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Jonathan Bates and Brandon Johnson
The top UC Santa Barbara players at their position during this decade have been selected for a college men’s volleyball honor.
Off the Block announced on Friday the seven players selected to the UC Santa Barbara All-Decade Starting Lineup presented by Off the Block.
The All-Decade Starting Lineup recognizes the best players to compete with a team since 2010. Similar to the starting lineup for a match, the All-Decade honor is comprised of a setter, opposite and libero along with two outside attackers and middle attackers.
The Off the Block staff determined the All-Decade Starting Lineup using a variety of factors including career statistical performance and the team’s overall success when a player was a member of the program.
This is also part of a series from Off the Block to celebrate the end of the decade in college men’s volleyball. Off the Block throughout the rest of 2019 will release an All-Decade Starting Lineup for every NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball team.
UC Santa Barbara’s best finish this decade was their out-of-nowhere run in 2011 when they lost to Ohio State in the national championship match in five games.
Off the Block is a national award winning website that was established in 2011 and is the nation’s leader in college men’s volleyball.
UC Santa Barbara All-Decade Starting Lineup presented by Off the Block
Setter: Jonah Seif
Opposite: Cullen Irons
Outside Attacker: Jeff Menzel
Outside Attacker: Corey Chavers
Middle Attacker: Dylan Davis
Middle Attacker: Jake Staahl
Libero: Hayden Boehle
Setter – Jonah Seif (2013-16)
Awards and honors: 2013 All-MPSF Honorable Mention; 2013 MPSF All-Freshman; 2014 All-American Second Team; 2014 All-MPSF First Team; 2015 All-American Second Team; 2015 All-MPSF First Team; 2016 All-American Honorable Mention; 2016 All-MPSF First Team
As if his awards and honors don’t speak for themselves, Seif ranks third in program history in career aces (118), fourth in assists (4,332), fourth in digs (755), and tenth in total blocks (331).
Outside Attacker – Jeff Menzel (2008-11)
Awards and honors: 2010 All-MPSF Third Team; 2011 All-American First Team; 2011 All-MPSF First Team
Menzel is one of two players on this list that played less than three seasons in this decade for the Gauchos, but he is the only player on this list to be named to an All-American First Team. His 588 kills and 1,353 attempts in 2010 ranked second best and tops in a season by a Gaucho player.
Outside Attacker – Corey Chavers (2016-19)
Awards and honors: 2018 All-Big West First Team; 2019 All-Big West First Team
Chavers ended his four-year career with 899 kills and 96 aces, highlighted by leading the 2019 team with 370 kills and 40 aces.
Opposite – Cullen Irons (2008-11)
Awards and honors: 2011 All-NCAA Tournament Team
Irons tallied least 250 kills and 100 digs in all three of his seasons as a starter. He led the Gauchos in kills and ranking second in blocks and digs at the 2011 National Championship.
Middle Attacker – Dylan Davis (2010-13)
Awards and honors: 2010 MPSF All-Freshman; 2015 All-American First Team; 2013 All-MPSF First Team; 2013 Off the Block National Blocker of the Year
Davis’s 384 block assists are the most ever by a UC Santa Barbara player, while his 441 total blocks rank fourth. His .488 attack percentage in 2011 is the third-best mark in a season by a Gaucho. His 14 blocks assists versus USC in 2013 still stands as the best performance in a single game by a UC Santa Barbara player.
Middle Attacker – Jake Staahl (2012-15)
Awards and honors: 2014 All-MPSF Honorable Mention; 2015 All-MPSF Second Team
Staahl ranks in the top-10 in program history in both block assists (303) and total blocks (332). His 109 block assists and 113 total blocks in 2015 rank fourth and sixth best in a season for a Gaucho player during the rally-scoring era.
Libero – Hayden Boehle (2015-19)
Awards and honors: 2015 All-MPSF Honorable Mention; 2015 MPSF All-Freshman; 2019 All-Big West First Team
After redshirting in 2018, Boehle led the 2019 team with 266 digs and 108 sets played. He ended his UC Santa Barbara career with 693 digs, good for a 2.01 digs per game average.