Justin St. Ours | Daily Press Rapid River’s Gabby Moss (16) spikes the ball against Superior Central’s Emma Rutter (left) Thursday at Rapid River.

RAPID RIVER — The Rapid River volleyball team tamed the Superior Central Cougars here Thursday to pull out a 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-17) victory.

In the first set, Superior Central led early but began to fall to the Rockets’ momentum as Rapid River’s Myah Pearson aced it to break a tie, 9-8. The Cougars fell behind 20-14, but a five-point service run by Addie Rondeau reduced their deficit to 23-21. However, an out-of-bounds serve gave possession back to the Rockets, and a kill from Emily Goodacre finished the set.

“It came down to our own mistakes,” Cougars’ coach Kris Bray said. “We didn’t control the game like we needed. We didn’t keep our serves long enough, and hitting-wise, we were being too tenative. We really just needed to keep pounding away, and we weren’t doing that. Unfortunately, when we did pound it, it happened to be errors.”

The Cougars (1-9) rebounded in the second, staying in the lead for most of the set. They couldn’t maintain that rhythm, however, and their lucked turned despite a 20-16 lead. A shot that bounced around the rafters gave possession back to the Rockets, and an ace from Kristin Goodacre made it 20-18. After a Cougars’ point, an out-of-bounds ball gave it back to Rapid River.

Goodacre reduced the deficit to one with a kill, but a serving error into the net gave it back to to the Cougars. A Superior Central miscue and a kill from the Rockets’ Cecilia Pilon tied it at 22, and another ace from Pearson gave them the lead. Rapid River controlled the remainder, which ended on a net interference penalty.

“We really increased our energy and our communication, and that made a big difference tonight,” Rockets’ coach Kristy Kerstner said. “We had a lot of big hitters tonight. It was nice to see them step up and swing all night.”

Rapid River (4-6) took control in the third set, quickly taking a lead behind service runs from Goodacre and Addie Christoff. Leading 24-16, the Rockets served one out-of-bounds, but the Cougars answered back with their own into the net to finish the set.

“We’ve got to work on being more consistent, and the wins will happen eventually,” Bray said. “It’s just a matter of who can put the runs together, and we weren’t putting the run together.

As the game progressed, our passing got much better. We were getting the ball up to the setter with ease, and we were able to run the offense then.”

The Rockets changed their setter for this game, which served them well.

“We actually switched up our lineup tonight,” Kerstner said. “We had Emily setting up for us, and it was her first time for a full match this year. She did a great job.”

Superior Central, which won the jayvee match 2-1, visits North Central Tuesday. Rapid River travels to Big Bay de Noc Tuesday.