This Week in High School History: Unlikely Challenger Ends McAuley's 135-Match Winning Streak

High school sports history is filled with remarkable moments that often get lost in the larger story of American sports. This Week in High School Sports History looks back at significant, unusual and sometimes forgotten events from the history of high school athletics.

For the Week of Sept. 14-20:

The details might be lost to history, but the outcome remains unforgettable.

On Sept. 20, 1983, Lyons Township (Ill.) snapped a 13-13 tie in the third set and won the final two points to stun powerhouse Mother McAuley. The loss ended the longest winning streak in Illinois high school girls volleyball history at 135 matches.

“I think we’re all in a daze right now,” Lyons coach Marge McKee told the Arlington Heights Daily Herald. “We can’t believe that we did it.”

Lyons seemed an unlikely team to end McAuley's historic run. The Lions entered 4-4, and McAuley made it look like business as usual with a 15-5 victory in the opening set. But Lyons answered 15-10 in the second to force the decisive third set.

“They got momentum,” McAuley coach Nancy Wichgers Pedersen told the Daily Herald. “They were a lot bigger than us, and they started blocking well and really hitting well.”

McAuley's winning streak began Nov. 18, 1979, and reached 135 matches with a victory on Sept. 16, 1983, four days before Lyons ended it. During the streak, McAuley established itself as a state and national powerhouse while winning three consecutive Illinois state championships.

The loss did little to derail McAuley. The Mighty Macs reached the 1983 state final for the fourth consecutive year before losing to Glenbard West. The following season, McAuley began another dominant run, winning three of the next four Illinois Class AA state championships.

At the time, McAuley’s 135-match streak ranked among the longest volleyball winning streaks in national high school sports history. Today, it ranks No. 7 nationally. It remains, however, nearly three times longer than any other girls volleyball winning streak in Illinois history.

Also This Week in History

Sept. 14

1996 - Megan O'Connell of Sacred Heart-Griffin (Ill.) recorded 45 kills against Red Bud, setting an Illinois record that still stands in 2026.

2012 - Grant Sherman of Kenton (Ohio) set an Ohio single-game passing record with 684 yards against Shawnee.

Sept. 15

2018 - Prairie Ridge (Ill.) defeated Libertyville (Ill.) 23-25, 39-37, 25-19 in a three-set volleyball marathon that featured 168 combined points.

Sept. 16

2008 - Jamison Imhoff of New Covenant Christian (Mich.) recorded a hat trick in his ninth consecutive boys soccer game, setting a national record that stood until 2011. Imhoff's streak remains the Michigan record. Nico Rittmeyer of Savannah Country Day (Ga.) broke the national mark with hat tricks in 10 consecutive matches in 2011.

Sept. 18

2002 - Jennifer Brelage of Bardstown (Ky.) scored a national-record 18 goals in a 21-0 victory over Campbellsville. Campbellsville, which entered the game winless and had not scored that season, forfeited a scheduled rematch two weeks later. Bardstown ultimately finished 7-10.

Sept. 19

2003 - Maura Kelly of Caldwell (N.J.) set a national record with 36 aces in a volleyball match against Newark West Side.

2024 - Adam Nunes of South Park (N.Y.) set a New York single-game rushing record with 593 yards in a 58-28 victory over Iroquois.

This Week in High School Sports History is compiled by Sheldon Shealer, a sports historian and lecturer at Mount St. Mary's University whose research focuses on the history and development of American high school sports. Shealer draws from newspaper accounts, state and school records, historical publications, archival collections and other documented sources. Special thanks to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), whose records help preserve the history of high school athletics.

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