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WORCESTER, Mass. -- The UMass Lowell Volleyball team defeated Bryant University in five sets in the opening match of the Crusader Classic on Friday afternoon at Holy Cross Field House.The set scores were 25-21, 15-25, 25-20, 21-25 and 15-13.

With the win, the River Hawks improve to 2-2 overall on the season, while the Bulldogs dropped to 2-4 overall.

"I couldn't be more proud of the team, they played with so much passion and so much heart," said UMass Lowell Head Coach Resa Provanzano. "They were able to bounce back after the second set, we lost our rhythm a little bit, but we came back out swinging aggressive."

Freshman outside hitter Katherine Claybaugh (Danville, Calif.) totaled a career-high and match-high 20 kills, to go along with a .275 hitting percentage and 12 digs. Claybaugh becomes the first River Hawk in the Div. I era with 20 kills in a single match. Freshman Madi Bell (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) had another solid performance with 14 kills, a .333 hitting percentage and five total blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Haley Shimon (Des Moines, Iowa) also chipped in with 11 kills in the victory for the River Hawks.

Senior setter Alexa Toth (Portland, Ore.) quarterbacked the UMass Lowell offense for the majority of the match posting 32 assists. Sophomore libero Lindsey Visvardis (Homer Glen, Ill.) tallied eight digs on the defensive side of the ball

The River Hawks opened the match in set one with 15 kills and a .300 hitting percentage and they followed that up with 10 kills and hit at a .364 clip in the deciding set.

UMass Lowell returns to action on Saturday, September 3rd in the final day of the Crusader Classic with a 12pm match against Fairfield and a 2:30pm match against the host Crusaders at Holy Cross Field House.