The GW women’s volleyball team can make a statement in the Atlantic 10 this weekend as it takes on Massachusetts Friday night and Rhode Island Saturday at the Smith Center.

Riding momentum with a three-game winning streak, GW has an opportunity to distance itself in the standings from two traditional foes.

The matches, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday and 5 p.m. Saturday, should be intense and quite competitive as UMass (5-8, 2-2 A-10) and URI (8-2, 2-2 A-10) both stand just one match behind GW in the conference standings. If the Colonial women can come out victorious as GW head coach Susie Homan has stressed is key in home matches, GW will solidify its position near the top of the A-10.

GW’s solid play of late has come from a balanced attack from GW’s starters and bench. Two sophomores in particular, setter Jill Levey and middle blocker Julie Jahnke, said they are confident about GW’s chances this weekend.

“This weekend looks to be a definite challenge, and if we play consistently from the first serve, we should walk away with two more victories,” Levey said.

Levey’s consistent play as setter should be crucial this weekend, and her matches against UMass and URI last year attest to that. Levey recorded 100 assists over the two matches against UMass last year, and she posted an impressive 78 assists against URI.

Last season, junior Theresa Ridder and sophomore Suzana Manole helped dominate UMass as GW swept the two-match series. GW posted a three-game sweep last October at UMass and won a tight five-game match last November at the Smith Center. Ridder and Manole combined for 48 kills in both victories over UMass.

The battle against URI was not as successful last season for the Colonial women. After taking a two-game lead on the road last year, GW lost the final three games and the match. The Rams, who finished second in the A-10 last season, swept the Colonial women at the Smith Center last November.

Jahnke had success against the Rams last season with 17 kills and knows that GW must play extremely well to beat UMass and avenge last year’s losses to URI.

“We must be both mentally and physically prepared in order to compete,” Jahnke said. “Susie has stressed that we must be ready to go from the very beginning and that both of these teams will be fighting for every point.”

What might be a deciding factor for GW this weekend is the growth and maturity that was lacking last season.

“We have to stay in the driver’s seat and work to control our own destiny,” Homan said. Levey and Jahnke said the team has grown as a unit and has great chemistry.

“We have established some strong bonds that I have never experienced before in all my years of playing team sports,” Levey said. “If we can continue to play hard and play one game at a time for the rest of the season, I can see nothing but success in the future for GW volleyball.”

GW will put its A-10 record on the line next weekend at Temple, last year’s A-10 champion, and La Salle. Temple (8-3, 4-0) defeated URI earlier this season in four games and is looking to equal its undefeated conference mark of last season.