NEW ORLEANS, La. --- The College of Charleston volleyball team's historic run in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) came to a heartbreaking end on Saturday evening, as the Cougars fell to Tulane in a back-and-forth four-set battle at Fogelman Arena.
 
"I am super proud of this team for everything they put into this post season run," head coach Jason Kepner said. "It was a really quick turn around after Clemson and we ran into a very good Tulane team. We played some really good volleyball today, but were just a little inconsistent in some of the important details. Tulane put a lot of pressure on us, and were able to battle through the runs we tried to make in the last three sets. I couldn't be prouder of this group and what it took to get this far. It was a very special season."
 
With the setback, College of Charleston ends its season with a 24-12 overall record and the longest postseason run in program history. The Cougars rolled through the first three rounds of the tournament, only dropping two sets in wins over St. John's, Georgia Tech, and Clemson to advance further in a postseason competition than any CAA team since American won the original format of the NIVC in 1994.
 
Tulane (28-8) won the match by scores of 20-25, 25-19, 25-22, and 25-17 to advance to the championship match against Iowa State. The Cougars finished the match with 48 kills, 57 digs, five blocks, and a .149 hitting percentage, while Tulane posted 55 kills, 60 digs, 11 blocks, seven aces, and a .250 attacking clip.
 
Devon Rachel (Louisville, Ky.) led all hitters with 17 kills to go along with six digs and one block. Lauren Freed (Troy, Ohio) turned in her 14^th double-double of the season with 13 kills, 10 digs, two service aces, and a .281 (13-4-32) hitting percentage; Kennedy Madison (Evansville, Ind.) put down 10 kills and added a team-best four blocks.
 
Allison Beckman (Apex, N.C.) reached a pair of milestones in her final match with the Cougars. The 2017 CAA Setter of the Year moved into second on the conference's all-time list, and became only the second player in program– and CAA-history to reach the 5,000-assist plateau with a match-high 42 assists. McKala Rhodes (Charleston, S.C.) joined Beckman with a personal landmark as well, collecting her 2,000^th career dig with a team-high 20 in the match. Logan Manusky (San Diego, Calif.) added 12 digs for the Cougars.
 
Lexie Douglas paced the Green Wave with 14 kills and a .542 (14-1-24) hitting percentage, as Dayna Kern finished with 13 kills and six blocks. Kayla Dinkins posted 11 kills, four blocks, and a .667 (11-1-15) attacking clip; Makala Heidelberg totaled seven kills and six blocks. Jenna Ibieta and Taylor Henigsman dished out 28 and 23 assists, respectively, and Kaylie McHugh led the defense with a match-high 24 digs.
 
Beckman ends her career at the College as one of the top setters in both program- and CAA-history. The 2017 CAA Setter of the Year and four-time All-CAA selection ranks second all-time at CofC and in the CAA with 5,016 career assists – a mark that stands alone atop the rally scoring era leaderboard in both school and league history. A native of Apex, N.C., Beckman finishes her career with 961 digs, 168 kills, 149 blocks, and 92 service aces. She also ranks as one of only two players in program history with four straight 1,000-assist seasons, and 5,000 career assists. Beckman finishes her career ranked fourth all-time in assists per set (10.86), and owns the program's single-match mark for assists in a three- and five-set match, as well as total assists.
 
Madison put together a career season to cap her four-year tenure at The College in style with 459 kills (3.50/set), 116 digs, 87 blocks, and a personal-best .319 hitting percentage. Her 459 kills this season ranks sixth on the program's single-season list during the rally scoring era. The Evansville, Ind. native finishes her career with 1,412 kills (2.93/set), 337 digs, 303 blocks, and a .270 hitting percentage. A four-time All-CAA honoree, Madison ranks ninth all-time in kills, 10^th in total points and block assists, 11^th in total blocks, and 12^th in solo blocks. Madison reached double-digits in kills in 79 matches during her career, including a career-high 28 this season.
 
Rachel caps a tremendous career at The College, finishing her four-year tenure with 1,368 career kills (3.26/set), 1,136 digs (2.02/set), 161 blocks, and 72 service aces. The 2018 CAA Player of the Year is one of nine players in program history with more than 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs, and ranks third all-time in attack attempts, 10^th in kills per set, 11^th in kills, and 17^th in digs. Rachel also holds the program's single-match records for kills in both a three- and four-set match during the 25-point rally scoring era.
 
For Rhodes, she ends her career at The College as one of the top liberos in both program- and CAA-history despite never being named to the All-CAA team. The Charleston native totaled 2,003 digs (4.13/set), 293 assists, and 68 service aces in her tenure, and owns the single-match program-record for digs in a three-set match during the 25-point rally scoring era. Rhodes ranks third all-time at CofC in both total digs and digs per set, while ending her career ranked ninth in CAA history in total digs. She was named the CAA Defensive Player of the Week four times during her career.
 
The Cougars are expected to return 10 letter-winners from this year's squad, including rising seniors Freed, Mandy Napierala (Rochester, N.Y.), Peyton Eisnaugle (Dallas, Texas), and Kayla Demari (Dana Point, Calif.).