CEDAR RAPIDS – Tuesday's Cornell-Coe volleyball rematch was as close at it gets.
 
Coe scored 113 points, Cornell 111 in a 2-hour, 15-minute donnybrook that saw the visiting Rams deny their rival match point five times in the fifth set before Coe squeaked out a 24-26, 25-23, 25-20, 20-25, 19-17 victory at Kohawk Arena.  
 
The Kohawks (15-7) hung on to earn their second 3-2 win over Cornell (12-10) this season in a battle of respective conference title contenders.  
 
Both teams came out swinging and never let up. The Rams finished with a whopping 213 attack attempts, the Kohawks 212. The match was tied 37 times and the lead switched hands 20 times.
 
Cornell trailed 14-11 in Set 5, but extended the match on a kill by Mia Tubbs, then a Kohawk error and again on a Hannah Cantwell spike that evened the score at 14-14. Coe also served for match point at 15-14 and 17-16, although the Rams wouldn't go away.
 
Tied for the 10th time of the set at 17-17, the Kohawks scored on an errant Cornell swing and then ended the night on a kill by Maggie Furlong.
 
Cornell first-year Selia Stein had a noteworthy return to her hometown with nine blocks and five aces, both team-highs. Cantwell, also a freshman, posted an impressive double-double with a team-best 18 kills and 22 digs.
 
The Rams received 17 kills on efficient .350 hitting from Tubbs, who also accounted for five blocks. Ally Olmstead slammed 11 kills and Ashlin Nottestad 10. Nia Howard and Grace Tverberg combined for 51 assists.
 
Libero Ella Becker led all players with 31 digs. Kensie Staats and Sully Downey added 15 and 11, respectively.
 
Cornell hit .127 and held a 64-56 advantage in total kills. The Rams fired 11 aces, although also committed 14 errors from the service line.
 
Coming up – The Rams (4-0 MWC) resume Midwest Conference play Saturday with a 1 p.m. home match against Lake Forest (4-12 overall, 1-3 MWC).