LSU volleyball coach Fran Flory said her team would have its hands full heading into this weekend’s matches against Georgia and Auburn as LSU’s two opponents had combined to win six of their past seven matches heading into Halloween weekend in the PMAC.Flory knew the teams would come in fighting against the No. 20 Tigers, especially since the Tigers swept both teams on their home courts earlier in the season.The question for Flory was how she would fight a pair of hot teams.Apparently the answer was pretty simple, as the LSU unleashed its four seniors on the Bulldogs and Tigers, respectively, during the weekend in a pair of victories.With the victories, LSU (18-5, 12-2) has now won 11 of its last 12 matches, dropping a mere five sets and recording nine sweeps.”This is the seniors’ year,” Flory said. “This group has played a vital role in every season they have been here … They are going to put their signature on this year and make sure we are ready for every match.”In Sunday afternoon’s 3-0 (25-15, 25-12, 25-20) victory against Auburn (14-10, 6-7), LSU senior middle blocker Brittnee Cooper found her rhythm again after struggling the past few matches and recorded 15 kills with six block assists.”She had hurt her shoulder a little bit from swinging too much, so she was out of her rhythm a little,” said LSU senior setter Sam Dabbs. “This weekend she was able to get her arm swing back and get comfortable swinging.”Defensively, sophomore libero Lauren Waclawczyk paced the Tigers with 14 digs, while the team recorded 9.5 blocks.LSU senior outside hitter Marina Skender recorded 10 digs in the match, which moved her into sole possession of seventh place in school history in career digs with 1,176. Her six kills moved her to within one of a tie for seventh place for career kills.Flory said she was happy with her team’s focus heading into the match coming off a tough victory against Georgia.”I was proud of the leadership our team showed in terms of staying focused throughout and not thinking this was a ‘gimme’ match,” Flory said. “Auburn is a good team, and we knew we had to play well to be successful.”The Tigers’ 3-1 (25-18, 25-17, 23-25, 25-23) victory Friday against Georgia (13-10, 4-8) didn’t come easily.After breezing through the first two sets while holding the Bulldogs to a .092 hitting percentage, LSU struggled to find an offensive rhythm in the third set and eventually dropped the set, 25-23.The struggles continued early in the fourth set, as the Tigers fell behind, 15-9. But LSU went on a 7-1 run to tie up the match at 16 apiece before eventually taking a 19-18 lead and the set, 25-23.”The fourth set was very important,” Dabbs said. “You don’t want to go five sets with a team like Georgia. Every set they just gain more momentum, and they’re the kind of team that executes in the end.”- – – -Contact Andy Schwehm at [email protected]