KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Carly Turner posted 22 kills on the day, but Georgia Southern dropped a pair of matches at the Tennessee Classic Saturday in Thompson-Boling Arena. The Eagles lost 3-0 to Tennessee in their early match before falling 3-2 to East Tennessee State in the evening.

Eagles of the Match vs. ETSU
Landon Jones had a career-high 36 digs, the most for an Eagle since Alex Beecher had 36 against Little Rock Oct. 29, 2016, in a five-set match in Hanner Fieldhouse. Jones was named all-tournament after averaging 5.72 digs a set for the weekend.

Turner finished with a team-high 17 kills, and Baylor Bumford tallied nine kills and four blocks while hitting a team-best .350.

Key moments vs. ETSU
GS (5-6) led 13-12 in the fifth, but ETSU (9-3) rallied for three straight points, winning the match on a kill by Olivia Cunningham. The Bucs led 9-6, but GS rallied for four consecutive points and went on to take a 13-12 lead after an ETSU hitting error.

Down 2-1 in the match, the Eagles trailed 20-18 in the fourth set, but Maddie Bryant ignited a 6-1 run with a kill, and a Turner kill gave the Eagles a 24-21 lead. ETSU won two straight points, but Turner sent the match into the fifth with a kill. It was the second five-set match of the week for the Eagles, who came up short in both of them.

Eagles of the Match vs. Tennessee
Mya Wilson led the Eagles with eight kills and added two blocks, and Haley Fuller posted six kills, two blocks and two digs.

Key stats vs. Tennessee
The Lady Vols (5-4) hit .400 as a team while holding the Eagles to .133. 

Quotables from head coach Chad Willis
"It was a tough day, but our team really showed our ability to battle in our last match against ETSU. We're starting to see when we take care of our priorities and play within the system how good we can be and the potential we have. Unfortunately, today we just couldn't do it consistently. Overall, we learned a lot about ourselves in the pre-conference schedule that will benefit us now that we head into the start of Sun Belt play."

Next up
GS opens Sun Belt Conference play with their annual Carolina swing. GS faces Coastal Carolina Friday and travels to Appalachian State for a Sunday contest.