The LSU volleyball team is still trying to find an identity after 11 matches this season.LSU coach Fran Flory says the Tigers are not close to the team she hopes they will be by the end of the season.”We’re still growing, and we’re still building,” Flory said. “I don’t even know if we have the right lineup out there yet.”LSU (7-4, 1-1) will have plenty of travel time to find itself as it begins a four-match road trip Friday against Auburn (9-4, 1-1).Auburn is opening up a three-match Southeastern Conference homestand.LSU sophomore libero Lauren Waclawczyk said the road trip should not be a distraction for LSU.”It’s always better to be at home,” Waclawczyk said. “But at this level, you have to be focused every single game no matter where you’re playing, especially in the SEC. It doesn’t matter who we are playing, where we are playing, we’re going to come in focused.”LSU also has a 20-match winning streak against SEC West division opponents on the line.Auburn is led by junior libero Liz Crouch, the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Week. Crouch is a New Orleans native and product of Academy of the Sacred Heart.”[Crouch] digs a hard-hit attack very well,” said Auburn coach Wade Benson. “She’s also got a pretty vicious jump serve.”Benson respects the threat LSU poses but feels his team will be able to compete with a squad that swept Auburn a year ago.”LSU is a very physical team,” Benson said. “They’re an older team than we are and more experienced. They have more size. It’s going to be a tough match for both teams.”Following the match at Auburn, LSU will immediately hit the road to Athens, Ga., in anticipation of its Sunday match with the Georgia Bulldogs (10-3, 1-1).The Tigers split two matches with the Bulldogs in 2008.Georgia coach Joel McCartney said his team is excited for the LSU match.”We feel this will be one of the biggest challenges of the season for our program,” McCartney said. “There is no doubt the Tigers will be a top-25 caliber team by the year’s end if not sooner, but we will be prepared to battle and show our very best fight come Sunday afternoon in Athens.”Sunday’s match will be Georgia’s second of a four-game homestand. The match with LSU, however will be the only match of the weekend for the Bulldogs.Because there are only 11 volleyball teams in the SEC, every year one school rotates being the team that plays without a travel partner. That means teams facing LSU will only play one match a weekend versus the traditional Friday and Sunday matches. Flory said being the team without a travel partner is a disadvantage but the Tigers should be able to overcome the adversity.”This is SEC volleyball, and you should be able to step up to the plate,” Flory said. “It really shouldn’t matter. At times it will matter, but we have to be tougher than that.”The main key for the Tigers this weekend will be staying motivated for both matches. Waclawczyk said the Tigers came out flat in last Sunday’s 3-0 loss to Kentucky.”The seniors are doing a good job of reminding us of the importance of each match,” Waclawczyk said. “Everyone says the championship is up in the air this year, and we’re looking to go get it. So that means taking one game at time and making it important.”—-Contact Rob Landry at [email protected]