LUMBERTON — In the second set against Lumberton Tuesday, the St. Pauls volleyball team appeared to inch toward a set win to even the match.

But a 7-0 Lumberton run turned the set toward the Pirates, who won that set to take a 2-0 lead and went on to earn a 3-1 match win.

St. Pauls led the second set 19-15 before the Pirates’ run made the score 22-19; St. Pauls evened the set at 22-22 before Lumberton retook the lead and won 25-23.

Alona Hanna served for Lumberton (4-0) through the run, earning multiple aces among the six she totaled in the match; she also had nine kills and two blocks.

“She stepped up. She was everywhere on the court; she was getting kills, she was getting aces, she was picking up and helping for people that should have been there themselves,” Lumberton coach Kali Carter said. “She was advocating for the team, she was cheering her players up and she was making sure people were moving. We really needed it tonight.”

“They got up, then when they started going down, it was like, from that point they lost their momentum, and they went back in that same habit they have of dropping down and not coming back out of it,” St. Pauls coach Glenda Lowery said. “They started making points off our errors, and you can’t win a game that way.”

St. Pauls (0-3) didn’t go quietly, however. The Bulldogs led nearly from start to finish in the third set to win 25-21 and stay alive in the match.

“It is a big difference (going up 2-0 instead of 1-1) — but I’ve learned to never celebrate too early, because they will sneak back and get us,” Carter said. “That’s what we did; we got way too comfortable and they got us in that third set. It might be a big lead, but there’s always a chance and you don’t stop until they’re completely down.”

In the fourth set, Lumberton led 6-0 but the Bulldogs tied the set at 9-9 and used a 10-3 run to take a 19-16 lead. Lumberton, though, answered with a 7-2 run for a 23-21 lead, and after St. Pauls tied the set at 24-24 the Pirates scored two straight points to win the set 26-24 and clinch the match.

“I think, especially in that last set, they would get up, then they would get down, they would get down on themselves, but then they would start putlting back,” Lowery said. “That was a good thing, because we traditionally are a team that once they get down, they don’t come back. Tonight, that right there, was overcoming one of our obstacles. They didn’t get down and stay down, they fought their way back.”

Lumberton won the first set 25-16 after jumping out to a 17-6 lead.

Aydan Bullard had five aces and four assists for Lumberton, Leira Smith had three aces, La’Kayia Hunt had two blocks and Charley Whitley had 25 digs.

St. Pauls’ Katherin Lowery had eight digs and 15 assists, Keniah Baldwin had 15 digs and six kills, Alexis Carter had eight digs, Jaiden Morrisey had five kills, Julianna Bell had five kills and four blocks and Jada McKinnon had four kills.

The Pirates have won four straight games to start the season, though they lost senior setter Nyiah Walker to injury this week; she will be out at least one month, and Bullard is “training” at the position, Carter said. Lumberton travels to Hoke County on Monday.

“We’re not at our full potential yet; we’re still trying to figure everything out,” Carter said. “We’re finding out new things about the girls every game; how they can handle pressure, where they’re at on the court, how many different positions we can put them in. We have a long way to go, and I’m hoping when the conference games start next week we’re at a different level.”

St. Pauls is winless through a tough schedule to start the season — and played Tuesday with two players absent and some others dealing with injuries.

“Tonight I noticed they were really working on some things we’ve been working on in practice this week, based on our games last week; they were really adjusting,” Lowery said. “I feel like if we can get all of our team here and healthy, we can have a good season.”