Kari Hemmerling named Director of Volleyball at Irvine Valley

It has come full circle for new Director of Volleyball at Irvine Valley Kari Hemmerling.

She grew up watching matches at IVC, was an All-American down the street at UC Irvine, later was an assistant coach for the Lasers, spent time coaching at another Irvine college with beach at Concordia and is now back running the Irvine Valley program, which her father and Hall of Famer Tom Pestolesi started.

The Lasers are lucky and delighted to have Hemmerling on board for the future. She will oversee women’s indoor and beach volleyball and men’s volleyball and be the head coach for the two women’s programs.

“All of it doesn’t quite seem real yet,” Hemmerling said. “I am obviously very excited to be back. As I told Shack (Dean and Athletic Director Keith Shackleford) walking around here and being in the gym has always been special and now that the campus is growing so much, I can’t wait to get started.”

Hemmerling is coming off turning around the indoor program at Cerritos College over the last nine years and most recently (2024-25 school year) led both the indoor and beach programs with the Falcons to 3C2A State Championship appearances.

The Cerritos indoor team won a share of the South Coast Conference South Division title last fall. It was the first conference championship for the Falcons since 1997.

The team concluded the season with a 20-4 record. The Falcons reached the playoffs in 2023, which was the first time for the program since 2009 and concluded the season with a 13-9 record.

“I wouldn’t change a thing with my time at Cerritos,” Hemmerling said. “I love coaching volleyball and I hope I shared that with the players there.

“They worked so hard every day, wanted to be at practice and were such good kids. I did my best in the two hours a day we had to make them better volleyball players and help them as students.”

And Hemmerling plans to bring the same work ethic, helpfulness and love to IVC student-athletes as its head coach and Director of Volleyball.

“We are going to work hard and be a group,” she said. “And have a lot of fun. It is about getting this going and being better every day.”

Hemmerling said she is very ready for the new challenge.

“Five years ago, I might not have been ready for this position,” she said. “But I have learned so much in my time at Cerritos under the (administrative) leadership there. 

“So I am ready to hit the ground running now. I didn’t play at IVC, but this place has always been like home.”

Hemmerling started her summer class this past week in “hitting the ground running” and can’t wait to work with her new athletes.

“I give everyone a fighting chance on the team,” Hemmerling said. “I think that kids will work hard if you truly believe in them. I want to be honest and fair and be there for them all of the time.

“We will connect, get better, have great relationships and do it the right way.”

Hemmerling added one more thing for her incoming students, fans, and those around volleyball across Southern California.

“We will play with attitude and effort and always compete,” she said.

Even more about Hemmerling’s star-studded playing career is below

As a player, Hemmerling was a four-year starter at UC Irvine, where she was a two-time AVCA All-American, three-time AVCA West Region choice and four-time All-Big West selection.

During her time with the Anteaters, Hemmerling concluded her career ranked second in the program’s history in kills (1,602) and digs (1,491).

She received many awards during her playing days, including being named UCI’s Female of the Year, AVCA National Player of the Week, Big West Player of the Week, while leading the team in kills four years in a row. Hemmerling was named the Most Valuable Player in numerous tournaments, while she was selected the AVCA West Region Freshman of the Year and Big West Conference Freshman of the Year.

While playing beach volleyball for UC Irvine, she was selected as a member of the USA Volleyball National Beach Training Team in 2008 and also competed in the World University Beach Volleyball Championships as a member of Team USA. Hemmerling played one season of professional volleyball in Switzerland as a member of the VMS (Volley Franches Montagnes), where they were Swiss Cup Finalists and won the CEV Cup Championship.

While prepping at Edison High in Huntington Beach, Hemmerling was named the Most Valuable Player of the Orange County All-State Game after her senior season and left high school with school records in career kills (1,118), digs (1,048) and service aces (232). She was a two-time All-CIF Southern Section 1st Team selection and led Edison to a CIF Championship in her junior season.

Hemmerling earned her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology with a minor in Education from UC Irvine in 2011 and her Master’s degree from Concordia University in Coaching and Athletic Administration in 2013.

She and her husband Brad Hemmerling were married in August, 2017, have a daughter – Drew, who was born in September, 2018 and welcomed second daughter, Abby on May 8, 2020.

And Hemmerling (Pestolesi’s) UC Irvine Hall of Fame story from 2025 courtesy of UC Irvine can be seen here.

(Brent Shaver, Irvine Valley College Athletics)