BUCYRUS — Both Bucyrus and Colonel Crawford are young and rebuilding.

The Lady Red swept the visiting Lady Eagles, 25-16, 25-20, 25-22 in a Northern 10 Athletic Conference game at Alex Kish Memorial Gymnasium on Phil. A. Joseph Floor.

But it was by no means easy. As the scores indicate, Colonel Crawford (1-6, 0-4 N10) got gradually closer, but could not quite get over the hump.

Both coaches thought unforced errors were a factor, with the Eagles struggling a little more in that area.

“That’s different for us in other games,” Bucyrus coach Amber Christy said. “We’ve had a lot of unforced errors, serve-receive errors. I told the girls they can pass the ball. They just get in a little bit of a rut. It’s hard mentally for them to come out of it.”

“There were some opportunities we let them get in and we didn’t answer,” Colonel Crawford coach Jamie Valentine said. “We waited too long to make any answer for it.”

The Eagles came out of the box strong in the first set, grabbing a 4-0 lead. But Lady Red responded by tying it at 7-7 and eventually built a 19-10 lead. Colonel Crawford rallied to cut the deficit to 20-15, but Bucyrus pulled away to the win.

“Today, we were very focused on trying to overcome our mistakes — if we made a mistake, not to dwell on it,” Christy said.

In the second set, the Eagles stayed close early, fell behind, 19-10, much like the first game. Again, Colonel Crawford made a run, getting to within 24-20, before dropping the second set, 25-20.

“We had some key moments that didn’t go our way,” Valentine said. “We made some unforced errors that hurt us in the end — missed serves, attack errors.”

The Eagles continued their improvement in the deciding third set. After getting down 5-0 to start the set, Colonel Crawford went on an 8-1run to open a 15-11 lead.

“The girls got a little scrappy in that third set, which was nice to see,” Valentine said. “We knew they were going to work the middle, but we just couldn’t stay on that. The adjustment just didn’t get made.”

Bucyrus (2-6, 1-3) called a timeout to get back on track.

“We called that timeout and told the girls, ‘Hey, we’re getting sloppy,’” Christy said. “’ We have to clean this up right now. We don’t want to go four (sets). We have to put this away right now.’”

Lady Red tied the game at 17-17 and it was tied three more times, the last at 22-22 as the spunky Eagles tried to extend the match. But Bucyrus scored the last three points to close it out and take the match 3-0.

“Tonight was fun. They served very well,” Christy said. “We finally had several girls hit the ball well. We had a couple girls that missed some balls, but they came back and didn’t come unglued.”

Reese Garvin had 38 digs for Lady Red. Haylee Stratton had 21 serves with two aces to go with 11 digs. Tori Stang had eight kills, and 11 digs and Aubrie Kimmel had eight kills and 10 digs.

Ella Agee had 15 serves and eight service points for Colonel Crawford. Sophia Gray had 10 serves for five points and an ace. Camryn Powers and Emmi Powers had seven kills each, while Tori Spitler and Gray had 12 receptions apiece.

“I knew it was going to be a fun game for both teams,” Valentine said. “It’s always fun to be part of that. It’s a good thing for our young kids to see and be a part of. From here, we move on.

“”It’s all a learning experience,” Valentine added. “And as long as we move on and learn from it, that’s all you can ask of them.”

“I think we were both at the bottom of the league (preseason predictions),” Christy said. “Both teams are the youngest teams in the league. We both play freshmen. It’s going to make it fun for the upcoming years.”

With league wins at a premium for Bucyrus in recent years, it was important to get one early at home.

“We’ll take any win we get however we get it,” Christy said.

Colonel Crawford plays at the Crestline tournament Saturday. Bucyrus hosts Wynford on Tuesday.

The Lady Red swept the visiting Lady Eagles, 25-16, 25-20, 25-22 in a Northern 10 Athletic Conference game at Alex Kish Memorial Gymnasium on Phil. A. Joseph Floor.

But it was by no means easy. As the scores indicate, Colonel Crawford (1-6, 0-4 N10) got gradually closer, but could not quite get over the hump.

Both coaches thought unforced errors were a factor, with the Eagles struggling a little more in that area.

“That’s different for us in other games,” Bucyrus coach Amber Christy said. “We’ve had a lot of unforced errors, serve-receive errors. I told the girls they can pass the ball. They just get in a little bit of a rut. It’s hard mentally for them to come out of it.”

“There were some opportunities we let them get in and we didn’t answer,” Colonel Crawford coach Jamie Valentine said. “We waited too long to make any answer for it.”

The Eagles came out of the box strong in the first set, grabbing a 4-0 lead. But Lady Red responded by tying it at 7-7 and eventually built a 19-10 lead. Colonel Crawford rallied to cut the deficit to 20-15, but Bucyrus pulled away to the win.

“Today, we were very focused on trying to overcome our mistakes — if we made a mistake, not to dwell on it,” Christy said.

In the second set, the Eagles stayed close early, fell behind, 19-10, much like the first game. Again, Colonel Crawford made a run, getting to within 24-20, before dropping the second set, 25-20.

“We had some key moments that didn’t go our way,” Valentine said. “We made some unforced errors that hurt us in the end — missed serves, attack errors.”

The Eagles continued their improvement in the deciding third set. After getting down 5-0 to start the set, Colonel Crawford went on an 8-1run to open a 15-11 lead.

“The girls got a little scrappy in that third set, which was nice to see,” Valentine said. “We knew they were going to work the middle, but we just couldn’t stay on that. The adjustment just didn’t get made.”

Bucyrus (2-6, 1-3) called a timeout to get back on track.

“We called that timeout and told the girls, ‘Hey, we’re getting sloppy,’” Christy said. “’ We have to clean this up right now. We don’t want to go four (sets). We have to put this away right now.’”

Lady Red tied the game at 17-17 and it was tied three more times, the last at 22-22 as the spunky Eagles tried to extend the match. But Bucyrus scored the last three points to close it out and take the match 3-0.

“Tonight was fun. They served very well,” Christy said. “We finally had several girls hit the ball well. We had a couple girls that missed some balls, but they came back and didn’t come unglued.”

Reese Garvin had 38 digs for Lady Red. Haylee Stratton had 21 serves with two aces to go with 11 digs. Tori Stang had eight kills, and 11 digs and Aubrie Kimmel had eight kills and 10 digs.

Ella Agee had 15 serves and eight service points for Colonel Crawford. Sophia Gray had 10 serves for five points and an ace. Camryn Powers and Emmi Powers had seven kills each, while Tori Spitler and Gray had 12 receptions apiece.

“I knew it was going to be a fun game for both teams,” Valentine said. “It’s always fun to be part of that. It’s a good thing for our young kids to see and be a part of. From here, we move on.

“”It’s all a learning experience,” Valentine added. “And as long as we move on and learn from it, that’s all you can ask of them.”

“I think we were both at the bottom of the league (preseason predictions),” Christy said. “Both teams are the youngest teams in the league. We both play freshmen. It’s going to make it fun for the upcoming years.”

With league wins at a premium for Bucyrus in recent years, it was important to get one early at home.

“We’ll take any win we get however we get it,” Christy said.

Colonel Crawford plays at the Crestline tournament Saturday. Bucyrus hosts Wynford on Tuesday.