Tom Pestolesi - Director of Volleyball/Head Coach


Tom Pestolesi began his volleyball career at Huntington Beach High School, graduating in 1978. He then attended Long Beach State, majoring in Physical Education and competing in volleyball.

He transferred to the University of Hawaii and earned his degree in Physical Education in 1983. Tom was an All-American in volleyball at Hawaii in 1982 and 1983. He earned his Masters Degree from Long Beach State in 1989.

Tom coached girls and boys volleyball for 15 years at the high school level at Estancia and then Newport Harbor with good friend Danny Glenn.

Tom started the men's volleyball program at Irvine Valley in 1991. He was hired full-time in 1998 to coach both the women's and men's volleyball teams. He has led the men's program to state titles in 1993, 2007 and 2008 and the women's team to state championship appearances five times.

The women's team finished second in the state in 2003 and third in the state in 2009.

He is currently the Director of Volleyball at IVC, acting as an assistant coach for the men's team and the head coach of the women's team.

Many of Tom's former players have gone on to have successful volleyball careers. Some of his former players include John Wallace, Adam Lockwood, Todd and Brandi Brooks, Matt Feurbringer, Melissa Schutz, Misty May and Jennifer Carey.

Tom has also coached professionally on the four player pro beach tour and has had the good fortune to coach players such as Kim Oden, Stephanie Cox, Joy Makenzie, Antonette White, Janet Cobbs and Wendy Stammer.

And he is currently working with the women's and men's national teams during their summer training. Tom can be reached via email at tpestolesi@ivc.edu.

Rich Brown is beginning his seventh season as an assistant with the IVC women's and men's volleyball teams. He also provides academic support and guidance to the student athletes, assisting them in the transition in to and then moving out of Irvine Valley.

As a university professor, Rich has researched the alignment between high school and community college testing systems.

He obtained his BA and PhD from UCLA and his MBA from UC Irvine and is the principal owner of West Coast Analytics, a research consulting firm.

Gary Nakamura begins his fourth season as an assistant coach for the Irvine Valley women's volleyball team. He has been coaching club volleyball for the past 27 years - 26 of them with Orange County Volleyball Club.

Four of his teams have won Volleyball Festival Championships (2 in the 18's and 2 in the 16's). Gary was an assistant to 21 other club championship teams during that time.

He is currently the Director of Hit Volleyball Club in Costa Mesa.

Gary was an assistant coach at Irvine Valley under Tom Pestolesi for the men's team during the 1992-93 seasons. IVC won the school's first state championship under Pestolesi and Nakamura's guidance in 1993.

Kari Pestolesi - Assistant Coach

Kari Pestolesi is beginning her first season as an assistant coach with the Irvine Valley women's program.

Kari finished her college career in 2010. She was one of the best players ever at UC Irvine.

She was UCI's first four-time All-Big West Conference first-team selection and left the program second in the career records in kills with 1,602 and digs with 1,491.

Kari was a three-time AVCA All-West Region choice and was also recognized as an AVCA All-American honorable mention in 2009. She led the Anteaters as a senior in 2010 with a 2.92 kill average, posting 301 kills to go along with 352 digs.

Before that, Kari was a standout at Edison High in Huntington Beach

She was named the 2007 Most Valuable Player of the Orange County All-Star Game. Kari recorded the school record for most aces as a senior at Edison and also holds the top marks in career kills with 1,118, digs with 1,048 and aces with 232.

Kari was a 2004 and 2005 All-CIF Southern Section first-team selection and a second team selection in 2003.

She helped lead Edison to a CIF championship in 2004.