Jeff Menzel pounded 15 kills and hit .448 powering the UCSB men’s volleyball team to a 25-22, 25-23, 25-23 sweep over Hawaii, gaining split of their two matches in Honolulu.The Gauchos hit .308 as a team and their defense clamped down on Hawaii’s top two hitters, Jonas Umlauft and Joshua Walker. Umlauft was held to a .033 hitting average, while Walker hit .269. Both players had 11 kills.Former Dos Pueblos star Brennon Dyer had seven kills and hit .385 for the Warriors.Cullen … [Read more...]
Top-ranked USC shuts down Menzel, UCSB
Wednesday, January 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The UCSB men’s volleyball team battled mightily but could not overcome top-ranked USC on Wednesday night as it was swept 25-20, 25-22, 25-22 at Rob Gym.Led by reigning National Player of The Week Murphy Troy, who finished with 12 kills and a .632 hitting percentage, the Trojans were dominant across the stat sheet. More importantly, they played efficiently, committing five less service and attacking errors.“Murphy was Murphy,” said Trojan coach Bill Ferguson. “He was real solid. … [Read more...]
Menzel’s Gauchos take down Clark’s Anteaters
Thursday, March 4, 2010 By 2 Comments
Three or four years ago, local fans would have been pretty split on which boys volleyball star was the best player: San Marcos High's Jeff Menzel or Santa Barbara's Carson Clark. Now they're marquee sophomores on their college squads, and Wednesday's stat sheet shows that it's still a worthy debate. Menzel finished with 22 kills on 50 swings as his Gauchos held off Clark's defending national-champion Anteaters 33-31, 30-28, 27-30, 30-24. Clark had 21 kills on 51 swings. The match was played … [Read more...]
UCSB’s Menzel earns MPSF’s weekly honor
Wednesday, February 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Jeff Menzel has been named Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Player of the Week after leading the UCSB men's volleyball team to road wins at Long Beach State and UC San Diego last weekend.On Friday, Feb. 12, Menzel slammed a career-high 34 kills, including seven in the fifth set, while adding 11 digs for the double-double in UCSB’s five-set come-from-behind victory at No. 6 Long Beach State.The next night, Menzel tallied 33 kills, nine digs, and five blocks as the Gauchos … [Read more...]
Gauchos post season’s first victory
Saturday, January 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Jeff Menzel had 25 kills and Cullen Irons added 14 as the No. 14 UCSB men's volleyball team picked up its first victory of the season against No. 11 UC San Diego, 3-2, in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play Saturday night at Robertson Gymnasium.Game scores were 26-30, 30-24, 27-30, 30-27, 15-13 in favor of the Gauchos as they improved to 1-4 overall, 1-1 in the MPSF. UCSD is now 1-4 overall and 1-1 in MPSF play.UCSB swung at a .329 clip on the night, connecting on 70 of their 140 … [Read more...]
Gaucho spikers lose third 5-gamer of young season
Wednesday, January 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment
The season is only four matches old, but the UCSB men's volleyball team has already stayed at the Heartbreak Hotel three times.The No. 14 Gauchos remained winless, losing their third 5-setter of the year on Wednesday night against ninth-ranked Long Beach State. Game scores were 23-30, 30-24, 24-30, 30-26, 15-9.The culprit in the fifth set was serving. The Gauchos missed three serves in the early going and then allowed three consecutive aces from Long Beach's Dan Alexander. Alexander … [Read more...]
Gauchos can’t hold off Stanford in fifth set
Sunday, February 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment
The growing pains are really starting to hurt for the young UCSB men's volleyball team."We just haven't gotten over the hump yet, but hopefully it'll only make us better... We're just not confident enough yet, but we'll get there," said sophomore sensation Jeff Menzel after Saturday's heartbreaking 30-26, 26-30, 24-30, 30-21, 15-13 loss to visiting No. 7 Stanford.The No. 13 Gauchos were up 10-6 in the fifth set but let it slip away on a late service run by Stanford setter Kawika Shoji. … [Read more...]
