LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) and West Region champion Sonoma State volleyball team saw its magic season come to an end on Thursday, suffering a heartbreaking five-set loss (26-24, 25-23, 21-25, 20-25, 6-15) to No. 4 Southwest Minnesota State in the quarterfinals of the 2014 NCAA Division II Volleyball Championships in Knights Hall on the campus of Bellarmine University in Louisville, Ky.  

The Seawolves finish the season with a 23-7 record while the Mustangs improve to 25-9 and advance to a semifinal matchup with Grand Valley State on Friday.

To watch the postgame press conference with head coach Bear Grassl and senior Kelsey Hull, click here.

To watch the archived broadcast of the match in its entirety, click here.

A five-set loss is heartbreaking enough, but Thursday's defeat will take the cake.  Sonoma State scratched and clawed through 15 ties and six lead changes in the opening set to escape with a 26-24 win in the opening frame.  After seven tie scores in the second set, the Seawolves would go on to take the 2-0 match lead with a narrow 25-23 win in the second set, never allowing Southwest Minnesota State to hold a lead.

With momentum on its side, Sonoma State came out firing on all cylinders in the third set, looking to secure the sweep and take one step closer towards the national championship.  However, an 8-1 Seawolf lead didn't faze the Mustangs, neither did a 19-14 SSU lead.  Southwest Minnesota State reeled off seven straight points to take a 21-19 lead, one that Sonoma State would never regain.  SMSU won the set, 25-21.

The fourth set featured a see-saw battle of stellar play on both sides, but with a quarterfinal victory within reach, Sonoma squandered a 20-19 lead and surrendered six unanswered Mustang points, which knotted the match at two sets apiece and forced the deciding fifth set.

After trailing 4-2 early in the fifth, two kills by Madelyn Densberger brought the Seawolves even with the Mustangs, but the fourth-ranked team in the nation, who eliminated the seven-time defending national champions from Concordia-St. Paul just two weeks earlier in the Central Regional, put the pedal to the metal and recorded eight consecutive points -- and 11 of the next 13 -- en route to a convincing 15-6 win and the 3-2 match victory.  In fact, Southwest Minnesota State held one of the most prolific offenses in the country to -.071 in the final frame (three kills and four errors in 14 attacks).

In the end, SMSU held the advantage in kills (60-53), hitting percentage (.245-.178), aces (8-7), digs (62-54), and the most lopsided statistic, blocks (19.0-7.0).  Southwest Minnesota State's Sarah Parker was a brick wall on the other side of the net, rejecting 11 Sonoma State attacks for points, including three solo blocks.  SMSU libero Whitney Burmeister also went for a double-double with a match-high 25 digs and 10 assists.  Mustang setter Megan Larson also kept the Seawolves off balance for much of the afternoon, dishing out 38 assists while adding 10 kills of her own, nearly ending up with a triple-double with eight digs.

Kelsey Hull led all players with 15 kills in her final collegiate match, hitting .387 and posting another double-double with a team-high 14 digs.  Caylie Seitz chipped in with 13 kills, Densberger finished with 11 and Regan Richert added 10.  Courtney Seda handed out 25 assists and fellow setter Calan Seitz had 16. 

Thursday's match marked the end of the road for three seniors (Hull, Richert and Ashley Robinson) who helped shape the Sonoma State volleyball program into a national powerhouse over the past five seasons.