Broussard, Johnson, Williams join Hamilton's XU staff

Coach Christabell Hamilton

NEW ORLEANS — Head coach Christabell Hamilton has completed her first-year women's volleyball staff at Xavier University of Louisiana with the addition of Darrilyn Broussard as assistant coach, Brittney Johnson as graduate assistant coach and Lashira Williams as volunteer assistant coach.

The Gold Nuggets will begin their season at 7 p.m. Friday at Belhaven, then play their first home match at 7 p.m. Monday against Mobile at The Barn.

This will be Broussard's second stint on the volleyball staff. She was Greg Castillo's assistant on the first two XU teams in 2003 and 2004. Broussard will retain her duties as women's associate head basketball coach, and the 2011-12 season will be her 11th on Bo Browder's staff. The Nuggets are 260-76 during Broussard's basketball coaching tenure, winning a combined 10 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships and qualifying for nine NAIA National Championships.

Darrilyn Broussard

Brittney Johnson

Lashira Williams

Johnson recorded 326 kills, 1,932 assists, 501 digs and 166 blocks the past four seasons as a setter and right-side hitter at LSU and helped the Tigers reach the NCAA Tournament every year. As a senior she led the SEC in assists per set, earned All-South Region honorable mention from the American Volleyball Coaches Association, was first-team All-Louisiana, second-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District and COBRA Magazine's Setter of the Year. She won the Jesse Owens Athletic Award, presented to the LSU student-athlete with the highest grade-point average, two consecutive years. She was LSU's nominee for NCAA Woman of the Year in 2010-11.

Johnson is a native of Baton Rouge, La., and was a volleyball and basketball standout at University High School.

Williams had 695 kills, 651 digs and 101 aces the past four seasons while playing outside hitter and middle blocker at Virginia Union University in Richmond. She was VUU Female Athlete of the Year in 2010-11 and had a 3.7 grade-point average in college.

Williams is a native of Cleveland, Ohio, and a graduate of Glenville High School. She coached the 16s volleyball team in 2010 at U-TURN Sports Performance Academy in Richmond.

Johnson and Williams are first-year students in Xavier's College of Pharmacy. Both received bachelor's degrees in the spring — Johnson in accounting and Williams in biology.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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