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CHICAGO – The UMass Lowell women's volleyball team lost a pair of matches in the opening day of the Chicago State Tournament on Friday.

The River Hawks lost the first match of the day to Grand Canyon University, 3-0 (12-15, 15-25, 20-25) and then fell to South Dakota State, 3-2 (21-25, 25-18, 27-25, 15-25, 10-15) in the late match. With the losses, UMass Lowell falls to 1-12 overall on the season.

In the nightcap against South Dakota State, senior Ella Merrill (Bermuda Dunes, Calif.) recorded a match-high 14 kills to go along with 12 digs, while senior middle blocker Anisa Smith (Moraga, Calif.) and freshman outside hitter Masha Yelsukova (Santa Clara, Calif.) each amassed 13 kills apiece in the loss for the River Hawks. Smith hit at a .204 clip and finished with 14 digs, while junior setter Kylee Chun (Las Vegas, Nevada) recorded career-highs in both assists (44) and digs (26). Senior libero Hannah Rey (San Diego, Calif.) totaled 24 digs in the late match, which marked her fifth 20-dig effort of the season.

In the loss to Grand Canyon earlier in the day, Yelsukova notched a team-high nine kills in losing effort. Merrill and Smith added eight and seven kills, respectively. Chun managed 27 assists and 10 digs running the River Hawk offense and Rey posted 23 digs leading the River Hawks' defense in the afternoon matchup.

The River Hawks return to action on Saturday, September 20th against host Chicago State (1pm) in the final day of the Chicago State Tournament at the Jacoby Dickens Center. UMass Lowell will host NJIT for its home opener on Saturday, September 27th (4pm) at Costello Athletic Center, which will end a stretch of 16 straight road matches to open the season.