DES MOINES, Iowa -- The UMass Lowell Volleyball team dropped a pair of matches against South Dakota State (3-1) and Eastern Illinois (3-0) on the opening day of the Drake Invitational at the Knapp Center on Friday afternoon. 

In the late match against the Panthers, the set scores were 20-25, 13-25 and 12-25. UMass Lowell drops to 1-8 overall on the season, while Eastern Illinois improves to 3-6 overall. 

Senior middle blocker Lade Adeniyi (Springfield, Ill.) notched a team-high six kills, to go along with a team-best .333 hitting percentage. Madi Bell (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) and Malia Randolph (McDonough, Ga.) each chipped in with five kills. Randolph also added 15 assists and five digs. running the River Hawk offense.

The River Hawks tallied 10 kills in the first and third sets in the losing effort. 

In the early match against South Dakota State, the set scores were 26-24, 22-25, 6-25 and 15-25. The Jackrabbits improved to 1-7 overall with the victory. 

Freshman outside hitter Kate Bilyeu (Omaha, Neb.) amassed a team-high 10 kills in the loss, while Adeniyi added nine kills. Randolph had a solid all-around match in the tournament opener with seven kills, 13 assists and 14 digs. Bell also contributed eight kills and five digs against South Dakota State.

UMass Lowell opened the match with 17 kills and a match-high .279 hitting percentage in the first frame. The River Hawks followed that up with a solid second set, tallying 14 kills and hitting at a .212 clip. 

Makenzie Hennen totaled a match-high 22 kills for the Jackrabbits in the victory. 

The River Hawks return to action against host Drake in the final day of the tournament on Saturday, September 7th. Match time from the Knapp Center is 1:30 p.m and will be televised live on ESPN. 

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