After a 21-win regular season that helped them earn the fifth seed in the Atlantic 10 postseason, the GW women’s volleyball team fell 3-2 to Temple in the first round of the tournament Friday in Dayton, Ohio.

The Colonials (21-12, 8-8 A-10) traded sets with the Owls, winning the first and third but dropping the second and fourth to force a fifth and deciding frame. GW was close to nearly having Temple’s back to the wall by taking the second set, which would have created a 2-0 lead, as the two teams practically matched one another point for point in the set. But with the score tied at 23, the Owls registered consecutive kills to even the match.

GW regained its advantage by winning the third set 25-18, but fell behind early in the fourth and fifth sets to ultimately drop the match. It was the second time in three meetings that the Colonials lost to the Owls this fall, with each team having won 3-0 decisions at home during the regular season.

Junior Leah Hill led the GW attack with 20.5 points on 19 kills, adding 14 digs as well. Freshman Lauren Whyte and senior Katie Butz followed her in scoring with 16 and 13.5 points, respectively, with Whyte and classmate Candace Silva-Martin tying for the team-high with 16 digs. Sophomore setter Alyssa Valentine had assists on 47 of the Colonials’ 63 kills.

In the next round, Temple fell to top-seeded Dayton, who defeated No. 20 Saint Louis Sunday to win the conference championship.