James Menges (born January 10, 1951) is an American former volleyball player, coach, and Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) tournament director. He played college volleyball for the UCLA Bruins under head coach Al Scates. His college teams won national championships in 1972 and 1974. He is best known for beach volleyball, where he was the game's most dominant player from the mid 1970s through the early 1980s.
Early life and college career
Menges grew up in Santa Monica, California. He was a standout athlete at Santa Monica High School. Out of high school he was awarded a scholarship to play volleyball for Al Scates at UCLA. Menges played outside hitter and setter in Scates' 6-2 offense, and by his sophomore year in 1972 he had earned a spot in the starting rotation.
The two-time defending national champion Bruins of 1972 were not considered college volleyball's best men's team. The two teams favored to win the national championship were the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos and the Aztecs of San Diego State. The Bruins earned an at-large bid and traveled to Muncie, Indiana for the 1972 national tournament held at Ball State University. The format of the tournament at the time consisted of a four-team preliminary round robin to determine seeding into a subsequent single-elimination championship bracket. The Bruins played well early in round robin play until they were badly beaten by the Aztecs of San Diego State, 15-7, 15-11. UCLA, UC Santa Barbara and UCSD all ended up with 2 - 1 records, but the Bruins were given the top position in the playoff seeding on the basis of points differential. In their semi-final, they easily defeated Ball State, while UCSD defeated UC Santa Barbara in the other semi-final to set up a championship final between the Bruins and San Diego State. SDSU took the first two games, and with an 8-3 lead in the third appeared ready for a three game sweep. The Bruins rallied, however, to win in an upset, 10-15, 9-15, 15-9, 15-10, 15-7. UCLA finished the season with a 27-7 record and their third consecutive national crown.
In 1973, Menges and the Bruins finished 4th in the 18-team Southern California Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (SCIVA). UCLA met San Diego State at the regional finals in Pauley Pavilion in a rematch of the 1972 national championship match. UCLA went up 2-0 before a three game comeback by the Aztecs eliminated the Bruins from the tournament. Said the Aztec's Chris Marlowe: “When we came back and beat UCLA in Pauley, it was like it was willed to be. It was like God came down from the mountain and was rooting for the Aztecs.” San Diego State went on to win the 1973 national championship. The Bruins finished the season 21-8.
1974 saw Menges and the Bruins finish 3rd in the SCIVA, behind UCSB and Southern Cal. The 1974 NCAA men's volleyball tournament was held on the UC Santa Barbara campus, and UC Santa Barbara was the heavy favorite to win it. UCLA made it to the NCAA tournament by upsetting Southern Cal in their district playoffs. The previous final four tournament format of round robin play for seeding followed by a single-elimination playoff was dropped in 1974 in favor of going directly to a single-elimination playoff. The tournament field remained limited to four teams. In the semi-finals, UCLA defeated Ball State in straight sets while UCSB defeated Springfield in straight sets. The championship match was a back and forth affair, with UCSB beating the Bruins in Games 1 and 3, while UCLA took games 2 and 4. Many of the Bruin kills were coming from an inside attack, with UCLA's Bob Leonard receiving fast tempo sets from Menges. In the game five clincher, the Gauchos led 6-1 before the Bruins rallied with six straight points to lead 7-6. UCLA kept just enough momentum to take the championship: 10-15, 15-8, 10-15, 15-11, 15-12. Menges and Mike Normand were named to the All-Tournament team. UCLA ended the season 30-5. It was the fourth championship in five years for the Bruins. Menges earned All-American honors in his senior year at UCLA.