LSU Volleyball Lays Foundation for the Future in 2022

When LSU Volleyball head coach Tonya Johnson began her LSU tenure, she had big shoes to fill. Johnson replaced Fran Flory, the winningest coach in LSU volleyball history, who retired at the end of the 2021 season.

The shoes fit just fine.

The LSU alumna and Zachary, La., native returned to Baton Rouge after serving as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at Texas since 2014 and fulfilled a dream when she took the helm of the Tigers prior to the 2022 season.

“It has been a lifelong dream of mine to return to LSU and lead this incredible volleyball program to new heights,” Johnson said in a press release. “I am beyond thrilled that I have been given the opportunity to make that dream a reality. The pride and passion that was instilled in me as a player and as an assistant coach has transformed my life, and those values have never left me.

In Johnson’s first year, the Tigers posted their first winning record since 2019, 16-14, made their first NCAA tournament since 2017, and they defeated the University of Hawaii to claim their first NCAA Tournament Match victory since 2014.

Ultimately, LSU fell in their next match against Stanford, the No. 4 overall seed in the tournament to end their campaign.

Despite the loss, the future appears bright for the LSU volleyball team. After bringing in a solid recruiting class including Wisconsin transfer and 2021 National Champion Jade Demps, Johnson is laying a strong foundation for the Tigers’ future.

Locker Room is compiled and edited by writer and sports lover Marc Stevens, project manager at STUN Design. Marc has covered LSU Athletics and written for local publications including The Daily Reveille and DIG Magazine

Former LSU All-American Mondo Duplantis Named 2022 World Athlete of the Year

World Athletics, the governing body of international track and field, named former LSU Pole Vaulter Mondo Duplantis as the 2022 World Athlete of the Year.

The 2022 award marks the second time Duplantis, a Lafayette native, received the honor. He previously won in 2020.

The 23-year-old pole vaulter set three world records, claimed two global titles, and won 18 of his 19 competitions while vaulting higher than six meters (19.685 feet) 22 times. But his peak was in the World Championships.

On the last day of competition, Duplantis secured the gold medal, but he wanted more. After aborting his first attempt at a world record height of 6.21 meters, The Former LSU-All American launched himself and cleared the height with room to spare.

“You picture the moment when you’re a kid,” Duplantis said in a World Athletics press release. “You’re on the biggest stage, which would be a World Championships, you’re going for the world record, and you end up breaking the world record and doing something that nobody has ever done. It’s one of these moments where it’s really a dream come true situation.”