Alum of the month: Recently-married volleyball couple Hesthammer and Brown a true Griffins love story

Jefferson Hagen, MacEwan Athletics

EDMONTON – Wrapping up a fun, spirited game against an alumni team five days before his senior university volleyball season was to begin with the MacEwan Griffins, Kai Hesthammer had butterflies in his stomach as he invited girlfriend Jessica Brown to go for a walk to one of their favourite spots.

Their first date was at the park near MacEwan three years earlier not long after they met at a preseason party for both the Griffins volleyball teams.

On this night – Oct. 14, 2018 – Hesthammer moved with a purpose as he tucked an engagement ring in his pocket and waited for the right moment.

"On that (first) date, we sat on a specific bench in that park, so I made sure we navigated our way to that same bench and sat down and talked for a while," he explained.

"When the coast was clear in every direction, I fumbled with the ring for about two minutes trying to get it out of my pocket. Then I asked the question. Jess started crying and didn't really respond, so I was worried she was going to say no there for quite a while."

Brown, a setter for the Griffins women's volleyball team from 2013-16, was overwhelmed by the moment.

"I did say yes, I was just so surprised," she said. "We hadn't gone ring shopping or anything. We had talked about our future and what we wanted it to look like, but we didn't talk a ton about the specifics of getting married. So I was just very, very surprised. I wanted it to be private, so it was great.

"We ended up asking this older gentleman who was walking past the park bench to take our picture. It was truly sweet."

Last July, Kai and Jessica were married – a storybook ending to a Griffins' love story that has them reflecting on the idea of destiny.

"You look back and there's no way you could recreate it if you tried," said Hesthammer. "It was the perfect storm, so to speak."

The fact Hesthammer was even in Edmonton at all is remarkable. The native of Oystese, Norway, first came to Canada to play volleyball for Lethbridge College six years ago.

After blistering the opposition with 332 kills for the Kodiaks during the 2014-15 season – second-most in the conference – he captured an Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference rookie of the year award and tried to sort out his future with multiple Canada West schools in pursuit.

The offer from MacEwan head coach Brad Poplawski won out and he moved to Edmonton for a journey that would prove more fortuitous than he could ever have imagined.

His future life partner Brown had recently wrapped up her second season with the Griffins, notching 456 assists as she split time at the starting setter position for MacEwan's inaugural Canada West campaign.

"(Kai) wanted to go CIS and he was recruited by quite a few teams – UBCO, U of S, U of R," she explained. "So, it's very random that he happened to end up at MacEwan and we were able to meet each other. It's kind of indescribable. It's like the perfect situation."

They met at a 2015-16 preseason party hosted by then-Griffins women's volleyball player Michelle Bodnarek. All Brown knew was the men's team had two new players … except she initially got them mixed up.

"I knew one of them was from Europe and one of them was older," she said of Hesthammer and Ryan McDonald, who was returning to play for the Griffins for the first time since 2010. "The older guy looked much more European than Kai.

"I actually started talking to Ryan," she recalled with a chuckle. "I started asking him questions like 'where are you from? You must have traveled a very long way to be here?' and he was like, 'what is this girl talking about?' It was a good night."

Moving on from that awkward conversation, Brown eventually met Hesthammer and the rest is history.

The two were married on July 25 – a special moment that wasn't without its challenges due to COVID-19. At the time, restrictions in Alberta were eased to allow up to 100 guests at the church for the ceremony (social distanced, of course), while they held two separate receptions (one for family and one for friends) to limit numbers. Unfortunately, none of Hesthammer's family (in Norway and the U.S.) were able to attend the wedding because of travel restrictions.

"We'll definitely go over there at some point," he said. "It actually worked out that we got engaged and the summer afterward (2019) we went to Norway and visited all of my family as an engaged couple."

Jessica and Kai Hesthammer were married on July 25, 2020 (Courtesy of the Hesthammers).

As they start their lives together, both are putting their MacEwan degrees to work. Hesthammer graduated in 2019 with a Commerce degree, specializing in accounting, and has recently been promoted to the controller position of a local oil and gas company, which makes valves and actuators for drilling rigs.

After graduating from MacEwan in 2018 with a Science degree, specializing in developmental biology, Brown is currently enrolled in medical school at the University of Alberta, keeping her career options open with current interests in psychiatry and dermatology.

"A lot of people have this opinion that you can't go to a smaller school and go to medical school, but I always recommend MacEwan to everybody I meet," she said. "I had such a good experience there with the sports programs, the small classes and the professors that I felt really truly cared."

Volleyball remains a special part of their lives, even if it's not in a gym anymore. The newly-married couple instead competes on Edmonton's burgeoning beach volleyball circuit. With Brown setting up Hesthammer for his trademark thunderous smashes, it has proven to be a perfect transition from university sport.

"It's kind of hard to believe that there's a really good beach league in Edmonton because when you think Edmonton, you don't really think beach volleyball," she said. "There's a really awesome group of people.

"It is hard to leave university sports and that peer atmosphere and support system that you have. That (beach volleyball camaraderie) has been really nice."

Jessica Brown's favourite memory of her time as a Griffin involves being at the service line against UBC during MacEwan's inaugural Canada West home series in 2014 (Robert Antoniuk photo).

For Brown, her most succinct memory of playing for the Griffins is a famous one in program history. The upstart Maroon-clad women's volleyball squad headed into its inaugural Canada West home weekend on Oct. 10-11, 2014 as huge underdogs to reigning CIS silver medalist UBC.

"My favourite memory from MacEwan was our home opener as a CIS team," said Brown. "We were the biggest underdogs and we were playing UBC and we ended up winning both games (3-2 on back-to-back nights).

"I remember I was serving (in the second match) when it was 14-10 in the fifth set for the other team and we ended up coming back and winning (16-14)," she recalled. "It wasn't because my serving was particularly amazing or anything, but I just remember being down big in the fifth set and we came back and won. That was something that will always stick with me how resilient we were. That was very special."

For Hesthammer, the volleyball experience at MacEwan was a sum of successes on and off the court.

"For me, it was the whole experience of going to classes and then to the team room and hanging out with teammates," he said. "It was feeling you're part of a family. Being able to have that going through life makes things rock solid.

"You can face just about anything when you have a good support system. I really felt we had that there. On and off the court, it was just a great bunch of guys to be with. That's what I enjoyed the most."

Kai Hesthammer drills a ball across the net against Saskatchewan during his final season with the Griffins in 2018-19 (Robert Antoniuk photo).

Twice winning the Griffins men's volleyball team MVP award, Hesthammer's numbers will remain etched in MacEwan's record book for some time. He's currently the program's career Canada West leader in digs (497), is second in kills (704), second in points (798.5) and third in service aces (39).

But that's all window dressing on an experience that will stay with him and his new bride for all time.

"I don't know how to put words on it really," said Hesthammer. "At this point, I've basically got everything I have from volleyball and ending up with the Griffins.

"With Jess and her whole family, all the connections I have in Canada are from volleyball. The fact I was able to find such an amazing woman and coerce her into marrying me …"

Brown smiled and finished the sentence.

"It was pretty special."