It took a while, but the LSU volleyball team finally found a tournament to play in this weekend.After having their home tournament canceled last weekend because of Hurricane Gustav, the Tigers picked up a pair of sweeps against Nicholls State and McNeese State in the McNeese Invitational in Lake Charles.LSU collected 86 kills in the two matches, with senior outside hitter Kyna Washington racking up 22 of those kills.”Kyna has really matured as an offensive threat,” said LSU coach Fran Flory. “She used the right shots in the right situation.”Junior setter Sam Dabbs paced LSU with 88 assists on the weekend.”Sam is a veteran setter,” Flory said. “Her assist ratio is going to be high because she creates great opportunities … she knows how to create kill situations.”The Tigers limited McNeese to a .045 hitting percentage and Nicholls State to a .106 hitting percentage.”Our blocking was very solid this weekend,” said senior libero Elena Martinez. “We did very well with block timing, so it was very easy for our defense to pick up balls that went past the block.”Flory said her team played well despite the amount they traveled last week.”We’re as much mentally fatigued as we are physically fatigued,” Flory said. “The mental side of things for us this weekend was more difficult to overcome than the physical side.”The team spent 10 days away from Baton Rouge because of Hurricane Gustav.They were scheduled to fly into New Orleans from Memphis Aug. 31 but had to stay in Memphis because of the storm.The team visited Elvis Presley’s old home, making the best of their situation.”It’s not every day that you get to go to Graceland,” junior middle blocker Lauren DeGirolamo said.After Memphis, the team went to Lexington, Tenn., where LSU assistant coach Steve Loeswick’s father lives, and practiced at nearby Union University.”Once we got to Lexington we really didn’t go sight-seeing too much,” DeGirolamo said. “We just kind of hung out at the house.”This isn’t the first time Martinez, Washington and senior outside hitter Marina Skender have dealt with a hurricane altering the team’s schedule.The three seniors were freshmen when Hurricane  Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in 2005.Martinez said the seniors’ experience during Katrina helped them prepare for Hurricane Gustav.”We spent the majority of our season on the road,” Martinez said. “I think [Coach] Fran [Flory] really talked to us about being adaptable and being able to adjust to certain situations.”The team will practice at CAP Elite on Bluebonnet Boulevard because the PMAC is being used as a special needs medical facility.—-Contact Robert Stewart at [email protected]