NEWARK, DE -- The University of Delaware volleyball team clinched the top seed in the Colonial Athletic Association tournament after downing Virginia Commonwealth, 3-1 (25-30, 30-25, 30-22, 30-16), during the team’s regular season finale at the Alltel Pavilion on Friday night.

As the No. 1 seed, the Hens will host the CAA Tournament, which will be held at Viera Court on Friday, November 16, through Sunday, November 18.

The Hens become just the third Delaware team to enter the CAA playoffs as the top seed. The 2004-05 women’s basketball team and the 2005 men’s lacrosse team were the only other two squads to accomplish the feat.

During the match, Megan Welch (at right) led the Hens with 50 assists. With her performance, she became just the second Blue Hen ever to reach 4,000 career assists. Nikki Brassell holds the all-time record, notching 4,538 from 1992-95.

Steph Barry also had another record-setting performance on Friday night. With her team-high 25 digs against the Rams, she improved her season total to 734, surpassing Kathy Shaw’s single-season school record of 716 set in 1994.

Delaware (28-4, 12-2 CAA) finishes the regular season with an .875 winning percentage, the highest in program history. The Hens’ 12 conference wins are also the most ever by the team.

In the first game, Delaware took an early 10-8 lead before VCU ran off five straight points. Down three, the Hens battled strong but could never regain the lead, falling 30-25.

Up a game, the Rams seemed poised to take the second set as well after jumping up 17-13 following a seven-point streak. However, Delaware hung around and eventually tied the game at 22. Following a five-point run, the Hens took a 27-22 lead and eventually eased into a 30-25 victory to tie the match at one game apiece.

During the third game, Virginia Commonwealth scored the first point, which was the only lead the Rams held following the intermission. Delaware eventually captured the third set, 30-22, highlighted by a five-point run and two four-point streaks.

In the fourth game, Delaware never trailed. The Hens jumped out to a 15-5 lead and cruised from there. Although the Rams eventually cut their deficit to six at 16-10, Delaware recorded 14 of the last 20 points to clinch the game, match, and regular season championship with a 30-16 win.

Colleen Walsh, the CAA’s leader in kills, tacked on 16 more to improve her season total to 510. She is just one of three players in Delaware history to have 500 or more kills in a season, while she is the only one to do it twice after notching 558 last year.

Kelly Gibson had another great match as well, recording her 15th double-double of the season after tallying 20 digs and 10 kills. Michelle LaLonde also had 14 kills and four blocks.

Freshmen Paige Erickson, Katie Dennehy, and Greta Gibboney also had solid performances. Erickson had nine kills and a match-high seven blocks, while Dennehy added 11 kills. Gibboney chipped in with 14 digs and two service aces.

Virginia Commonwealth (11-9, 6-8) was led by Elisa Kuehnel, who had 14 kills. Karolin Heinz added a double-double for the Rams with 31 assists and 16 digs, while Jessica Ojukwu had 12 kills and four blocks.

The Blue Hens had not won a regular season championship since the 1995 squad went 7-0 in the North Atlantic Conference. Overall, it is just the third regular season championship in program history.

Delaware will return to action next Saturday when the team hosts the second round of the CAA Tournament. The Hens had already clinched a bye in the first round, which will be held at Viera Court on Friday. The rest of the seedings are pending the results of the remainder of the conference matches scheduled this weekend.

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