The ties among past and present members of the Louisiana State University volleyball community run deep.

So deep that a call from former Tiger Katie Kubena for volunteers to help build a home for her uncle’s family as part of ABC’s "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," drew a contingent of current and former LSU players and staff.

A four-year letter-winner at setter from 1999 to 2002, Kubena was a three-time Southeastern Conference academic honor roll selection and one of only three players at LSU to record 3,000 career assists. Now an elementary teacher in the Baton Rouge area, Kubena contacted head women’s volleyball coach Fran Flory earlier this year and announced that her uncle’s family had been chosen for the popular television show that uses an army of designers, contractors, workers and volunteers to remodel homes of deserving families facing dire circumstances. Each project featured on the show is one that would usually take months to finish but is completed in just seven days.

Kubena’s uncle John and his wife Monica are parents of four children, two of which are 7-year-old identical twins, Sara and Tara, who are battling leukemia. The family has incurred significant costs from traveling back and forth from the family’s home in East Bernard, Texas, to Houston’s Texas Children’s Hospital and lengthy stays at the facility, in addition to testing and treatments for the girls. The family of six was living in a two-bedroom trailer.

Work on a brand-new two-story 4,600-square-foot home for Kubenas began January 19, once the trailer was removed and donated to other family members. On January 22, Flory made the five-hour trip to Texas along with current volleyball student-athletes Lauren Leaumont, Lauren DeGirolamo, Kassi Mikulik and Kate Spytek; former Tigers Jelena Mijatovic and Regan Hood; manager Annie Beth Lemoine, athletic trainer Tamara Copes and soccer student-athlete Sara Pollock.

Upon arrival, a couple of the Tigers lent a hand inside the house, while the rest served as runners and tackled jobs outside, such as laying sod, digging ditches and helping to create "acrylic butterflies" to decorate one of the children’s rooms. At one point, team members brought doughnuts and coffee to other workers.

"It was pouring down rain through portions of the day and the temperature was about 50 degrees — miserable working conditions — but everybody had a smile on their face. Everybody was happy to be there and looking for more to do," said Flory.

After about five hours on the site, the Tigers gave way to another group of volunteers waiting to assist. With no place to shower or change, the Tigers returned to Baton Rouge still covered in mud and dirt.

Although the trip was short, the Tiger volunteers came away with long-lasting impressions. What stood out most to senior outside hitter Leaumont was how well the project was organized, even as the deadline for completion loomed. The Tigers were among more than 1,000 volunteers who helped with the build.

"It was one day from when the keys were about to be turned over and everyone was completely calm," she said. "There were so many things that needed to be done, but everyone was working in the same direction. Everyone was totally focused on what they needed to do. It was an opportunity we were fortunate enough to take advantage of, especially with someone who was part of the LSU volleyball community."

Flory, who has been in charge of the LSU program since 1998, called her participation in the project one of the most rewarding things she’s ever done.

"So much of this world today is built on negativity," Flory said. "Certainly there’s some negative things happening in (John and Monica’s) family, but to be able to help in our small way and be a part of that was amazing."

Flory acknowledged that regardless of whether the experience brought her squad closer together, it certainly revealed its character.

"Going through Hurricane Katrina in the fall, that really brought this group together," she said. "It was already a close-knit group and I think that’s what led them into being so anxious to volunteer. I don’t know that it changed us. It was just a true reflection of who we are and what this team is."

Construction on the house was finished January 24. The edition of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition featuring the Kubenas aired in February.