Saturday, September 16th at Harvard (5pm)
NEW ENGLAND CHALLENGE
(Malkin Athletic Center; Cambridge, Mass.)
Watch Live | Live Stats
Twitter: @RiverHawkVB @RiverHawkNation 


Sunday, September 17th at Northeastern (1pm)
NEW ENGLAND CHALLENGE
(Cabot Center; Boston, Mass.)
Watch Live | Live Stats
Twitter: @RiverHawkVB @RiverHawkNation 


SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS: UMass Lowell enters the weekend with a 3-6 overall record, after an 0-3 week at the Creeds and Crests Classic hosted by Texas State. The River Hawks were defeated by Houston Baptist, Texas State and Southern Methodist over the weekend. Sophomore outside hitter Katherine Claybaugh (Danville, Calif.) led the team with 29 kills in three matches last week, while junior libero Lindsey Visvardis (Homer Glen, Ill.) notched 57 digs in 10 sets for the River Hawks.  

Junior outside hitter Haley Shimon (Des Moines, Iowa) leads the team with 83 kills to go along with 2.52 kills per set. 

SCOUTING THE CRIMSON: Harvard owns a 3-4 overall mark coming into Saturday's match, after a 3-2 win at Boston College on Thursday night. Grace Roberts Burbank and Mindie Mabry each totaled a team-high 16 kills in the win for Harvard. The Crimson own a 1-3 record at home this season. Christina Cornelius leads the team with 60 kills on the season for the Crimson.

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES: Northeastern owns a 5-5 overall record and a 1-0 record at the Cabot Center this year. The Huskies are coming off a 3-2 win at UNH on Tuesday. Natalie Shollin paced the NU team with 15 kills. Amy Underdown leads the team with 108 kills on the season.

LAST TIME OUT: The River Hawks dropped a 3-0 decison to Southern Methodist. Haley Shimon led the team with 11 kills and Lindsey Visvardis totaled 18 digs in the losing effort. 

THE NORTHEASTERN CONNECTION: UMass Lowell Head Coach Resa Provanzano served as assistant coach under current Northeastern Head Coach Ken Nichols from 2008-2013. Assistant Coach Lauren DeTurk played for Nichols at Northeastern (2005-2008). DeTurk, who was the 2008 CAA Player of the Year, ranks second all-time in school history with 1,330 career kills.

VISVARDIS ON THE DEFENSIVE: Lindsey Visvardis leads the team with 143 digs on the season and 4.33 digs per set (3rd in AE). She recorded a career-high 33 digs on Friday, September 8th against Houston Baptist. Visvardis' dig total set a new Div. I school record and it ranks tied for third in the single-match record book. The co-captains dig total was also highest total so far this season by an America East player (in any number of sets). The last River Hawk to record 33 digs in a match was Erin Miller on November 1, 2002 against Bentley. She has posted 10 dig efforts in seven of nine matches for the River Hawks this season.

HOME SWEET HOME: The River Hawks will play its season and America East opener at the Costello Athletic Center on Friday, September 22nd (7pm) against conference champion New Hampshire. It marks the first of eight matches in the friendly confines of Costello for UMass Lowell Volleyball. 

AMERICA EAST LEADERS: Sophomore outside hitter Madi Bell (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) ranks fifth in America East with a .283 hitting percentage, while Katherine Claybaugh's 2.86 kills per set is also fifth in the league. Delaney Mendez's (Phoenix, Ariz.) 7.95 assists per set is fourth best among conference setters, while Erica Cappellino's (Penfield, N.Y.) 0.50 service aces per set is the best average amongst AE players. Lade Adeniyi's (Springfield, Ill.) 0.76 blocks per set is tied for fifth in the conference.