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Justin Gibert, the seventh head coach in the program's 31-year history, begins his fourth season at the helm of the Lamar volleyball program. After guiding Lamar to the Southland Conference tournament in his first two seasons, Gibert led LU to the top of the Southland Conference in 2007 as they posted a 15-1 league record and a 25-9 overall mark, earning him Southland Conference Coach of the Year honors. Gibert has coached a handful of all conference players while leading the Lamar program, capped off by a large haul in 2007. Molli Abel was named Southland Conference Player of the Year and first team all conference, Adrianne Meengs was named Setter of the Year and first team all-conference and Kaci Brewer earned first team all-conference honors. Andrea Hamilton earned honorable mention and Shalayne Blythe was named SLC Newcomer of the Year. In 2005 and 2006 Buchi Okoh earned first team and second team honors, respectively. Gibert came to Lamar after spending two seasons as an assistant coach at Stephen F. Austin State University. "It's exciting to be able to get back to head coaching," Gibert said after being named coach. "It's (Lamar) an exciting place to be right now and I look forward to putting Lamar back on track to be successful. "I'm excited about working in an environment where the administration and staff are so supportive of the volleyball program and I'm anxious to put Lamar volleyball back to where it needs to be." Gibert served as the top assistant under Debbie Humphreys at SFA for two seasons, helping the Ladyjacks post a 26-6 record and earn a share of the 2004 Southland Conference regular season co-championship. In 2003, Gibert played a vital role in working with a youthful SFA squad, as they made a late-season charge, winning 13 of the final 14 matches to finish second in the league with a 19-13 record. Gibert assisted with all phases of the program at SFA, including recruiting, daily workouts and in-game coaching. He was also responsible for the signing of SFA freshman J.J. Jones, the 2004 SLC Setter of the Year. "We're extremely happy to have Justin as our head coach," commented Lamar Director of Athletics Billy Tubbs. "He has been successful as a head coach at the junior college level and he's worked with high quality programs at UTSA (Texas-San Antonio) and SFA." Gibert has been successful throughout his career and he brings a wealth of coaching experience from both the NCAA Division I and junior college ranks. Prior to joining the staff at SFA, he spent one season as an assistant coach at UTSA, where he aided in the Roadrunners' recruiting process. Gibert was largely responsible for the signing of Meagan Daniel, who twice earned first team all-SLC honors. He also assisted the head coach with in-game coaching of both the offensive and defensive schemes. Before heading to San Antonio, Gibert spent six seasons on the bench at Panola College in Carthage, Texas. Gibert spent the first two seasons as an assistant and helped guide the Fillies to their first two conference championships. In 1998, Gibert took over as the head coach at Panola. In four seasons, he directed the Fillies to 133 wins and a .751 (133-44) overall winning percentage. Panola won three conference titles in the four seasons under Gibert. Panola's volleyball program also gained respect on a national level during Gibert's stay in Carthage, advancing to four consecutive playoff berths, two regional tournament final appearances and two top-20 national rankings. He graduated from Texas in 1994 with a bachelor's degree in accounting and he is currently completing requirements for a master's degree at SFA. Gibert married the former Traci Johnson in July of 2003. |
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