Senior season is the final time for student-athletes to shine at their universities. LSU senior volleyball outside hitter Marina Skender will have to wait one more year for that chance to shine. Skender tore her left ACL during offseason practice in April going for a spike, causing her to medical redshirt this season. “I don’t know exactly how it happened,” she said. “I heard a pop, and I went down.” Skender’s absence from the team has been noticeable — on and off the court. “We went through a grieving period when she got hurt in the spring,” said coach Fran Flory. “She is … the soul of this team. She has been the stabilizing force for us the last three years.”Skender, a member of the 2007 All-Louisiana First Team, was third on the team in kills (378) and blocks (100) and second in digs last season. The Tigers are averaging about two fewer kills, one fewer block and three fewer digs per set without Skender.But the Tigers will have to deal with her loss. “We have to accept it as a challenge,” Flory said. “We’ve had time to get through it. The reality of it is that the experience level on the court is a little different than we anticipated. We thought the upperclassmen would be a little more solid and a little more mature about how they handled the system, but so far they haven’t done that.”For now, though, Skender is finding new ways to help out the team. Skender attends every practice and sits on the sidelines for every match, using her view from outside the court to find ways to help the Tigers improve. “She helps us see things we can’t see on the court,” said senior outside hitter Kyna Washington. “She’s always there to help us with our problems both on and off the court.”Skender said it’s not as easy as it sounds. “It’s hard to just look at them from the sidelines,” she said. “It was really hard for me to get used to it, and it’s still hard. I try to give them all the support I can. I try to give them advice from what I see from the bench.” Skender, a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll, said she’s using her extra time to focus on school work. She plans to begin management graduate school in the spring. But she said one of the main reasons she came to the University was to play volleyball while going to school. “[Flory] recruited me, and I saw it as a great opportunity to come to school and play volleyball,” Skender said. “At home … you have to choose whether you want to go to school or play volleyball professionally.” Skender came to LSU from Croatia, where she said volleyball is a big sport. She helped lead the Croatian Junior National Team to a fourth-place finish in the European Junior Championship in 2004 and was recruited by then-LSU assistant coach Danijela Tomic during the tournament. Her family still lives in Croatia, and she said it’s hard not being able to see them very often. “I usually [can only] go home over Christmas break and summer,” she said. “I normally have to stay here.” After her collegiate career ends next season, Skender hopes to go play volleyball overseas. But for now, she will continue her rehab until she finally gets to have her senior season.—-Contact Andy Schwehm at [email protected]