The Vermilion Ironwomen came oh-so-close Wednesday night.<BR><BR>Winless since the 2002 season, the community college volleyball team nearly broke into the victory column at Hibbing.<BR><BR>The Ironwomen won two of the first three games of the Northern Division match before the host Cardinals rallied to take the five-game marathon.<BR><BR>Scores were 24-30, 30-10, 28-30, 30-14, 15-8.<BR><BR>Vermilion fell to 0-5, but won its first games of the season and had its best overall performance, despite the early loss of Ely freshman Gena Jerich.<BR><BR>“Gena went down early in game one with an ankle injury and did not return,” said VCC Head Coach Mandy Jelinek.