With the end of the spring season quickly approaching, the LSU volleyball team is putting some finishing touches on their blocking and serving — two categories for which the team ranked in the top five in the Southeastern Conference last season.LSU assistant coach Steve Loeswick said the team was having trouble with blocking at the beginning of the spring.The Tigers were No. 2 in the SEC with 2.45 blocks per game last season, but Loeswick said the team has been working on footwork and sealing the net.”Footwork is putting yourself in a position to make a solid block so your defense can play around it,” he said. “Early in the spring, we were having trouble getting the blockers to meet at the same spot where it was a solid block.”The team has also worked on trying to raise their level of consistency and trying to score more points off their serve.”We’re trying to get more consistent across the board,” Loeswick said. “[Sophomore] Michele Williams has a great serve, a very aggressive serve. [Sophomore Lauren] Waclawczyk has the ability to have a really tough serve, and she is pretty consistent.”Loeswick also said senior Marina Skender has been doing a great job with her serving since coming off her ACL injury that sidelined her all of the past season.Skender had 56 service aces her junior year in 2007, which ranked No. 5 in the SEC and No. 2 on the team behind former Tiger Kyna Washington.”She’s been as good, if not better than, where she left off,” Loeswick said.Another problem for the Tigers throughout the spring season has been a lack of depth because of injuries.The Tigers will be heading into their weekend LSU Spring Tournament with exactly enough players to fill a court — six.LSU will be without senior Lauren DeGirolamo and junior Angela Bensend because of injuries, and senior Samantha Dabbs will be out of town at a family function.Waclawczyk said the spring season is beneficial to the team, despite the injuries.”It’s not good to have anybody hurt,” she said. “But you get more reps than if we had more people here. Not everybody is playing the exact position that they are going to be playing in the fall, and that may be a downfall, but we are getting so many reps, and that is all about.”The tournament will consist of five teams — LSU, Southern, Tulane, Southern Mississippi and Southeastern Louisiana. Each match will be two sets to 25 points.SEC BEACH CHAMPIONSHIPSThe Tigers compiled a 15-9 set record at the SEC Beach Championships in Siesta Key, Fla., on Saturday.Loeswick said the Tigers were divided into three teams.In the Gold Bracket, the top bracket in the tournament, LSU fielded Williams and Skender.That duo finished with four wins and four losses in sets in pool play, but lost in the first round of the playoffs to a team from Georgia.”They made some impressive athletic plays throughout the day, but they lacked ball control consistency,” Loeswick said.LSU’s two setters, Dabbs and junior Brittney Johnson, swept through their pool, going 6-0 in sets. They defeated a team from Florida in the first round of the playoffs but were upset in the quarterfinals of the Silver Bracket. LSU’s third team was Waclawczyk, junior Tania Schatow and senior Brittnee Cooper. Waclawczyk played the whole day, and the other two alternated playing with her. The team went 4-2 in their six sets before dropping in the first round of the playoffs.”It was a great experience,” Loeswick said. “I know our girls had a great time, I’m sure they are disappointed about how they played in the afternoon, but to have to control the ball with the wind and only having two people on the court was a great experience for them.”Waclawczyk said the beach season was helpful for the team in terms of endurance and strength and learning how to hit more accurately.”You learn that you don’t have to hit it hard and straight down,” she said. “You learn the shots like the deep corners, the short corners, and you learn how hit them accurately. As a defensive specialist, I didn’t really know how to do that, but you have to learn fast.”—–Contact Andy Schwehm at [email protected]