While the Crimson was able to trade points with the Nittany Lions initially, the team that eventually went on to the Final Four proved to be too much to handle for Harvard.

Nevertheless, the Crimson players took a positive outlook on the season.

“Our program is on the rise,” Fitz said. “We’re just going to try and establish a credible team here at Harvard.”

In 2005-06, while Harvard will have to deal with the departure of its seniors, it will be returning a nucleus of experienced players, including McKiernan, Fitz, and senior-to-be middle hitter John Freese.

With the emergence of current junior Luke McCrone as a solid outside hitter and the addition of a few key recruits, the Crimson looks poised for a repeat as division champion.

But with the merger of the Hay and the Sweeney divisions next year, the parity in the EIVA conference will only increase.

“We’re capable of beating any of these [EIVA] teams, but we’re also capable of getting beat by any of these teams.” Ridolfi said. “We’re just going to have to do our work and then see what happens.”

—Staff writer Karan Lodha can be reached at klodha@fas.harvard.edu.