POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – Marist Director of Athletics Tim Murray has announced the hiring of Lauren Amundson as head volleyball coach.
Amundson comes to Marist after leading Stonehill College to its greatest level of success in program history. In six seasons as head coach of the Skyhawks, Amundson had an overall record of 110-68 (.618), with a mark of 61-27 (.693) in Northeast-10 Conference play. She led the Skyhawks to their first two appearances in the Division II NCAA Tournament, which came in 2011 and 2014.
“I’m thrilled to have Lauren join our coaching staff,” Murray said. “She had a terrific tenure at Stonehill College. I was impressed with the amount of success she achieved, and the quality of student-athlete she has been able to recruit and develop. Those are traits we emphasize, and I’m confident she will work hard toward our goal of winning a MAAC championship.”
In addition to reaching the NCAA Tournament, Stonehill won a share of its first Northeast-10 regular-season championship in program history in 2014. The Skyhawks went 21-8 overall, and 11-3 in conference play. Amundson coached the program’s first conference Player of the Year in setter Emily Iverson. Both Iverson and outside hitter Delia Phillips were named Honorable Mention All-Americans by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), becoming the first two players to earn this honor in program history. Amundson earned her 100th career victory on Sept. 30, 2014.
Amundson guided Stonehill to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history in 2011, a year in which she was named Northeast-10 Coach of the Year. In both 2011 and 2012, Amundson was named to the AVCA “Thirty Under 30” List, which honors emerging coaching talent younger than 30 years old at all levels of volleyball.
“I’m proud to join the Red Foxes, and am extremely grateful to Tim Murray and the Marist community for this opportunity,” Amundson said. “I can’t wait to get into the gym and begin working with the student-athletes toward our pursuit of a MAAC title. I look forward to investing myself into the campus community, forming a meaningful relationship with each of our players, and continuing to build on the success and tradition of Marist volleyball.”
Amundson’s student-athletes have also performed in the classroom and become a vital part of the campus community in her tenure at Stonehill. The Skyhawks earned the AVCA Team Academic Award in 2011 and have produced six Northeast-10 Academic All-Conference honorees with over 60 percent of the team earning Athletic Director’s Honor Roll status at the College for having a semester grade point average of 3.20 or higher.
Amundson started the Ace’s Girls program at Stonehill in 2012, a free eight-week program that has run every spring semester since. The program mentors, educates and empowers young girls in both physical and mental well-being, while introducing them to fundamental volleyball skills. The volleyball team earned the inaugural “Cindy Mac” Team Spirit Award at the conclusion of the 2013-14 academic year as voted on by their fellow student-athletes at Stonehill for being the most dedicated and supportive fans of the school’s 20 intercollegiate varsity programs. The team has also been active with “Be the Match,” the James Wright 5K, National Girls & Women in Sports Day, the Special Olympics as well as Team IMPACT, welcoming seven-year-old Eva Fox (and her twin sister Grace) to the team this past fall.
Prior to her arrival at Stonehill, Amundson served as an assistant coach at Bryant University for the 2007 and 2008 seasons, when the program was transitioning to Division I. The Bulldogs went 48-32 in those two seasons. In 2007, Bryant advanced to the NCAA Regional Championship in its final year in Division II. Amundson also has coaching experience at the club level, spending two years with the Memphis Juniors and Memphis Metro, and two with the Rhode Island Blast.
Amundson enjoyed an outstanding collegiate career at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tenn., where she holds the program’s single match (71), season (1,592) and career records (5,506) for assists. Amundson played scholastically at Stanwood High School in Stanwood, Wash., where she was named valedictorian of the Class of 2003.
Amundson is an active member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) and a graduate of the NCAA Women Coaches Academy (Denver, 2012). Amundson is also a charter member of The Alliance of Women Coaches and served as the Northeast-10 representative on the AVCA Head Coaches Committee and NCAA East Region Awards Committee. She was also the Northeast-10 Volleyball Coaches Chair.
A 2007 Magna Cum Laude graduate of Christian Brothers University with a Bachelor's Degree in business administration, Amundson received her Master's of Business Administration from Bryant in the summer of 2009.
Head Coaching Record
Year Overall Conference
2014 21-8 11-3
2013 18-14 9-5
2012 13-15 7-8
2011 27-7 14-1
2010 16-13 11-4
2009 15-11 9-6
Totals 110-68 (.618) 61-27 (.693)