CHICAGO – The UMass Lowell women's volleyball team fell in a pair of matches in the final day of the Chicago State Tournament on Saturday.

The River Hawks lost the first match of the day to host Chicago State by a 3-2 score (25-18, 22-25, 25-22, 19-25, 9-15) and in the final match of the tournament against San Jose State, the River Hawks were defeated 3-0 (18-25, 17-25, 15-25). With the pair of losses, UMass Lowell falls to a 1-14 overall on the year.

"We played a lot of great volleyball this weekend and I am proud of the team for creating opportunities," said Head Coach Resa Provanzano. "If we continue to work hard we will be able to seize these opportunities in the future. Either way, the team has made a lot of positive changes since our first match and we are ready to start conference play next weekend."

In the late match vs. San Jose State, senior outside hitter Ella Merrill (Bermuda Dunes, Calif.) led the way with a team-high eight kills to go along with six digs. Senior libero Hannah Rey (San Diego, Calif.) tallied 17 digs for the River Hawks in the losing effort.

In the early match vs. the Cougars, freshman outside hitter Masha Yelsukova (Santa Clara, Calif.) posted a team best 12 kills, while senior middle blocker Anisa Smith (Moraga, Calif.) finished the match with 10 kills and 11 digs. Junior setter Kylee Chun (Las Vegas, Nevada) registered 35 assists and nine digs in the losing effort for the River Hawks. Rey managed 24 digs for her third straight 20-dig performance. Merrill chipped in with nine kills, while sophomore middle blocker Lauren Bennett (Wilmington, Mass.) notched seven kills, a .333 hitting percentage and seven total blocks.

The River Hawks hit at a .278 clip in the opening frame of the Chicago State match with eight kills and then followed that up with a .233 hitting percentage in Set 3 (12 kills).

Smith was the lone River Hawks named to the Chicago State All-Tournament Team, recording 31 kills over the four matches (1.94 kills per set).

The River Hawks return to action on Friday, September 26th for their America East opener at conference champion New Hampshire. Match time from Lundholm Gymnasium in Durham, N.H, is 7 p.m.