NORMAL — Illinois State's hopes for a third straight Missouri Valley Conference Volleyball Tournament championship seemed dead after Loyola won the first two sets Saturday.
Then came the comeback that will be talked about for a long time around Redbird Arena.
ISU stormed back to pull off a stunning 17-25, 28-30, 25-10, 26-24, 15-13 victory over top-seeded Loyola in the championship match to secure an automatic NCAA Tournament bid.
"We fought such a hard set in set two to lose by two in extra points, and a lot of teams after that fall," said ISU head coach Leah Johnson.