BUCYRUS — The scene was pure pink. Balloons and T-shirts adorned Alex Kish Memorial Gymnasium Monday night.

Northmor topped Bucyrus on the Phil A. Joseph Court in four sets. But the message of the night centered on something more important. Players, coaches, and fans joined forces in Volley for the Cure, a unique program designed to promote positive awareness, and the importance of early detection of breast cancer for high school girls.

“This evening means a lot to a lot of people,” Lady Red head coach Amber Christy said. Christy herself is a cancer survivor and was among those recognized in the pre-match Survivor Walk.

“You have people just now diagnosed and in its early stages. Their minds are in the unknown and those people see those who are survivors for 5, 10, 15, 20 years and that’s got to be uplifting to them. My girls did an outstanding job tonight of the decorations, and I thought they played competitive.”

Northmor (5-7) fell in the first set 23-25 to Bucyrus (2-12). The Golden Knights then won 25-17, 25-22, 25-15.

Lady Knights head coach Shelbie Temple likewise embraced the event.

“This is an honor for us. We had a couple of girls on the team who had family, grandparents, that were honored tonight. We host our own Volley for The Cure Oct. 1 against East Knox. We love being involved and it’s a great cause,” she said.

Bucyrus began slowly but rallied to tie the first set at 9-9.

Aubrie Kimmel, who finished with 12 kills, sparked the hosts, along with Lillyan Butchko and Haylee Stratton. Stratton’s kill tied the set at 21-21 and Kimmel’s drop shot gave Bucyrus the victory.

“We were down and came back and won. Then that middle just tore us up and we weren’t covering that too well,” Christy said.

The guests went on a 10-2 run, including several well-placed drop shots, to lead 19-11 before Bucyrus tied it.

“It took a lot away from us. I told the girls they have to start swinging all the time. Too many times we put the ball over the net just to put it over the net. We need to play with more purpose, and that’s something we are trying to instill in the girls.”

Northmor came out strong in set two, going up 5-0 thanks to plays by Jillian Zeger, Layla Castle (a pair of kills) and Lizzie Erlsten. Set three also was a tussle, with five ties and several lead changes.

Fackler’s drop shot and two blocks by Stratton kept Bucyrus close. Zeger’s ace helped push Northmor to the 25-22 win.

“We came out in the second, third and fourth sets and did our jobs. We played as a team and were getting the kills we needed to get,” Temple said.

“We adjusted to their defense. That’s a defense we hadn’t seen yet.”

Erlsten, a 5-foot-5 senior setter, reached a career milestone in the fourth set.

“She leads the team in almost every stat — kills, assists, digs. She does it all for us. She had a lot of aces tonight. So, it was nice to get to honor her on her 2,000th assist tonight.”

Tori Stang added nine kills and Peyton Fackler seven for Bucyrus. Brooklyn Ryland had 15 assists. Defensive specialist Reese Garvin played a solid game with a number of digs.

Briez Adams, Kallie Wright and Madi See turned in strong performances for Northmor.

“All their girls swung hard at the ball. And when they do that, we weren’t quick enough tonight to cover that,” Christy said.

Bucyrus returns to Northern 10 Athletic Conference play hosting Seneca East Tuesday, before welcoming Mohawk on Thursday. The week concludes with a Saturday morning trip to Mansfield Christian.

“We have a tough week with four matches and Christian has a pretty good team. It’s a tough league and we have to keep fightin’.”

Temple’s squad returns to Knox Morrow Athletic Conference play against Danville Tuesday night.

“This is a big win for our girls. We’ve not had a lot of non-conference wins, so this is a big ego boost to get out of the KMAC and get a win against a Bucyrus team that is good. Amber always has these girls ready to go.”

Northmor won the junior varsity match, 25-14, 25-20.