GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- The No. 7-seeded Eastern Washington University volleyball team pushed No. 2 seed Sacramento State to five sets on Thursday (Nov. 17) in the Big Sky Volleyball Tournament Quarterfinals, but would eventually fall to the Hornets, 3-2 (16-25, 25-28, 18-25, 25-20, 8-15), to bring the 2016 season to a close.

Eastern Washington battled point-for-point with the No. 2 seed in the Big Sky throughout the afternoon, as the two teams traded set victories to force a winner-take-all fifth set. A late rally by Sacramento State in the fifth would bring an end to the 2016 for Eastern, as they end the year at an even 13-13.

The Eagles trailed by just two points (8-6) at the five-set switch, but the Hornets tallied four-straight points to take a 12-6 advantage and put both the set and the match out of reach for Eastern Washington. The Eagles only managed two more points in the frame to drop the set 15-8, and end the year with a 3-2 defeat in the Big Sky Quarterfinals for the second-straight season.

"I'm proud of this team," said head coach Michael King. "I'm proud of how Sophie compete in the last match of her career, as well. This team showed a lot of grit and heart today. Sacramento State is a solid team and we forced them to have to play well today. In the end, we came up a little short, but we put together a well-fought match."

The Eagles got a career-best performance from junior outside hitter Ashley Seiler, as the Cheney, Washington native landed a career-best 20 kills to pace the EWU offensive. She was one of three Eagles to post double-digit kills against Sacramento State, as sophomore Ka'iulani Ahuna picked up 13 kills and junior Chloe Weber collected 10 kills, while hitting a team-best .300 (10-4-20) for the match.

Seiler and Ahuna were also of the two of four Eastern players to post double-digit digs on the afternoon. Seiler collected 13 digs to go along with her 20-kill afternoon to pick up her eighth double-double of the season, while Ahuna picked up 10 digs to earn her ninth double-double, which ties for the team lead with senior Sophie Miller.

Redshirt sophomore Ashlee Vaoifi picked up a career-best 28 digs in the loss, while sophomore setter Regan Harr picked up 10 digs to go along with 14 assists to pick up her seventh double-double of the season.

Win-Loss Records: The Eagles fall to an even 13-13 to close 2016. Both Eastern's overall and conference record will end at an even .500 this season, as they went 8-8 through 16 Big Sky matches to earn the Big Sky Volleyball Tournament's No. 7 seed. For Sacramento State, they improve to 20-11, as they move onto tomorrow's Big Sky Tournament Semifinal after the Hornets posted their ninth-straight victory.

What It Means: Despite its strong showing on Thursday, the Eagles end the year in the Big Sky Quarterfinals for the second-straight season. 2016 is also the second-consecutive year that EWU has posted an even .500 overall record, as last year's group went 14-14.

Turning Point: Eastern shook off a slow start in the fifth set and pulled to within two points at 8-6 as the set switch approached. Flipping courts would prove to be detrimental for the Eagles, as they scored just two points when moving to the other side of the court in the fifth set, eventually falling to Sacramento State, 15-8, to effectively end the 2016 campaign.

Key Stats: Both teams were very equal in most stat categories on Thursday, but Eastern held an 11-4 advantage in blocks against the Hornets. Junior Chloe Weber paced the team with 3.5 total blocks thanks to five block assists and one solo block.

Top Performers:  Junior Ashley Seiler collected a career-best 20 kills on a career-high 61 swings against Sacramento State. The Cheney native added 13 digs to end the season with eight double-doubles.

Sophomore Ka'iulani Ahuna picked up her ninth double-double of the season with 13 kills and 10 digs. It is her first double-double since an 11-dig, 10-kill performance at Sacramento State back on Oct. 22.

Sophomore setter Regan Harr was the third Eagle to post a double-double in the Big Sky Quarterfinals, as the first-year EWU player handed out 14 assists while picking up 10 digs.

Senior setter Sophie Miller ended her EWU career with 29 assists. She added eight digs and a kill in her final collegiate match.

Redshirt sophomore Ashlee Vaoifi picked up a career-high 28 digs on the day. It is the fifth match with 20-or-more digs this season.

Junior Chloe Weber matched her career-best in kills with 10, while she hit an even .300 against Sacramento State. Weber also led the team in blocks with a total of 3.5

Notables: Eastern Washington ends the 2016 season at an even 13-13 overall, while they also went 8-8 in Big Sky play. It is the second-straight season that Eastern will end its season with a .500 record.

Today's five-set loss in the Big Sky Quarterfinals is eerily similar to the way 2015 ended. The No. 7-seeded Eagles dropped a five-set decision to No. 2 Idaho State to end 2015 in the Big Sky Quarterfinals.

Sacramento State now leads the all-time series against Eastern Washington, 33-17.

EWU is now an even 18-18 all-time in the Big Sky Volleyball Tournament.

Senior Sophie Miller handed out 29 assists in her final match as an Eagle. Miller posted double-digit assists in every match she played this season and leaves Eastern with 1,505 assists, a mark that is 15th-best in program history.

For more information on the Eastern Washington volleyball team, follow @EWUVolleyball on Twitter or like EWU Volleyball on Facebook.