Tatyana Menshova

Tatyana Menshova (RUS)
A Chebukina for the "outside"

Tatyana ready to serve. She was the typical Russian player, strong, stiff, but totally dependable. [Photo Source: TBD]

Years after the 89 Junior World Championships in Peru, I found out that Menshova had been part of the Soviet team participating in that tournament. The reason why I probably didn't notice her was because the USSR did so poorly that it was in fact, a team to forget. I remember distinctly, the match in which they lost to a quick (back-row hitting), short team from Taiwan. TAIWAN? Yes. An amazing feat for the minuscule Asian team, because the Soviet players were all big, strong, towering, well-fed and trained with solid discipline. But whereas not one of the players from that victorious Taiwanese team made under the spotlight of international volleyball at the senior level, Tatyana Menshova certainly did.

Physically, she resembled Yelena Chebukina a lot, except that Menshova played outside and Chebukina played middle. But Menshova began proving her solid hitting--more than anythign else--since the early 90s. Why it took so long for her to shine is due mainly to a teammate of hers: Yevgeniya Artamonova.

At the time Menshova entered the Senior National Team, there was a long line of outside hitters in front of her: Smirnova and Sidorenko as starters, then Batukhtina and Artamonova as first substitutes. But then, the faubulous setter Parkhomchuk defected and went to play for the Croatian National team, which caused Marina Nikulina to become the next starting setter. So then, Karpol placed Batukhtina opposite the setter and a spot was open for he outside hitting position. But that spot was reserved solely for the extremely talente Artamonova. Unfortunately for her, sometime in late 93 or early 94 she suffered a knee injury that took her out for several months. It was then that Menshova rose to the occasion.

Menshova hits angle around the weak block of Japan's Tomoko Yoshihara. Back when both of them played at the 89 Junior World's, Yoshihara won the bronze while Menshova didn't even make it out of pool play! That was then... [FIVB Photo Archives]

She certainly proved herself at the 94 worlds in Brazil. With Junior World Champion setter Tatyana Grachova relieving Nikulina of her duties, Batukhtina went back to playing outside. She and Menshova were unstoppable on the outside position and from the back-row. And with Russia's almost pre-historic offence (you'll hear a lot of this throughout these pages), it was these two whom Grachova went to 90% of the time. You would think their opponents would triple block them. Well they did! But still, Menshova and Batukhtina pounded kill after kill and for two games in the semifinal match against home team Brazil, both Russians were giving the Brazilian torcida the fright of their lives. This roll lasted until the middle of the 4th game, when Brazil shed the nervousness and finally woke up to rally back behind Ana Moser's gutsy performance and win at the tie-break. Brazil made it to the World Championship final.

Whatever happened to Menshova after this? She stayed on the team through 96, playing at occasionally at the Atlanta Olympics. But by then Artamonova was back at her level and for Atlanta Karpol called Seoul gold-medalist Ilchenko (formerly Smirnova) to help Russia to another medal (which they failed for the first time to obtain). Menshova was relegated again to a substituting role. At the 96 Grand Prix I remember she helped guide a Russian comeback in the 2nd game against Brazil, who was up 12-2, if I'm not wrong. It seemed like Menshova wasted no opportunity to show her skills and her powerful play. Unfortunately, the opportunities didn't come very often. It didn't take long for Karpol to discover a new protégé in Yelena Godina, who soon became the other starting outside hitter opposite Artamonova. What became of Tatyana Menshova, I never found out.

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Tatyana Menshova (RUS) A Chebukina for the "outside"

Tatyana Menshova (RUS)
A Chebukina for the "outside"