LEXINGTON — Paige Caudill felt like she had never really left the sidelines.
Mostly because she hadn’t.
Stepping down from leading the varsity program at the conclusion of the 2020 season, she spent a few years running the 4th, 5th, and 6th grade programs at Buckeye Central before coaching junior high the past two seasons.
Saturday afternoon she picked up her first win in stint three leading the Buckettes with an impressive 25-15, 25-14, 25-11 sweep of Lexington.
“It’s good getting back to playing ball that is a little more complex than what we do in junior high,” Caudill said. “It’s so invigorating to work with a group of girls that want to play, want to learn the game, and want to do well for their team.
“It’s an awesome thing to step back into.”
And similar to her last spell on the varsity sideline, she has a promising young team with tons of potential boasting seven sophomores, three juniors, and one senior.
Coming off a loss to Division V state semifinalist Pleasant earlier in the week, the Buckettes turned their focus to Division III district runner-up Lexington where Caudill knew her girls would be tested at times. And Lady Lex did just that hanging around in the first set and going point-for-point with Buckeye Central throughout the first portion of the second set.
But both times her girls settled in and closed out strong before storming out to a lead in the third.
“And on a Saturday no less,” Caudill said. “Taking care of it and not letting yourself sit back and wait was a very mature thing for a young team. That second game they showed their youth, but they didn’t wallow in it.”
Needing a spark in the second, junior Ella Daniel went on a tear serving to push a two-point lead to six and forcing Lexington coach Alyson Berg into a timeout. And in the third it was sophomore Miliana Chamberlain reeling off several stellar serves to push a 7-1 lead early that would be stretched to 17-4.
“We have a pretty good set of servers, so for one of them on any given night to take control and do the job is excellent,” Caudill said. “Both did it today and hopefully if one doesn’t the next game, it’ll be somebody else who steps in and sees what’s needed.”
Sophomore Joslynn Hensley was a standout at the net after shaking off a rusty opening set. She was able to get hands on several attacks to deflect to teammates or secure the block herself, as well as swinging freely for kills.
“She’s really come along,” Caudill said. “JV last year and coming up to varsity — in the middle, no less — that’s a hard task. And she’s a gamer, she wants to do well, and she responds to coaching which is only going to make her better.”
League play begins this week for Buckeye Central and Caudill will be seeking her third consecutive Northern 10 championships having stepped down previously after back-to-back titles. And she knows it’s going to be a battle every night just how it always has been, just amplified even more so with the league expansion.
“First year back into it after being gone seven years and now the league’s changed,” Caudill said. “It’ll be interesting, but we’re still treating every league game as I have in the past — it’s incredibly important. We are expecting their best and we will prepare for it. It’ll be a big game no matter what, it’s a league game and we’ve got to take care of business.”
Lexington is treating every game with the same importance, just with a different goal in mind — growth. Berg is in her first year leading the program and has a lot of new faces in key positions.
“They were hustling very well and that’s something we’ve been working on in practice,” she said. “Pursuing the ball, picking each other up when we mess up, and I think the first two sets we did a very good job of that hustling, working our butts off, and we had a few really good rallies that were fun to watch.”
The Minutemen are still seeking their first win of the season with games against West Holmes and Madison coming up.
“We have a word for our season — together,” Berg said. “I think we just keep falling back on that because a lot of these girls haven’t played in these roles before. We have a lot of new faces and we have a few young ones, but playing together and really picking each other up is what we’ve been working on.
“I think we’re starting to see that more in games, too.”
zholden@gannett.com | 419-617-6018 | Twitter/X: @Zachary_Holden
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Buckeye Central’s young talent on display in sweep of Lexington
Reporting by Zachary Holden, Mansfield News Journal / Mansfield News Journal
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By Zachary Holden, Mansfield News Journal | USA TODAY Network
