LSU’s volleyball team is on a roll, winning three straight road games. Although the team knows the season is far from done, there is a new feeling going around the locker room. “We have a newfound level of confidence,” said LSU coach Fran Flory. “It’s not a cockiness. We don’t think we’re great. We just have an understanding that we are through the grieving process of losing her.”The “her” Flory referred to was middle blocker Lauren DeGirolamo, who went down with a season-ending knee injury earlier this season.Flory said the team began to believe in itself last weekend on the road. “We were moving forward and saying, ‘This is who we have. Let’s figure out how to make it good,'” Flory said. “Now all of a sudden we looked around this weekend against Mississippi State and went, ‘Oh my gosh, we could be pretty good.’ You could feel the tension just leave the group.” Sophomore outside hitter Tania Schatow echoed Flory’s feelings. “We have a new air of confidence, but we know we have to keep working hard,” she said. “We can’t just stop because we’ve won three in a row. We have to keep it going.” This weekend’s matches against Florida (16-1, 10-0) and South Carolina (15-4, 7-3) will mark the beginning of the second half of conference play for the Tigers, who lead the Southeastern Conference Western Division. The Tigers (11-6, 6-4) lost on the road to the Gamecocks, 3-0, and the Gators, 3-1, during their first SEC matches of the season. But this time around, LSU feels it is more prepared. “We are beginning to hit our stride,” Flory said. “We found a new … fresh, young, energetic and fast lineup, and we are getting better, whereas some teams are probably as good as they are going to get for the rest of the season.” Flory said the new lineup will help the Tigers tonight against SEC-leading Florida because the Gators will be running similar offenses and defenses to what the Tigers saw the first time they played one another. “Florida is a difficult team to match up with because they are so physically talented at so many spots,” she said. “Our lineup creates some different problems for teams in scouting us. We may not play as high above the net, but we are quicker and more versatile. We’ve proven to be more efficient so far with the new lineup.” The Tigers will play the Gators tonight in the PMAC at 7 p.m. LSU will then face South Carolina at 1:30 p.m. Sunday in the PMAC.—-Contact Andy Schwehm at [email protected]