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Wheelchair basketball player Steve Serio

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Wheelchair basketball player Steve Serio

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As for what’s next beyond that, Serio isn’t sure.“It was great to live in Italy for eight months and to feel a little more connected to my roots,” Serio says.
Serio, 37, knew going into the Paris Games that it would be his last Paralympics as a player, so he tried to soak in the entire experience.
“The sports-specific wheelchair I use costs ,000,” Serio says. “I’m hoping to help remove those hurdles for the next generation and help carry the Paralympic movement forward.”
Serio’s career has had no shortage of special moments. As co-captain, he helped lead the U.S. men’s wheelchair basketball team to gold medals at the 2016 Paralympics in London, the COVID-delayed 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo and finally again at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris.
Steve Serio, co-captain of the U.S. Men’s National Wheelchair Basketball team, says he never thought he would have the honor of being named a flag bearer for Team USA. And yet there he was with fellow para athlete Nicky Nieves, leading the 225-member Team USA Paris delegation down the famed Champs-Élysées during the opening ceremonies of the 2024 Summer Paralympic Games.
Not only will Paris be his final Paralympic Games, Serio also has decided to retire as a basketball player altogether.
“To be voted flag bearer among my peers, it’s one of the most special moments of my career,” Serio says.
Serio was selected to represent his country at the Paralympics for the first time at the 2008 Summer Games hosted in Beijing. The team finished fourth after losing to Great Britain in the bronze medal match. In 2012, he and the men’s team captured the bronze medal at the Summer Paralympics in London before the run of three gold-medal finishes in Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo and Paris.
During his senior year of high school in 2005, Serio was named tournament MVP after scoring 74 points in four games while leading the Lightning in the Junior National Wheelchair Basketball Championships. Soon after, he was one of 12 American players selected to represent the country at the 2005 World Junior Basketball Championships in Australia, where they took home the gold medal. In 2007, Serio and his American teammates again took home the gold, this time at the Parapan American Games in Brazil.
“The only thing I did differently was live in the moment and be present more,” Serio says. “The thing I’m going to miss about being a Team USA athlete isn’t the medals, it’s being around the guys, being in the huddle together.”
“It’s still early days,” Serio says. “It’s the first time in my life that I don’t have a specific goal. It feels scary and refreshing all at the same time.”
“I’ve accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish on the field of play,” Serio says. “The place I can give back to the sport that has given me everything is off the court.”
The article above appears in the January 2025 issue of the print version of Fra Noi. Our gorgeous, monthly magazine contains a veritable feast of news and views, profiles and features, entertainment and culture. To subscribe, click here.
Serio embraced all of the off-the-court moments with his teammates, like team meetings and all the meals they ate together.
Serio has enjoyed success throughout his basketball career. He began playing the sport at age 14 with the Long Island Lightning, the only competitive junior wheelchair basketball team in New York state. Within months of joining, he and his teammates took home the club’s first-ever tournament win.

Serio says he will continue to work with a number of sponsors and nonprofit organizations to raise awareness of the adaptive-sports movement.
Serio grew up in Nassau County on Long Island. He says both of his parents have Italian heritage, with ancestry scattered across Italy. In late 2023, Serio signed on with a basketball team based in Milan, Italy, as a way to get in shape for the Paris Games.

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Watch Wisconsin volleyball in NCAA tournament tonight; time, TV

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Dec. 5, 2025, 2:21 p.m. CT



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No. 3 Volleyball sweeps Florida A&M, 3-0, to advance in NCAA Tournament

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AUSTIN, Texas. — The No. 3 Texas Volleyball team improved to 42-0 in the NCAA First Round after sweeping Florida A&M (25-11, 25-8, 25-14). The Longhorns improved to 24-3 on the season behind Emma Halter’s historic night on defense. 

Halter moved up to No. 8 on the all-time Texas digs list with 25 tonight, making it a 1,282 total. Halter also broke the Texas record in three-set matches with 25 digs. She’s now the fourth Longhorn to record 25, joining Dariam Acevedo (2006), Adrian Greenmail (2001) and Carrie Busch (1995). 

Ayden Ames matched her career high with eight blocks, leading the Longhorns to tally nine total. Ramsey Gary also recorded a season high three aces for a match high. The Longhorns recorded 42 kills to the Rattlers 15, holding them to a -.027 – the lowest opponent hitting percentage of the season. 

Set One: Texas dominated the opening set 25-11, limiting the Rattlers to a .000 attacking percentage while hitting .414 themselves. Torrey Stafford led the charge with five kills and a .455 hitting percentage. Swindle recorded nine assists and Halter registered 10 digs. The Texas defense totaled four and a half blocks in the first set. 

