Austin Hemmingson | Daily Press Rapid River’s Emily Thibault (right) attempts to block North Central’s Andie Arsenault (left) Thursday at North Central.

POWERS — North Central came out swinging but it was Rapid River which came out victorious in a regular season volleyball finale here Thursday.

The Rockets won 3-0 (25-23, 25-13, 25-11) behind excellent serving from Brittany Schwartz and Jenna Rubick.

The Jets (2-13) jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the first set before the Rockets reeled off 15 points in a row behind Schwartz’s serving.

“Brittany (Schwartz) is a very good server,” Rockets’ coach Kristy Kerstner said. “She served us into a lead tonight.”

The second and third sets were much more lopsided, as the Rockets (6-9) sustained their good play while the Jets had some struggles. Rubick started the third set by serving the Rockets to a 13-0 lead.

“We started a little slow tonight,” Kerstner said.

“But then we got it back together and I thought our passing and hitting was excellent. We played around a little bit but we finished with the win.”

The Jets couldn’t maintain the momentum they sustained early, which proved to be costly.

“We started out really well,” Jets’ coach Lynn Britton said.

“We came out swinging and talking, our communication was great and we were moving around. The problem is our first game is usually the best and then we fizzle out. In the second and third games our serve receiving and covering wasn’t nearly as good.

“Everything we had been doing good went away.”

Rubick led the Rockets with 18 assists, four digs, and three kills. Schwartz added eight aces, four digs, and two kills.

Kristin Goodacre chipped in with eight digs, seven kills, and an ace while Emily Thibault contributed eight digs, seven kills, and five aces.

Samantha DePatie led the Jets with eight digs and six kills. Bree Arsenault added six digs and four aces while Andie Arsenault chipped in with six digs and two aces.

Rapid River plays Thursday at Mid Pen in district play. The Rockets face the winner of Superior Central-Big Bay de Noc.

North Central will host Forest Park Monday in its district opener.