Focused.
It’s not often a word equated with a college student, but it’s the one word LSU volleyball coach Fran Flory used to describe senior setter Brittney Johnson.
Johnson, one of only three seniors on the team, comes from a line of basketball players. Her mother lettered in basketball at LSU from 1985 to 1986 under legendary coach Sue Gunter.
“I started playing basketball when I was 5 and everyone thought I was going to play basketball,” Johnson said. “I chose [volleyball] because volleyball just ended up coming more naturally. Basketball came naturally, too. I just liked volleyball more.”
Coming out of high school, Johnson was one of the most highly touted volleyball players in her class. Flory said the biggest draw to Johnson was her sheer athleticism.
“Brittney is an elite-level athlete. She has speed, she has size, she has the ability to track a ball and she has all the pieces,” Flory said. “We didn’t know what position she’d play. She might set, she might play right side, but her athleticism was the first thing.”
Johnson said she was recruited by several different schools across the nation but said she knew she was meant to be a Tiger.
“A lot of schools recruited me hard, but it was pretty much understood that I was going to come [to LSU] at an early age,” Johnson said. “In my freshman year I kind of committed. I knew I was coming here.”
Johnson was restricted in her playing time as a freshman, sitting behind star setter Sam Dabbs for two years. But in her first year as a full-time starter, Johnson has thrived in the spotlight.
Johnson currently leads the Southeastern Conference with 10.73 assists per set and ranks eighth in the conference with a .331 kill percentage.
Flory credited much of the Tigers’ success to the play of her senior setter.
“I think we don’t have near the season we’ve had thus far without Brittney Johnson being the setter and running this offense,” Flory said. “This is one of the most complicated, fastest, most difficult offenses to run. For her to be able to transition to that this year is truly the reason we’re where we are today.”
But Johnson’s talents aren’t limited to the court.
Johnson is a two-time Jesse Owens Award recipient, an honor given to the highest GPA for an LSU African-American student-athlete. She has also earned a spot on ESPN the Magazine’s Academic All-District Second Team on Thursday, voted upon by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
“She’s one of the best student-athletes at LSU,” Flory said.
“She’s been committed to her career since I first knew her when she was in seventh grade. I met her for the first time and she was talking about being a pharmacist at that point.”
Freshman middle blocker Desiree Elliott said that as a newcomer to the team, having an older teammate on the front line with her has been a huge factor with her success.
“I always look at her and we look at each other before every play to see where I’m going,” Elliott said. “She gives me the confidence to know that she’s going to get me the ball and I’m going to put it away for her.”
 
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Contact Mark Clements at [email protected]