Set Two: The Longhorns held the Rattlers to only eight points, tying their opponent season low in the second set. Stafford added six more kills out of her 13 total, while Texas put up four team blocks behind Ames’ four. 

Set Three: The Longhorns saw Cari Spears add four kills and Whitney Lauenstein add one of her five kills in the third. Lauenstein also totaled four blocks on the night and hit for .571. 

Up next Texas will face off against No. 25 Penn State in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, Dec. 6 at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN+. 



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Volleyball sees season end in NCAA DII Second Round

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WINGATE, N.C. – Another successful Lenoir-Rhyne Volleyball season has come to an end. The Bears fell 3-1 to #3 seeded Anderson in the NCAA DII Tournament second round on Friday, closing their season at 23-8.  

Emmaleigh Allen led the team with 13 kills while Emmie Modlin and Alicia Barbarito combined for 38 assists.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP

Final: Anderson 3, Lenoir-Rhyne 1 (29-27, 20-25, 25-9, 25-18)

Records: Anderson (23-7, 16-4 SAC), Lenoir-Rhyne (23-8, 14-4 SAC)

Location: Wingate, NC | Cuddy Arena

STORY OF THE MATCH: 

  • Down early on, the Bears went on a late 4-0 run to tie the score at 22 in the first set.
  • Lenoir-Rhyne had set point at 26-25, but a 4-1 run from Anderson gave the Trojans the 29-27 set victory.
  • Hadley Prince produced back-to-back service aces to help Lenoir-Rhyne win the second set 25-20.
  • Anderson dominated the third set 25-9, finishing with a .317 hitting % and just four attack errors.
  • Lenoir-Rhyne responded early in the fourth set, jumping ahead 6-3.
  • The Trojans did not look back after tying the match at 7, keeping the Bears an arms length away the rest of the set. 

STATS OF THE GAME:

  • Anderson finished with an advantage in kills (59-to-46), hitting % (.276-to-.127), and assists (57-to-43).
  • There were a combined 38 block assists and solo blocks between the two teams.
  • Kayli Cleaver and Averie Dale combined for 11 total blocks
  • Hadley Prince led the team with 19 digs while Addison Vary collected two service aces.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

  • This was the fourth meeting this season between the Bears and Trojans, with each team winning twice.
  • Emmaleigh Allen generated her sixth double-double this season after finishing with 13 kills and 16 digs.
  • Kayli Cleaver finished the season as the team leader in kills (363) and kills per set (3.36) for the second straight season.
  • The 2025 Lenoir-Rhyne Volleyball Team finished with the second highest hitting % in school history at .235, just .05 away from the record held by the the 1998 squad.
  • Averie Dale finished with a .399 hitting %, which ties the program’s individual season record held by Michelle Baity in 1999.
  • The Bears produced their third straight season with 20 or more wins and set a new program record winning 13 matches at home. 
  • Nicole Barringer now holds an 87-35 record in four years as the Bears’ head coach. 
  • Barringer is the first coach in program history to lead the team to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. 





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Volleyball’s Season Ends In Round Of 32 to No. 3 Wisconsin

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MADISON, WISC – Carolina volleyball falls to No. 3 Wisconsin Badgers (25-14, 25-21, 25-27) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. 

The Tar Heels improved after each set, raising their hitting percentage from .146 to .317. Laynie Smith led the way offensively as she hit .400 with seven kills on only 15 attacks.

Carolina dropped the first set 25-14, but Bridget Malone was the bright spot as she came off the bench and hit above .444 with four kills.

The Tar Heels had a much better second set, putting together an impressive 7-2 run in the middle of the match that brought the score to 17-18. The Tar Heels continued to fight back against the top-ranked Badgers.

The Tar Heels battled back in the third set as the final set was tied 19 times and there were ten lead changes. 

Maddy May wrapped up her legendary Tar Heel career tonight. May played  in every single set (445) of every single match (118) over her four-year career. May currently sits third all-time in program history with 1622 digs. The senior closed out her time in Chapel Hill on a high note, as she was named Second Team All-ACC for the first time in her career.

 



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Arizona State volleyball advances to NCAA Tournament second round

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Dec. 5, 2025, 7:31 a.m. MT



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Purdue volleyball vs Baylor NCAA tournament final score, game result, next

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8:25 pm ET December 5, 2025

When is Purdue volleyball’s next game? Purdue volleyball next game in Sweet 16. Who does Purdue volleyball play next?

Aaron Ferguson

Barring an upset, the Boilers are headed to Pittsburgh, the No. 1 seed in their quadrant. Times for next weekend are to be determined, and Purdue will know its opponent late Saturday night. Florida punched its ticket with a sweep of No. 7-seed Rice in an upset, and the Gators will play either No. 2 SMU or Central Arkansas.

It may set up a potential rematch with SMU, which Purdue beat 3-1 on a neutral court.



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