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Justin Gibert Position: Head Coach Experience: Third Year

Justin Gibert, the seventh head coach in the program's 31-year history, begins his second season at the helm of the Lamar volleyball program after getting the Cardinals back to the Southland Conference tournament in his first season.

The Cardinals finished with an 8-21 overall record, going 6-10 in Southland Conference play, grabbing eighth place.

In addition to the eighth place finish, Gibert coached second-team all-conference performer Buchi Okoh.

He 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 has served as the top assistant under Debbie Humphreys at SFA for two seasons, most recently 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, helping them make 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 UTSA sophomore Meagan Daniel, who has 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 Tracy Johnson in July of 2003.