An amazing regular season finished in first-place fashion Saturday night for the GW women’s volleyball team as the Colonials (23-5, 14-2 Atlantic 10) earned the top seed in the A-10 Tournament after a three-game sweep of visiting Duquesne.

GW’s dominating 15-4, 15-5, 15-11, performance at the Smith Center allowed the team’s six seniors a victorious farewell in what has been the Colonials’ best season since 1995. The team’s five regular starting seniors – Julie Jahnke, Renee Arnold, Tracee Brown, Suzana Manole and Jill Levey – and GW’s sixth senior Adrianna Gucciardi rounded out GW’s starting lineup.

The match was bittersweet because it’s another phase of my life that is coming to a close, Levey said. I’ve had a lot of great memories on (the Smith Center) court.

The match did prove costly for GW when Renee Arnold went down in the first game with a sprained ankle. Arnold said Sunday that she was unsure if she will be available to play in the tournament next weekend.

But, the team’s fourth straight A-10 victory and 14th conference win sends a clear message that the momentum going into the tournament is with the Colonials. GW clinched the No. 1 spot outright after Temple (18-9, 13-3 A-10) lost a five-game match to visiting Massachusetts Saturday night.

I was pretty ecstatic (after finding out Temple lost), Levey said. I was shocked that Temple lost on Seniors’ Night. Maybe it’s an indication that Temple is struggling a little bit.

The Colonials will face No. 4-seeded Dayton Saturday afternoon at the Frericks Center at Dayton, the host of this season’s A-10 Tourney. GW swept its season series with the Flyers, defeating Dayton 3-1 in Ohio in early October and winning a 3-2 match Nov. 4 at the Smith Center.

In the second A-10 match-up next Saturday, No. 2-seeded Temple will play No. 3-seeded Xavier. The championship match – which could likely put GW up for revenge against the Lady Owls and an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament – is slated for Sunday at 1 p.m.

Saturday’s victory at the Smith Center saw three-time A-10 Player of the Week Tracee Brown earn her third-straight double-double with a match high 19 kills and 16 digs. GW received a strong offensive display from sophomore Abby Ernst, who pounded 12 kills without committing an error.

After jumping out to an easy two-game lead over the visiting Dukes (15-16, 4-12 A-10), GW fell behind 4-0 in the third game. After three ties in the game, the last coming at 11-11, back-to-back kills by Levey and teammate Julie Jahnke paved the way for the team’s final regular season win.