2025 Hall of Fame Class: Kari Pestolesi
Stacey Shackleford
1/29/2025
IT ONLY TAKES ONE
Kari Pestolesi has volleyball pulsing through her veins. Her mother Diane and father Tom both played at the University of Hawaii earning All-American status. Diane was even a member of UH’s first national championship team in 1979.
Dad is a respected coach and mom played professionally before pursuing a nursing and academic career so it’s no wonder Kari has a love for the game.
“I had the best childhood. I didn’t know until eighth grade that everyone’s parents didn’t have the summer off. My parents and their friends were teachers and all had the summers off.”
Weekends and summer days meant riding bikes down Orange Street in Newport Beach to watch their parents play volleyball while her and her siblings hung out with friends like Felicia and Tony Ciarelli and Trey Valbuena.
While volleyball skills were slowly starting to be developed, tipping the empty trash cans over and trying to stand on them and roll them was the most popular game of choice for the kids.
Until Kari was about five or six, Diane was still playing professionally on the beach and Tom was coaching on Pro Four Tour surrounding Kari with some of the world’s best players.
Hanging out with people like Laird Hamilton who would take them surfing.
“I just thought Laird was a fun guy who took us in the ocean. I didn’t know he was the best big wave surfer in the world. I didn’t know it wasn’t normal riding tandem with this guy by the pier so when I look back it’s like wow that was really cool stuff I did because of volleyball.”
During the school year, hanging out at practice with dad at Newport Harbor or Irvine Valley College was a normal day for Kari.
Her dad coached Misty May at Newport Harbor and May would babysit the Pestolesi kids every once in awhile.
“I just thought Misty was cool and nice as a human and people were amazed that I knew her.”
Misty, Jeannette Hecker and Jen Carey were her favorite players growing up.
Taking things from her favorite players, Pestolesi would go on to play for Trent Jackson at Edison High School.
“I was so lucky to have him as a coach. He was the hardest coach I ever played for. He had the highest expectations, so he got me ready.”
Every day practice ended with 30 perfect passes to the middle with the middle hitting it over without touching the tape in a row. It worked, the team would be CIF Champions and Kari would earn All-CIF honors and be named the MVP of the 2007 Orange County All-Star game.
Her dad would give her a solid foundation, but Jackson would get her thinking next level thoughts and train her.
“If I was going to be good, I would have to pass the ball perfectly every time then I could do whatever I wanted to on offense. A good pass would make everyone else’s job easier and everyone would want to play with me.”
Her club experience wasn’t great so her junior year her dad and Rocky Ciarelli started a one team Club - Tower Zero. A team of eight, two of which her best friends,
They practiced twice a week, and sometimes ended early for Slurpees.
“We played really good volleyball and never got burnt out because we were having so much fun.”
When it was time for recruiting you would think a successful player that was a coach’s kid would have lots of options for college.
There were a lot of options - for a walk-on libero.
She was the shortest of the family standing at 5-10. Too small to play on the outside everyone said.
Many of her dad’s coaching colleagues and friends wouldn’t listen when he told them she could do more than they thought, but the answer was always “She’s too small.”
She knew she could be a great player.
“I always worked really hard because I knew I was under-sized. I had to play tall and play aggressive so someone will say yes. I just need one person to give me an opportunity.”
Charlie Brande and UC Irvine would be that one, the only one that gave her a chance to play outside. In a full circle moment, Brande had coached both Diane and Tom while at Hawaii so knew Kari’s pedigree.
“I loved her competitiveness,” Brande said. “Her ability to step-up and play aggressive against anyone was impressive. She never got cheated on swings. I knew her competitiveness would carry over to our team.”
Going to UCI also checked off two things she really wanted in a college. She wanted to stay in California and go to a school with a men’s volleyball program so she could see her brother Tommy play.
“I would live at the beach, I already knew a few people who went there, I could watch Tommy play at Long Beach State, how cool would that be.”
She would keep the voices saying she’s too small in her head all four years at UCI. The challenge was accepted and surpassed.
Kari would be named Big West Freshman of the Year in 2007 and go on to be named first team All-Big West all four years, the lone Anteater to accomplish that and a feat that has only been done by 14 other Big West players all-time.
She was named AVCA All-West Region three-times and earned All-American honors in 2009. The outside hitter is the only Anteater to have been named AVCA National Player of the Week, something she did on Sept.1, 2009.
The undersized outside hitter would end her career with 1,602 kills on 4,567 attack attempts, currently second most in kills and third in attempts all-time at UCI. She is also ranked third in career digs (1,491) and fourth in aces (131).
“You’re too small, you’re not going to be good enough, you can’t get it done. You tell me I can’t and I will show you. I’ve never lost that chip and that motivation.”
Pestolesi and the Anteaters complied an impressive 21-11 overall record her freshman year, finishing third in the Big West. The next two seasons, UCI went 17-12 and 22-8 overall, placing second in the Big West standings, being overlooked for a post-season bid each year.
Her favorite matches were always those against Long Beach State. Because it was Long Beach, but also because her brother Tommy and his teammates would always be in the stands.
