Aug. 27, 2007

Georgia State Match Notes

AUBURN - With last weekend's sweep of the War Eagle Invitational in the books, the Auburn University volleyball team (3-0) hits the road for the first time Tuesday for a match at Georgia State University (3-1) in Atlanta.

Action in the mid-week match is set for 4:30 p.m. CT at the Georgia State Sports Arena. Live stats and a video Web stream are available from GeorgiaStateSports.com.

Auburn is coming off of a three-match sweep last weekend at the War Eagle Invitational. The Tigers downed Troy 3-1 to open the tournament on Friday. Auburn then swept Nicholls State in its early match Saturday before sealing the tournament victory with a 3-1 win over Tennessee State.

Senior Rachel Shanks (Madison, Ala.) was named the tournament's MVP and was joined on the all-tournament team by fellow seniors Whitney Jacob (Coppell, Texas) and Jelena Sekulic (Resnik-Beograd, Serbia).

Head coach Laura Farina was happy with the team's success over the weekend, especially considering that Auburn's starting lineup Friday night included three freshmen.

"I think part of it is relief that you get the three wins, there is no doubt about that," said Farina. "We had an expected shaky start with three freshmen on the floor, but we settled down by the last two games against Tennessee State and I thought we had a very solid performance by the team."

The Tigers now hit the road for the first time this season against a team it has dominated throughout its history. Auburn holds a 13-0 record all-time against Georgia State, including in their last two meetings.

The Panthers, a member of the Colonial Athletic Association, return seven letterwinners and four starters from a 2006 squad that went 10-19 (6-12 CAA). Georgia State hosted its own tournament last weekend, picking up wins over East Tennessee State, Central Florida and Fordham while losing to Tennessee-Chattanooga.

"Georgia State had a nice weekend. They came off with three wins over the weekend and are a very similar team to last year," said Farina. "They are a team that if we allow them to get hot in passing, which will help them control their offense, it will be a bit of a barn-burner. But, I think if we attack and are aggressive from the very beginning, it will be a very good match for our first outing on the road."

Georgia State is coached by fourth-year head coach Mike Webster who holds a 38-56 record at GSU.