AUBURN, Ala. — The Georgia Southern Lady Eagles (2-1) breezed through the first two games of the War Eagle Invitational volleyball tournament hosted by Auburn Friday and Saturday, but fell to AU 3-1 in the third match.
    The Eagles started the 2010 campaign with a 3-0 (25-13, 25-15, 29-27) win over UT Martin in the opening match of the War Eagle Invitational. Played in the Student Activities Center on the campus of Auburn, junior outside hitter Bethany Sanford posted a double-double to open the season and lead the team.
    “There were some great points to the match, but we pinpointed some areas that we need to improve upon as well,” said GSU coach Chad Callihan. “I was disappointed in letting our lead slip away in the third set, but I was pleased with the way we regained our composure and held off two set points for the win. Overall, we were good at the baseline and we blocked well in the first set, but we need to maintain that throughout the match.”
    As a team, the Eagles collected 40 kills on 96 attempts and just 12 errors, while forcing 24 Skyhawk errors.

Eagles finish 2-0-1 in preseason
    The Georgia Southern men’s soccer team battled Gardner-Webb to a scoreless draw in their final exhibition match, finishing 2-0-1 in preseason play Saturday in Statesboro.
    The Eagles out shot the Runnin’ Bulldogs 15-6, forcing Gardner-Webb goalkeepers Trent Kozman and Adam Garcia to combined for eight saves, four each half. Kozman started the game for the Runnin’ Bulldogs before Garcia came on in the second half.
    Ryan Platt played all 90 minutes in goal for the Eagles, making two saves. Jon Cox took a game-high six shots, placing two on target, but couldn’t find the back of the net. Six other Eagles also placed a shot on goal, but the Gardner-Webb goalkeepers continued to make the tough stops to keep the game scoreless.
    Georgia Southern will open the regular season at home against USC Upstate on Wednesday, September 1. The game is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.

GSU women take down USC Upstate
    The Georgia Southern women’s soccer team scored a pair of goals to defeat USC Upstate 3-0 Saturday.
    With the win, the Eagles evened their record at 1-1-0, while the Spartans fell to 0-3-0 on the season.
    Freshman Alex Murphy scored the Eagles first goal of the season on a header inside the box in the 34th minute for what proved to be the game winner. Sara Oland put the Eagles up 2-0 just under three minutes into the second half.         The junior found the ball at her feet on a pass from Danae Kaimuloa, and buried the ball in the back of the net from the right side of the goal.
    The Eagles gained their third goal of the game on an own goal by USC Upstate in the 65th minute when the ball bounced off a defender’s legs and into the net.
    The Eagles return home for their next match against Georgia State on Friday, September 3.
    The contest is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.

    If you have a score to report, please call the Statesboro Herald sports desk at (912) 489-9408.