Les Miles and Co. isn’t the only crew on campus trying to revamp its offense.
The LSU volleyball team has made changes to its offensive arsenal as well, using different looks and matchups to throw off opponents and change the tempo of the Tiger attack.
LSU coach Fran Flory said the team needed to find a more natural and comfortable rhythm to work in after losing to Ole Miss two weeks ago.
“We had a little crack in the armor, and we had to get back in the gym and get real specific on our offensive tempo,” Flory said. “We made a few adjustments in how we’re playing and the tempo that we’re playing.”
The biggest change came with the move of 6-foot-4-inch senior Tania Schatow from the outside hitter position to a middle-blocker role to increase her touches.
“We put Tania more in the middle, and I think we’re playing a little bit of a different rotation,” Flory said. “I think that part has added a ton of versatility, and it’s created more opportunities for Tania.”
The adjustments have done just that.
Through the first 16 matches, Schatow attempted nine or more kill attempts just three times. The senior has reached that mark in each of the last four matches and in five of the last seven.
Schatow said the team’s athleticism and flexibility is the key to changing the offensive look in the middle of the season.
“Since we’re all great athletes, we can run a lot of different things,” Schatow said. “Everyone can play everywhere, so it’s just really nice. It’s a different matchup for them and us too because we’re playing different positions.”
The new offensive rotation has also opened the door for freshman middle blocker Desiree Elliott and junior middle blocker Michele Williams to get more swings of their own.
Elliott only reached the double-digit kill plateau four times in LSU’s first 16 matches. She has surpassed that mark in five of the last seven matches, including a career-high 15-kill showing at Georgia.
“Everybody’s going to try to stop Desi because she’s putting up the big numbers,” Flory said. “Part of the reason we changed our lineup was to give [senior setter Brittney Johnson] some other options and to take some of the pressure off Desi so she doesn’t have to be the one in those rotations.”
Along with relieving Elliott, Flory said another reason for change was to take some of the pressure off senior outside hitter Angela Bensend, who currently leads the Southeastern Conference in kills per set.
“We don’t want to set [Bensend] 50 times in a three-set match. Nobody can weather that storm,” Flory said. “She carried us for a long time, but you can’t do that for 30 matches in a year.”
While the Tigers’ new offense may pass the eye test, sophomore outside hitter Madie Jones said the team is still adjusting and getting comfortable with the changes.
“It’s really nice because a lot of our players can hit a bunch of different positions, and so it’s kind of like the surprise element when we switch things up,” Jones said. “We definitely have to keep working on it, though, because we’re still not completely comfortable in it yet, but it’s definitely a fun thing to switch it up.”
LSU has a full week off to perfect its new-look offense before taking on Ole Miss this Sunday in the PMAC. The Tigers will be out for revenge, as the Rebels are one of only two teams who have delivered losses to LSU this season.
 
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Contact Mark Clements at [email protected]