LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Cornell's volleyball team took Lake Forest's best shot Friday night and showed why it's the 10-time defending champion of the Midwest Conference.
 
The No. 23 nationally-ranked Rams were taken to a fifth set and then powered through the upset-minded Foresters for a 25-22, 23-25, 25-19, 14-25, 15-9 victory on the road.
 
Cornell (17-6 overall) extended its MWC regular-season winning streak to 21 matches, improving to 5-0 in league play with three contests to go. The Rams are alone atop the MWC standings with challengers Illinois College (6-1 MWC) and Grinnell (4-1 MWC) one match back in the loss column.
 
The Rams, winners of eight straight, can clinch an MWC Tournament berth with a win Saturday at Lawrence (5-20 overall, 2-4 MWC). First serve is 1 p.m. in Appleton, Wis.
 
Friday was only the seventh time in 116 MWC matches that Cornell had gone to a fifth set since rejoining the conference in 2012.
 
Lake Forest (15-6 overall, 5-2 MWC) had taken momentum after a decisive win in Set 4 and led 8-6 in the fifth. Ilah Perez-Johnson served three consecutive points that pushed Cornell ahead and the Rams finished the match with a 9-1 blitz.  
 
Fifth-year Grace Marti slammed points No. 13 and 14 on middle attacks, and then teamed with Kiana Manson for the match-clinching block.
 
Perez-Johnson had another terrific performance with 17 kills and 20 digs. The senior all-American became the 11th member of Cornell's 1,000-dig club (1,016) and raised her career kills total to 999.
 
Carly Puffer and Manson delivered seven kills apiece, while Puffer also posted a team-high five blocks. Clare Green handed out 32 assists and Ella Becker provided 18 digs. Kensie Staats added 11 digs.
 
The Rams were held to .096 hitting against a hot Lake Forest team that had won nine of its last 10 contests going in.