club team on Saturday, February 9 in a doubleheader that begins at 1 p.m.