For nearly two years, nobody beat Carroll.
Not in the regular season. Not in tournament play. Not with the Chargers carrying the pressure of a defending champion. Not after graduation took pieces from the lineup and asked the next group to keep the same standard.
That run ended Thursday night at Charger Fieldhouse.
Marist — ranked 11th in the country — handed Carroll its first loss since September 28, 2024, winning in four sets 25-18, 29-27, 22-25, 25-14. The Chargers had extended the streak to 71 just two days earlier with a sweep of Warsaw and entered Thursday night chasing 72 — sole possession of the longest winning streak in Indiana history during the rally scoring era.
Marist didn’t let it happen.
Junior Katelyn Peters gave Carroll every opportunity with 16 kills and 18 digs in a losing effort. The Chargers earned two set points in a second set that tied at 25-25 before Marist answered with three straight to take a 2-0 lead. Carroll forced a fourth set and kept it alive until the miscues added up. Carroll falls to 21-1.
The loss closes one chapter. It does not diminish what Carroll built during it.
Seventy-one straight included back-to-back Class 4A state championships, an undefeated 37-0 season in 2025, a tie with Hamilton Southeastern for the longest streak in state history during the rally scoring era, and a roster that changed multiple times without the expectation changing with it.
That is what made the streak matter. Not just the number. The ability to sustain it.
The Chargers graduated their all-time kills leader after 2024. They rebuilt around new contributors. They won 21 more matches anyway. The program’s identity was never built around staying unbeaten — it was built around competing for championships. The streak was a byproduct of that, not the goal itself.
Head coach Pandy Sinish said it directly before Thursday’s match: “That’s what we talk about all the time. It’s just a volleyball game. No matter who’s on the other side of the court, we have to worry about us.”
Marist was a worthy opponent on the other side of the court. The RedHawks arrived in Fort Wayne at 17-2, ranked 11th nationally, and won five of their last six road games. They executed when Carroll didn’t. That is how streaks end.
And now the next part of Carroll’s season gets more interesting.
For the first time in almost two years, the Chargers have to respond to a loss. Saturday at Yorktown comes quickly. The postseason is ahead. The third consecutive state championship — the actual standard Carroll is chasing — is still available.
The streak is over. The season is not.
