‘Pesto’ is top frosh

Outside hitter Kari Pestolesi was named Big West Conference Freshman of the Year, headlining a quintet of Anteaters honored by the conference Tuesday and marking the first time that UC Irvine has had five all-conference honorees in women’s volleyball.

Pestolesi is joined on the first team by outside hitter Lauren Kellerman with middle blocker Kristin Kelley, setter Taryn Robertson and libero Devon Sutherland all receiving honorable mention accolades.

Pestolesi became UC Irvine’s first Freshman of the Year after leading the program in kills with 471 and service aces with 39. She is ranked fifth in the Big West with a 4.17 kill average and a .35 ace average. Pestolesi is sixth in kills in the UCI season records and is the only freshman listed in the top 10 in that category. Pestolesi, who is also second on the team in digs with 334, earned Big West Player of the Week honors and was named to the Ruby’s Montana Invitational All-Tournament team. She has started in all but one match for UCI and has posted 18 double-double (kills/digs) matches and recorded 20 or more kills seven times.

Kellerman earned her second first-team award after posting 428 kills and ranking sixth in the Big West with a 3.86 average. The junior is also second in service aces with 33 and third in digs with 224. Kellerman, who was voted to two all-tournament teams (Arizona Invitational, Montana Invitational) this season, is fifth in the UCI career records with 1,217 kills and moved into the top three with 3,574 career attempts. This season, Kellerman has posted double-figure kills in all but three matches and tied for third in the UCI match records with six service winners against Davidson.

Kelley, a two-time All-Big West honorable mention choice, is 52nd in the nation in blocking and has been ranked in the NCAA for four consecutive weeks. Among the Big West leaders the senior is third in blocking (1.31) and ninth in hitting (.278). Kelley, who was named to two UC Irvine/Nike Invitational All-Tournament teams, is also fifth in the program’s career annals with 277 block assists and sits third among the season leaders with 130. She etched her name in the UCI match records for the second consecutive year, posting 11 block assists against Pacific earlier this season.

Robertson is also a two-time honoree after averaging 12.22 assists per game this season. Named to the All-Freshman Team in 2006, Robertson established herself as one of the top setters in the nation and has been ranked in the NCAA for nine weeks. The sophomore was named the Most Valuable Player of the Montana Invitational and was also voted to the Arizona Invitational All-Tournament team earlier this year. After two seasons, she is just the fourth Anteater to record 2,500 career assists and is fourth in the season records with 1,369. Robertson has recorded four double-double matches (assists/digs) this season and is fourth on the team in digs with 218 and third with 85 total blocks.

Sutherland earns her first conference honor and became the third Anteater to record 500 digs in a season. Sutherland, who tops the team with 531 digs, is sixth in the Big West with a 4.66 per-game average. The libero has recorded double-figures in digs in 26 matches and posted 20 or more digs 11 times. Sutherland posted the fifth-best performance in the program’s match records with a career-high 30 digs against UC Riverside and earned MVP honors at the UC Irvine/Nike Invitational.

Cal Poly’s Kylie Atherstone was voted the Big West Player of the Year while Mustang coach Jon Stevenson picked up Coach of the Year accolades.

— From staff reports