Consistency, class, commitment. All adjectives that come to mind when considering the career of Lisa Arce-Zimmerman. She is one of the rare professional beach players for whom, despite competing fiercely for decades, it is almost impossible to find a competitor without nice things to say about her.

Born and bred in Manhattan Beach, Lisa grew up watching her older brother Rick star at Mira Costa High School. Lisa soon followed in Rick’s footsteps, winning a state and national high school championship in 1985.

She went on to a stellar four-year career at UC Berkeley, where she was a two-time All-Pac Ten player and still ranks second all-time in both digs and kills. Recently, she was voted to Cal’s all-decade volleyball team.

While it would seem like a natural transition for a kid from Manhattan Beach to compete on the beach, Lisa was somewhat reluctant at first. After college, she found herself helping her longtime high school friend Holly McPeak train and it became obvious to McPeak that Lisa was better than many of the players on tour. It took some gentle nudging from Holly to get Lisa to turn her sights full-time to the sand.

Once she committed to the beach, Lisa made an immediate impact, being named the WPVA Rookie of the Year in 1994. Arce-Zimmerman went on to win 20 domestic and international tournaments throughout the 1990s and early 2000s and over $650,000 in prize money. Twice she topped the entire tour in the Queen of the Beach tournament and in 1997 Lisa hit the trifecta by being named the WPVA’s best blocker, best hitter, and ace leader. She was the first alternate for the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney.

Lisa was an explosive offensive player who could score points hitting, blocking, and serving. But she also had an all-around game with excellent ball control and defense. While she played with many of the best players of her era, she had her best success when she eventually partnered with McPeak beginning in 1986. The two won 14 tournaments together the last of them coming right here in Hermosa Beach in 2001. Lisa also had successful partnerships with Barb Fontana, Patty Dodd, Marie Anderson, Rachel Scott, Leanne McSorley and others.

After retiring from the beach, Lisa took over the reins as head coach at her alma mater Mira Costa, where she led the team to a National Championship in 2007

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