The Pestolesi house was always a good gathering spot, Kari with her UCI crew and Tommy with his 49er friends. Fellow Hall of Famer Carson Clark was always in attendance for barbeques and nights in the hot tub as was Tommy’s teammate, Brad Hemmerling, Kari’s future husband. That group of friends remain close to this day in spite of the Black & Blue Rivalry.
The Pestolesis were the bridge to the rivalry. Both men’s teams would always be in attendance for the women’s games.
A particularly sweet memory would happen her sophomore year. A perfect overpass led to the biggest bounce she ever had in her life. After celebrating and turning to head back to the service line, Kari saw the UCI’s men’ water polo team with full body paint going crazy and the LBSU men’s team being silent except for her brother who stood with his arms raised. “That’s my sister and she’s better than me.”
The Anteaters would go on to win that match as she happily battled through the heckling from the crowd.
More than matches, team road trips were the most memorable, but the trip to watch men’s volleyball play in the NCAAs in Provo, UT goes down as the most epic.
Knowing all of the student-athletes supported each other, the team really wanted to go but head coach Paula Wieshoff had just been hired and approaching her to miss practice was a bit intimidating, but Pesto’s leadership prevailed.
“I said we wanted to do some team bonding, driving 12 hours to Provo, UT.”
Weishoff’s response was “Sounds fun, I’ll go too, but I’m going to fly.”
Head coaches Dan Klatt and Scott Juniper were the next on board to let their teams go and a caravan of cars and a motor home transported 35-40 student-athletes to watch the Anteaters capture their second national championship.
“So many people had to say yes, and they could have easily said no, but that’s UCI and those were our people.”
The epic roadtrip was a great representation of four incredible years at UCI.
“UCI was an awesome experience. We didn’t always have everything, but we didn’t care. We all ended up at UCI because somebody said you can’t. We all played like, just watch us. You get enough of those people together and its really fun.”
The Newport Beach lifestyle wasn’t bad either.
“If I had to study, I would grab my beach towel and I’d lay on the sand. That’s where I did all of my studying. It was a perfect experience and what I always wanted.”
The experience was a collective one for the student-athletes.
“It was such a good group of girls and all of the other teams got along. Everyone lived down in Newport and were close. It isn’t the kind of experience you can get anywhere else.”
Pestolesi always knew volleyball would be in her future.
“People would ask me what my major was and I’d say volleyball, duh. I just wanted to be the best volleyball player, the strongest, the most helpful. The focus was just being the best volleyball player I could be.”
Spending days in the weightroom and playing on the beach were her life.
She graduated with a degree in sociology and a minor in education and following graduation would play professionally in Switzerland.
After playing in Switzerland her knee started to ache, giving her first thought to pivoting to another career.
The ache ended up being a fractured kneecap something that needed rest. So, while taking time off, she coached with her dad at IVC and taught a beach class.
She had an opportunity to play in Puerto Rico but had to commit and leave in a day. Not wanting to rush a decision, she decided to end her playing career.
She started her coaching journey at IVC, Sage Hill High School and at 949 Volleyball Club.
A coaching change at Concordia gave her an opportunity to not only coach, but get her master’s in athletic administration as a graduate assistant.
“When I started coaching at Concordia, I thought I’d be good at this. I am so thankful to Trevor Johnson for giving me that opportunity. I might not be the smartest person in the room, but you put me in that 900 square feet of court and I will go head-to-head with anybody. I will work really hard and bust my butt to be good.”
After a year, she would become the Golden Eagles beach head coach and two years later would get the call she wanted. The Concordia experience and getting her masters at 23 would prove more valuable than she knew. Two years of coaching experience plus an advanced degree on her resume helped her land the women’s volleyball head coaching job at Cerritos College.
Even as a coach the chip remains.
“People tell me my teams are small and scrappy, but find ways to score. And I say yeah, I know, I’m familiar with that. I know how to coach that.”
In 2024, Pestolesi coached Cerritos to a 21-4 record, advancing to the state playoffs for the first time in 30-plus years. The fourth seed would lose to No. 1 seed Fresno 19-17 in the fifth after being down 12-14, ending the year fifth in the state.
“That’s a loss you can live with. We emptied the tanks and on paper, they were Goliath and we were David. We shouldn’t have been able to hang with them.”
Cerritos had one of its best years with a 5-4 outside hitter.
“She played great defense, could pass and would just let it rip. People have told me they didn’t recruit her because of her size and I’m like, I knew.”
That sounds familiar.
Her coaching philosophy is simple.
“I’m a big believer in taking care of your side and if you take care of your side and play to the best of your ability, you will win every match you play.”
Kari, just like her dad did, starts every practice with a John Wooden quote. Tried and true reflections of life on and off the court.
“I tell my players now. Not everyone is going to like you or the way you play. It just takes one shot. You just need an opportunity from one school that’s all I had. I’ll always be grateful for that.”
While the chip remains, so does her love for UCI and the sport of volleyball.
“It’s weird to reflect on my time here and I know it has shaped who I am today. You don’t appreciate things until they are done. I was at a place that wanted me and needed me, and where I could contribute. That’s really all I ever wanted to do. I wanted to make everyone around me better. If its volleyball great, if it’s something else, great.”
The Hall of Fame class of 2025 will be inducted at a ceremony on January 31st and celebrated the next day (Feb. 1) at the men's basketball game against UC Davis at the Bren Events Center.