CHARLESTON, S.C. – College of Charleston volleyball head coach Jason Kepner announced the return of Lauren Freed '20 as an assistant coach for the fall of 2023 on Wednesday.
 
"I am so excited to have Lauren join our staff," Kepner said. "Lauren always played with passion and energy. I am looking forward to her bringing that same passion and energy back to the program, now on the sideline."
 
Kepner added "Adding another alumni to our staff is definitely a huge plus for the program, the girls, and me. Lauren is a great teacher of the game and I am thrilled to work with her again."
 
Freed returns to the College after spending two years as the head coach of SC Elite Volleyball Club, working specifically with the U14 Team.
 
"I couldn't be more grateful to be back with College of Charleston Volleyball," Freed said. "I love this program and its people, and being able to come back and continue to play a small part in shaping its future means the world to me!
 
Freed added "This team has welcomed me with open arms- our players and staff are out of this world, and I am so excited to see all of the things that this crew accomplishes this season and the seasons to come!"
 
Prior to her time with SC Elite, Freed served as an Indoor and Beach Varsity coach for Lucy Beckham High School in Charleston winning the 2021 State Championship. Freed also has coaching experience with the Elite Volleyball Training Center (ages 10-17), Holy City Volleyball (ages 13-17) as well as coaching indoor and volleyball players ages 8-17 during her time as a student-athlete at The College.
 
Freed also served as a Special Education Teacher at Springfield Elementary and James B. Edwards Elementary in Charleston as well as College Park Elementary in Ladson.
 
During her time as a student-athlete with Charleston, Freed was named a CAA Offensive Player of the Week twice and CAA Rookie of the Week. Freed also ended her career among the top-20 in multiple statistical categories including attack attempts (12th – 3,235), kills (17th – 1,062), digs (19th – 1,111) and points (19th – 1202.5).
 
Freed also helped lead the Cougars to the 2017 CAA Regular Season title and first CAA at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, as well as the 2018 NIVC national semifinals.