Friday, September 7th vs. South Dakota State (12pm ET); vs. Eastern Illinois (5:30pm ET)
DRAKE INVITATIONAL
(Knapp Center; Center; Des Moines, Iowa) 
Live Stats | Tickets

Saturday, September 8th at Drake (1:30pm ET)
DRAKE INVITATIONAL
(Knapp Center; Center; Des Moines, Iowa) 
Watch Live ($) | Live Stats | Tickets

Television: ESPN+
Talent: Larry Morgan (PxP); Shelby Daum (Analyst)

SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS: UMass Lowell Lowell enters the week with a 1-6 overall record, after their first victory of 2018 against Fairleigh Dickinson and losses to Providence and Brown at the Friar Classic in Providence, R.I., as well as a loss at Bryant on Wednesday. Senior libero Lindsey Visvardis (Homer Glen, Ill.) was the lone River Hawk named to the Friar Classic All-Tournament team for her efforts over the weekend in three matches. She notched 55 digs in 12 sets (4.58 digs/set) for the River Hawks at the Friar Classic. Senior middle blocker Lade Adeniyi (Springfield, Ill.) and freshman Kate Bilyeu (Omaha, Neb.) each tallied a team-high 35 kills for UMass Lowell in four matches last week. 

UMass Lowell's 1.33 service aces rank second among America East teams.

SCOUTING THE JACKRABBITS: South Dakota State owns a 0-6 record headed into the Drake Invitational, after three losses last week Seattle, Weber State and Green Bay as they hosted the Jackrabbit Invitational. Makenzie Hennen notched a match-high 18 kills in the loss to Green Bay, while Maddie Fay totaled 42 assists and Kari Brucker registered 24 digs in the losing effort. Hennen leads the team with 73 kills and 3.48 kills per set, while Fay has recorded a team-best 204 assists (9.7 apg) and Brucker leads the Jackrabbits' roster with 64 digs.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS: Eastern Illinois enters the tournament with a 2-5 overall record after three losses last week to Illinois State, Butler and Auburn. Taylor Smith led the team with 13 kills and chipped in with six digs in the loss to Auburn, while Anne Hughes had a team-high 13 digs. Laurel Bailey leads the roster with 65 kills and 2.95 kills per set. Hughes leads the Panthers with 132 digs.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS: Drake own a 6-0 overall record coming into the weekend. The Bulldogs earned wins last week against Holy Cross, Rhode Island and Columbia at the Holy Cross Invitational. Cathryn Cheek leads the team with 50 kills, while Kylee Macke has amassed 89 digs. Elle Tubbs has 31 total blocks (1s,30a) to her credit to lead the Drake roster. 

LAST TIME OUT: The River Hawks picked up a 3-2 win against Fairleigh Dickinson in the Friar Classic finale of Saturday, September 1st at Alumni Hall. The set scores were 23-25, 25-23, 25-19, 27-29 and 16-14. Senior middle blocker Lade Adeniyi (Springifeld, Ill.) amassed a career and match-high 18 kills to go along with a .300 hitting percentage and four total blocks. Madi Bell (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) totaled season-high's with 16 kills and 18 digs, while Morgan Given (Orlando, Fla.) managed a career-high 15 kills and a match-high .406 hitting percentage. Freshman outside hitter Kate Bilyeu (Omaha, Neb.) also totaled a career-high 14 kills in the victory. Junior McKenna Bova (Corona, Calif.) and sophomore Malia Randolph (McDonough, Ga.) both took turns running the River Hawk offense with 32 and 28 assists, respectively. Bova ended the second frame with a set-clinching kill for UMass Lowell. Randolph also added a career-high 23 digs, while senior libero Lindsey Visvardis (Homer Glen, Ill.) added 21 digs. Freshman defensive specialist Aleyna Kennel (Monument, Colo.) also totaled a career-high 23 digs. Senior Erica Cappellino (Penfield, N.Y.) recorded two aces in the match, which included an ace to finish off the Knights in set three. UMass Lowell recorded 16 or more kills in each of the first four sets and hit at a .300 clip in set four and over .200 in sets one and three. 

VISVARDIS DIGGING HER WAY TO THE TOP: Visvardis has recorded 1,370 digs in her 3+ year career since joining the River Hawks in 2015, which ranks 33rd among active NCAA. Visvardis ranks fifth on the all-time school digs list, as she passed Kristina Martell (1,275; 2004-2007) during the opening weekend. She needs 82 digs to tie Stacey Graf for fourth place on the all-time UMass Lowell digs list. Visvardis' 4.2 digs per set is fourth best among America East players. She has amassed 101 digs in 24 sets this season, which is tied for third among league players. 

1. Allie Eide (2006-09) - 1,773
2. Julie Handy (2002-05) - 1,656
3. Erin Miller (1999-02) - 1,545
4. Stacey Graf (1999-02) - 1,452
5. Lindsey Visvardis (2015-present) - 1,370

AMERICA EAST LEADERS: Lade Adeniyi's 0.90 blocks per game rank fifth among America East players and her 2.6 kills per set rank 10th among conference players. Lindsey Visvardis and Erica Cappellino (Penfield, N.Y.) rank tied for seventh in the conference with 0.33 service aces/set. 

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: The River Hawks play 14 straight road matches to open the season and will face Stony Brook in America East play in their home opener on Friday, Sept. 28th at Costello Athletic Center.

ON TELEVISION: The final regular-season home match on Sunday, November 4th against Binghamton on Senior Day will be televised live on either ESPN3 or ESPN+.