2001 Saturn L200 4 cyl brake pedal is low

I recently purchased a 2001 Saturn L200, the car runs great except when pushing the brake pedal the first time the pedal is low. After a second push (pump) the pedal comes up quite a bit and is firmer. Either time the car stops fine it's just the pedal is lower than I'd like. Is the master cylinder bypassing? I thought if this was the case the pedal would sink to the floor and this is not the case. I had the brakes inspected and there is plenty of pad/shoe with no apparent leaks. Thanks.