DHS volleyballers send Sac High packing

The 2013 squad may be one of the more inexperienced teams Julie Crawford has had in her time as the Davis High boys volleyball coach, but the Blue Devils have yet to look anything but ready for the trials ahead.

On Tuesday, DHS dispatched Sacramento High in three sets at The Cage behind strong performances from its only two true veterans and a horde of first-time players. With the victory, the Devils improved to 2-0 on the season.

Seniors Daniel Bonetti and Sam Manderfield led the way for Davis, overwhelming the Dragons at the point of attack with a barrage of spikes and serves. Meanwhile, their less-experienced teammates — like Don Wook Shin, Reese Peterson, Andre Foster, Rodney Glasgow and Evan Meerscheidt — manned the remaining gaps and stepped up when needed.

“Everybody got to see some court time. I really like games like this because our players are all pretty much new and (these games) give us experience as we build up to starting league (play),” Crawford said. “I want them all to feel comfortable when they step on the court.

“(These games) give us a good time to work on stuff that we need to work on and allow me to kind of coach them while they’re on the floor, because once we get more into the season, I like to just let them play.”

After the first set, there was little doubt about who was going to win the match. With Manderfield and others on the attack, the Blue Devils sped out to a 20-10 lead before winning 25-13.

The Dragons showed some life in the second set, taking an 11-5 advantage in the early going, but were quickly snuffed out by Bonetti, who had the gym echoing every time he blocked a shot or spiked the ball. Behind its big hitter, DHS surged past Sac High and went on to take the set 25-18.

The final game was more of the same, with Manderfield, Bonetti, junior Jake deVarennes and a host of other players all making plays up front as the Devils coasted to a 25-13 victory.

DHS now looks ahead to road matches at McClatchy (Thursday) and Capital Christian (Friday), then a tournament at UC Davis on Saturday. At UCD, the Blue Devils are slated to face El Camino, St. Joseph and Granite Bay.

“It means nothing. It’s just a fun tournament,” Crawford said. “But it’ll be a good day for us to get a lot of games in and a lot of touches and a lot of experience for the boys.”

— Reach Will Bellamy at wbellamy@davisenterprise.net