AUBURN, Ala.- Falling down 2-0, Georgia Southern volleyball (2-1) turned to the bench for a spark and earned its first reverse sweep since Nov. 5, 2021, downing North Alabama (0-3) in five sets, taking two of three games in the War Eagle Invitational.

"I don't know if my heart wanted to take that today, but I found out how tough of a group we have," head coach Chad Willis said. "We knew it was going to take a total team effort on both sides of the ball, and I think the box score certainly shows that. Credit to the team. They've worked, stayed the course, leaned into each other, and that's who we are."

The Eagles struggled on the attack in the first two sets, combining for more errors in those frames than they did for the rest of the match. UNA went up 19-8, and that deficit proved too much as the Lions won 25-17.

GS traded points for most of the second set, but never got to set point. Jordan Christy's kill at 22-21 was the last time the Eagles led in the frame.

Down 2-0, Willis turned to the bench. Sam Bowron (four kills), Maggie Sale (three kills) and Lexi Duffy (four assists) came in and righted the ship as the Eagles hit .313 in the 25-17 win.

Sale and Bowron continued to shine in the fourth set, but it was Jillian Gray whose kill sealed an 8-3 run to go up 13-7.

Reagan Barth continued her solid start to the season with a kill to force a UNA timeout at 20-13. Bowron punctuated the set with her ninth kill of the match and the Eagles knotted it at two.

All the momentum shifted towards the Eagles in the final frame. A block by Barth and Lydia Seymour capped a quick 3-0 run to lead 9-5, and the Eagles cruised from there. Barth ended the match in style with a kill to seal a 4-0 run, her 17th of the match.

Barth recorded 17 kills and hit .245, while Gray and Sale both had 12 kills. Bowron chipped in nine of her own.

Gray (12 kills, 11 digs) and Duffy (24 ast., 10 digs) both picked up their first career double-doubles, and Kirsten Barrett (33 ast., 13 digs) also contributed one.

Sale filled the stat sheet with 12 kills, four blocks and a dig, hitting an even .500 on the match.

"We told each other to not give in today," Sale said. "I think you could tell that we outworked them late. They got tired and stopped playing, and we didn't get tired. We've been working hard in the offseason to have that endurance to last all game, and it really showed today."

The Eagles leave Auburn 2-1 and begin the GATA Challenge on Thursday, hosting Maryland Eastern Shore.