Eagles Fall 3-1 to Auburn in War Eagle Invitational

Auburn, Ala. – Georgia Southern dropped a tight 3-1 (25-17, 16-25, 13-25, 19-25) decision to the Auburn Tigers to round out the War Eagle Invitational on the campus of Auburn University Saturday evening (August 28). The Eagles went 2-1 in the tournament. Junior Bethany Sanford and sophomore Kate Van Dyke were named to the All-Tournament team to close out the season-opening tournament.

Sanford (Avondale, Ariz.) led the Eagles with 32 kills in the 11 sets played, while Van Dyke (Shawnee, Kan.) collected 101 assists, 9.18 assists per set.

In the final match, Sanford tallied a team-high 13 kills and Van Dyke recorded 33 assists to lead the Eagles. The two tied for a team-high nine digs apiece. Parker Small (Charlotte, N.C.) added eight kills and five block assists.

“We came out and played a very good first set. The team really challenged Auburn and caught them off guard,” stated Head Coach Chad Callihan. “But Auburn did a nice job of regrouping and they controlled the tempo for the rest of the match with the serve.”

Tiger Sarah Bullock finished with a match-high 18 kills, while Liz Crouch picked up 17 digs. Christina Solverson led Auburn (3-0) with 36 assists.

Georgia Southern grabbed the first set, 25-17, after battling back from an early deficit. The Eagles knotted the set at 4-4, but the teams battled back-and-forth until GS pulled away following an 8-8 tie. A 7-2 Eagle run highlighted by a pair of service aces, capped by a Hannah Nelson (Norcross, Ga.) kill, handed the Eagles a 15-10 advantage. Auburn pulled to within two at 17-15, but GS pushed ahead and sealed a 25-17 win.

Auburn opened set two scoring four unanswered points and took a 10-5 lead before Georgia Southern closed the gap to 10-7 off a Sanford kill and Small ace. But the Tigers continued to pull away and took the set, 25-16.

A 7-1 Auburn run opened the third set and forced the Eagles to burn a timeout. A Lauren Claybaugh (Danville, Calif.) kill and Auburn attack error brought the score to 11-6 and Sanford pulled the Eagles to within five again at 12-7, but that would be the closest the Eagles would come. Auburn took a 2-1 match lead with a 25-13 set three win.

Georgia Southern and Auburn battled in the fourth set, but the Tigers took the early lead and never looked back. Auburn jumped out with a 7-2 lead before Georgia Southern rallied back on a 6-2 run drawing the score to 9-8, Auburn. Sanford's third kill of the set brought the Eagles to within one point, 10-9, but Auburn answered with a 4-0 run. At 22-16, two kills from Sanford and Nelson set the score at 22-18, but Auburn solidified the match win with a 25-19 fourth set victory.

“We need to work on our ball control and defense,” stated Callihan. “This tournament pointed out some weaknesses that were exposed by different teams in different ways, but it gave us a good baseline on what we need to go back and improve on.”

The Eagles return to action at the MT Blue Raider Bash, September 3-4. Georgia Southern opens the tournament against Southern Mississippi on Friday, Sept. 3 at 5 p.m. and will face Duke and Miami on Saturday.

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