Medenceles named co-MVP; Seven other Mustangs earn T-CAL’s top
honors
GILROY – Although their 20-win season and a second-place finish in the T-CAL was not given the deserved respect by the CCS playoff selection committee, the Mustang spikers received a flood of honors from the league coaches for their efforts on the hard court.
Senior hitter Jason Medenceles was named the league’s co-MVP – along with Live Oak senior Matt McElroy – and seven more Mustang teammates were given All-League honors (two first team, two second team, two honorable mentions, and one sportsmanship award).
“One of my goals in the beginning of the year was – last year I was second team so this year I wanted at least first team,” Medenceles said. “I was playing on the club team we had here and working hard to get to that next level. Being co-MVP is even better.”
Medenceles – a left-handed hitter who packs a big wallop with both arms – plans to continue his volleyball accolades next fall at San Jose State University, where he will try out for the college’s club team.
“Hopefully, I can go over there and everything works out, and I’m able to play club volleyball,” Medenceles said. “If I start progressing, I can transfer to another school with a team. The main thing is I want to keep trying to play volleyball.”
The senior clubber – who played through the Gilroy rotation because of his solid defensive skills in the back row – was on the telephone with a friend last week Monday night when head coach Craig Martin buzzed in to let him know the good news.
“I was actually tired when he called, but I was up once he told me I was co-MVP,” Medenceles said. “I was really excited about it.”
Senior hitter Scott Martin – the Mustangs’ other top kill-leader – and senior setter Tucker Baksa – one of Gilroy’s assistmen and top defensive specialist – both earned first-team respects.
“It just showed all of our hard work – with club and everything – it all just came together,” Baksa said. “I wasn’t really (thinking about All-League awards). I just wanted to play for a championship. It’s just an added bonus.”
Baksa – who played for his father and co-head coach Jay Baksa, Gilroy’s City Manager, on both varsity and junior varsity – took on half of the setter duties after a teammate was injured before the season started. The versatile senior also went up for spikes and blocks when his number was called. Baksa’s most glaring quality, however, was how he could dig the ball off the floor.
“This year was great playing with all my teammates. We couldn’t have worked harder this year,” said Baksa, who will be going to college down in San Diego in the fall. “We kind of knew if we didn’t beat Live Oak, it would be a long shot (to get into CCS). We prepared for the news… I think we could have made a run deep into the playoffs.”
Martin – who also played for his father and co-head coach Craig Martin at each level – is also headed to San Jose State University next fall. The three-sport athlete was coached by his dad as a place-kicker for football and a defender for soccer, where he was also first-team All-League, in addition to volleyball.
“It’s been really great. This year everything came together for both soccer and volleyball,” said Martin, also cherishing his time spent with his father. “It’s really great because during soccer I would see some my teammates and their parents didn’t come to the games. It was nice knowing he had to be there. I’m definitely going to miss that.”
Martin brought his leadership from soccer over to volleyball and played through the entire rotation – showcasing his offensive and defensive skills on the court as well as keeping his teammates focused at all times.
“We had a good group of seniors on both teams,” Martin said. “It feels good (to get first team), but at the same time it’s not the best possible scenario since we’re not playing in CCS. We were really hoping to win league. If someone said to me I could give this up to win the league title, I would give it up in a heartbeat.”
Depth was key for the Mustang spikers (12-2 in T-CAL) this season and recognized by the league as senior blocker Josh Gravell and senior setter Matt Largo both received second-team honors.
The awards kept rolling in with senior hitter John Bowe and junior blocker Kyle Loving earning honorable mentions. In addition, senior Daniel Cabrera was chosen for the league’s sportsmanship team. The Gilroy coaching staff was also selected to head up the league’s annual All-Star game.
