Sports briefs: DHS opens girls volleyball playoffs Tuesday at home

The Davis High girls will host their first girls volleyball playoff match in four years when Napa comes to town on Tuesday at 7 p.m. for the Blue Devils’ Sac-Joaquin Section tournament.

Seventh-seeded DHS (22-7) comes into the contest on a seven-match winning streak that helped them capture a Delta Valley Conference title with a 9-1 record in league play.

The Indians (25-13) are seeded 10th after going just 8-7 in the Monticello Empire League. Napa will have a height advantage against the Devils, but has just two seniors while Davis sports the team-leading 12th-grade trio of Lyndsay Chambers, Angelina Leigh and Adriana Defty.

DHS coach Julie Crawford told The Enterprise last week that she wants her team to play fast-paced, smart volleyball.

“We have nothing to lose, so we are just going to play with heart,” Crawford added.

DHS boys soccer

If there was one Blue Devil game in 2012 that begged a rematch, it was DHS’ 1-0 loss to Granite Bay on Sept. 5.

Now, deep in the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs, the Devils will get their rematch.

The Grizzlies will host Davis on Wednesday in a 3 p.m. semifinal contest.

The early-season matchup was a well-played affair that saw the two soccer heavyweights exchange punches in an entertaining bout.

If Wednesday’s game is anything like that one, Blue Devil back liners like Jacob Rutheiser, Alexander Nelson and Connor Anderson, among others, will need to keep up their strong play in front of standout goalie Derek Pleasants.

UCD men’s soccer

Aggies Kevin Schulte and goalkeeper Omar Zeenni were named to the All-Big West Conference second team on Monday, while Alex Henry picked up an honorable mention selection for UCD, which finished with a league record of 7-3 to capture the North Division title.

Schulte earned his second consecutive all-conference second-team selection, while Zeenni and Henry received their first-ever league awards.

The trio of stars will lead the Aggies as they host a Big West Tournament semifinal match Wednesday (2 p.m.) against Cal State Fullerton, the second-seeded team in the South Division.

Schulte has started all 19 games for UCD and is among the team leaders with three goals. The junior from Riverside has registered 26 shots, 10 of which have been on frame.

Zeenni, a junior, closed out the regular season with a 9-5-4 overall record to go with five shutouts. He has allowed 18 goals for a 0.95 goals against average, while registering a .783 save percentage. Zeenni is in the UCD record books, as his 65 saves this season are tied for fourth-best all-time, his 160 career saves are fifth in Aggie history and he is fourth in career shutouts with 12.

Henry picked up his first career Big West Conference Offensive Player of the Week award by assisting the game-winning goal against UC Riverside, then scoring the winner himself against Cal State Fullerton just two games later. In the next match, a win over then-No. 8 UC Santa Barbara, Henry scored again.

He also leads UCD in assists with four.