Great strides have been made by the Sussex Academy volleyball team in 2026, but efforts on Senior Night May 5 weren’t enough to get the win, as the boys fell 25-23, 25-22, 25-21 to Dover. 

“All of our recent matches are so close, we just need to close them out,” senior Vito Barone said. “We've been getting better at it, especially these recent games when we’ve gone five sets. It's crazy, but everybody's really keeping up, staying where they need to be this game. We just kind of played a little off.” 

Barone has settled into the setter role, averaging more than 30 assists a match. His time in the program seemed to go fast for the senior.

“I've been on a team for so long. I've seen all the senior nights. It's been awesome to see all the people move up. It's kind of crazy that it's my turn. I've never really thought about that," he said.

Barone recruited his classmate Christian Wright to the team. The future Division I swimmer is happy he was talked into joining.

“I wanted to try something new," he said. "My friend Vito, he brought me into the sport, and he kept convincing me [to join the team]."

Senior Jerry Green jumped from the baseball team to volleyball and is proud of how he has grown as a player.

“Senior Night was nice because I got to kind of see how far I've progressed,” Green said.

Senior Owen Schrader said he's optimistic about the direction of the program.

“We're definitely having a much better season than last year,” he said.