Box Score | NIVC Bracket | Conference Stats
Iowa State 3, Tulane 0 (25-21, 30-28, 25-16) | NIVC Championship Match
Tulane’s first postseason volleyball run in nine years ended with a loss in the final round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC), as the Green Wave (29-9, 13-5) fell to Iowa State (21-13, 9-7 Big 12) in three sets on Tuesday night in Ames, Iowa. Tulane ends a historic season in which the team set seven conference records among numerous other accomplishments. Ending the year with a conference-high 1,869 assists, 1,952 kills, 350 blocks, 2,305 digs and a league-low .152 opponent hitting percentage, the Green Wave concluded its 2018 campaign with five top-10 NCAA statistical marks.
Iowa State hit .286 in the match, while using eight blocks and 59 digs to hold Tulane to a .114 hitting percentage. Three Cyclones reached double-digit kills with Jess Schaben and Josie Herbst each knocking down 14 kills to lead the way. Eleanor Holthaus added 13 kills on a .522 hitting clip. Tulane was led by Yvette Burcescu who recorded eight kills. Libero Kaylie McHugh ended the night with 13 digs and three service aces. The Green Wave recorded 45 digs to surpass the previous American single-season digs record of 2,300 set by Memphis in 2014 and broke its seventh conference record in 2018.
After falling 25-21 in the opening set, Tulane earned its first lead of the match in the second set, jumping out to an early 6-3 advantage. However, the Cyclones battled back to tie the set at 11-11, as the frame remained within two points. The Green Wave took a 28-27 lead for match point, but Iowa State rallied for the final three scores to win the set and move out to a 2-0 lead in the match. The Cyclones carried the momentum into the third set, hitting .297 and leading by as many as nine points to secure the straight-sets victory and the 2018 NIVC title.
The Green Wave averaged 14.1 kills, 13.5 and 2.2 blocks per set, while holding teams to hitting under .180 with a .942 reception percentage through its five postseason matches.
The first team in the American Athletic Conference to advance to the final round of the NIVC, Tulane finished the season 29-9 overall with an 18-2 record at home—the most home victories recorded in American history. This is only the third season in program history that the Green Wave have won 29 matches, and the first time since 1987 that the team has won 18 home matches. The 29 wins ties The American’s record, as Wichita State reached that total in 2017. Tulane’s single-season kills, assists, blocks, digs and service aces each set all-time conference records.
Picked to finish 10th in The American’s preseason coaches’ poll, Tulane clinched third place in the conference’s standings in 2018 and earned one of seven automatic bids to the NIVC for its first postseason appearance since 2009. The 2018 American Athletic Conference volleyball season has come to an end.