Chris Stiles | The Robesonian
                                St. Pauls’ Halie Allen (7) spikes the ball towards Red Springs’ Amyah Farrington (11) and Akiya McMillan (10) during Thursday’s match in St. Pauls.

Chris Stiles | The Robesonian

St. Pauls’ Halie Allen (7) spikes the ball towards Red Springs’ Amyah Farrington (11) and Akiya McMillan (10) during Thursday’s match in St. Pauls.

ST. PAULS — With four players out Thursday, the St. Pauls volleyball team put an unusual lineup on the floor, with several players in different positions than normal and a few junior-varsity players brought up to fill out the roster.

It took a little while for the new lineup to play well, but the Bulldogs ultimately found ways to win late in close sets and defeated Red Springs 3-1.

“We hadn’t even practiced that setup; that first game was their first time ever running it together like that,” St. Pauls coach Glenda Lowery said. “I told them, we’ve got to adjust, we’ve got to get our chemistry, and I felt like they stepped up and were doing that — they were supporting each other, they were helping each other, they were encouraging — and I think that’s what made a lot of the difference tonight.”

After losing the first set 25-22, St. Pauls (5-3, 2-2 Southeastern Athletic Conference) won the next three sets 25-23, 25-23 and 25-20 to defeat the Red Devils (1-7, 0-5 Southeastern).

“I think they’re determination and their desire to want to win kept them close in this game,” Red Springs coach Nicole Strickland said. “St. Pauls also had some key errors that kept us close at the same time. But my girls never gave up; that’s what kept their confidence level up and what kept them going in the game.”

St. Pauls led the first set 12-8 before Red Springs used a 6-1 run to take a 14-13 lead; the Bulldogs went back up 19-16 and 20-17. The Red Devils answered with an 8-2 run, including three straight points that closed out the set at 25-22 on the serve of Caitlin Smith.

Red Springs then started the second set with a 5-0 run and led three times by five points before a 7-0 St. Pauls run gave the Bulldogs a 13-11 lead. The set went back and forth until a 20-20 tie, from which St. Pauls scored three straight for a 23-20 lead. Red Springs twice closed to a point, at 23-22 and 24-23, before St. Pauls clinched the set win at 25-23.

St. Pauls led 13-7 in the third set, but Red Springs battled back to tie the set at 22-22; St. Pauls won three of the next four points for another 25-23 victory.

Looking to close out the match, the Bulldogs jumped out to a 13-6 fourth-set lead, but a 9-2 Red Devils run tied it at 15-15. From an 18-18 tie, St. Pauls scored the next four points on Julianna Bell’s serve, then took three of the next five points to win 25-20.

“When they set their mind to it, they have a lot of grit and determination,” Lowery said. “They are competitive and they’re going to hustle, and when they have their minds there, they’re going to go out and leave (everything) on the court.”

The Bulldogs, who travel to West Bladen Monday, had a well-rounded night on the stat sheet. Katherin Lowery had four kills, 15 assists and seven digs; Bell had five kills, and 13 service points with three aces; Cierra Jones had 13 assists, six digs and two aces; Halie Allen had nine kills and six digs; Jaiden Morrisey had 19 service points and six aces; Alexis Carter had 20 digs and three aces; and Brazlyn Kinlaw had eight digs.

“Pretty much all my girls can play multiple positions, which is a good thing because we had to move people around, and they are well-rounded,” Lowery said. “Any given day, we could have anybody have the top stats, and when you have a well-rounded team like that it makes your team stronger and makes you be able to move forward and win matches, and come together as a team like that.”

Amyah Farrington had 15 kills and Akiya McMillan had 20 assists for Red Springs, who play Tuesday at Midway.

“We’re going to take this game as another lesson on what we need to learn on what we need to work on, such as communication, trusting our teammates, getting to the back a little bit better,” Strickland said. “And then finally just completing it, winning the match.”

Chris Stiles can be reached at 910-816-1977 or by email at [email protected]. You can follow him on Twitter at @StilesOnSports.