Women's indoor and beach volleyball coach Tom Pestolesi and men's volleyball coach Ryan Windisch were recently named Irvine Valley's coaches of the year as part of the athletic department's 19th Annual Awards.
Pestolesi was named Orange Empire Conference coach of the year in both indoor and women's beach volleyball.
The beach volleyball team finished tied for third at the California Community College Athletic Association State Championship in May at the Elite Athlete Training Center in Chula Vista under the guidance of Pestolesi.
Irvine Valley ended the year with a record of 17-8 overall and won the Orange Empire Conference with a mark of 10-0 under coach Tom Pestolesi.
IVC ended up going 15-1 against community college opponents.
That one defeat came at the hands of Long Beach City, which beat Irvine Valley and moved on from pool play at the state championship in Chula Vista.
Irvine Valley also had four pairs reach the state championship - sophomore Renata Bath and freshman Lea Kruse, freshmen Anna Unke and Gabriela Griego, sophomores Alyssa Vortouni and Emilie Austin and freshmen Aliaina Gendale and Kendall Nolan reached the state event.
Bath and Kruse and Unke and Griego each made the final day on Saturay of the two-day pairs tournament.
Bath and Kruse battled and ended up finishing tied for third overall.
The indoor volleyball team has posted a record of 48-2 over the last two seasons, captured back-to-back conference championships and made two straight CCCAA State Championship tournament appearances.
The 2018 team went 21-2 overall, 14-1 in conference action and won a match at the state tournament before being knocked out of the event by American River in four sets.
Bath was selected as an all-state and All-American player and shared conference MVP honors with Kruse.
Vortouni and freshman setter Truth Hafey were each selected first team all-conference and freshman middle blocker Kristin Austin and sophomore middle blocker Kylie Miller each earned second team all-conference honors.
Bath also signed to continue playing at UC Riverside and Vortouni will be a preferred walk-on for beach volleyball at Grand Canyon.
Windisch was a former standout player at Irvine Valley and has been an important assistant coach for the Laser women's volleyball team.
But he took over the head coach duties for the IVC men's volleyball team this season and led it to a special season.
Irvine Valley reached the CCCAA State Championship final at Fullerton in April. The team lost in the final in three sets to Long Beach City.
IVC ended up No. 2 in the final California Community College Men's Volleyball Coaches Association State Poll of the 2019 season.
The Lasers defeated undefeated and top-ranked Orange Coast in four sets in the semifinals to meet LBCC in the final.
The squad finished with a record of 15-8 overall. Irvine Valley went 5-3 and finished second in conference.
IVC freshmen Declan Holder and Tristan Belsby were each named to the all-tournament team at the state event.
Freshman middle blocker Grant Marocchi and sophomore outside hitter Sean Carroll were each named first team all-Orange Empire Conference and freshman opposite Demetre Gossett and Belsby were each chosen to the second team for the Lasers.
