Sept. 2, 2005
AUBURN, Ala. -- Senior Bailey Veit and sophomore Rachel Shanks turned in career best performances on Friday evening as the Tigers took it down to the wire with Georgia Southern in a five-game thriller in front of nearly 400 fans at the Student Activities Center.
Auburn won the first two games, 30-21, 30-21 before being narrowly edged out in game's three and four by two points (30-28, 30-28). In game five, the Tigers trailed by six before posting six consecutive points to even the tilt at 14. It was back-and-forth from here on out with four more ties but the Eagles came out on top, 20-18 in the end.
"You just have those games where you out-stat, out-score, your opponent but you just aren't able to pull it out," AU head coach Laura Farina said. "They were a hard team to play, they played well at the right moments and capitalized off some of our mistakes. They are a very good team and will have much success this season."
Veit wowed the crowd with 31 digs, bettering her previous career high by 11. This mark's the most digs in five games by any AU player all-time. Shanks racked up 21 kills on 58 attempts, both career marks, and added 13 digs for the Tigers' first double-double of the season. Freshman Michele Ashmore led the group again in assists with 68.
"We had some outstanding performances," Farina commented. "Bailey Veit did exceptionally well in her libero position and that shows in her 31 digs she had this evening. This is just one game, we have three months left in the season, so we will put this one behind us and continue preparations for the Arizona State tournament next week."
The Tigers posted better marks in every statistical category, 82 kills to GSUs 73, 87 digs to 79 by the Eagles and 14 team blocks to their 10.
The Tigers continue competition on September 9-10 at the Sun Devil/Wyndham Butts VB Classic in Tempe, Ariz.