At 5-6 overall and at 3-4 in the division, Harvard needed to win out to keep its playoff hopes alive. It did.

The Crimson closed out its season with home wins over East Stroudsburg and Queens and road triumphs over East Stroudsburg, NJIT and Sacred Heart.

Harvard’s 8-4 Hay record left it knotted with Vassar for a playoff spot, but the head-to-head tiebreaker went to Vassar, 5 games to 3.

“We have raised the bar in terms of the level of our expectations,” Keller said. “We are showing the division the level of volleyball we play at Harvard now.”

Although the Crimson did not make the playoffs for the third consecutive year, the spirits of the seniors were not dampened.

“We played a lot of very good volleyball, and challenged some very good teams like Princeton against whom we haven’t played our best volleyball in the past,” Bookman said. “It was nice to see the team come together so well and win virtually all of the games in the second half of the season. That kind of consistency will serve the team well next year and for years to come.”

The graduation of Bookman and Kowell will notably impact the team. Bookman has been a four-year starter, driving the Harvard attack with his abundant assists and leadership. Kowell has been a potent force in the middle, possessing the ability to take over a game both offensively and defensively.

However, Bookman and Kowell are leaving behind a talented team that should be able to weather their loss. The returning players were very productive this year and the team finished with a great deal of momentum, putting next year’s squad in prime position to make another run at the playoffs.

“We have now set a precedent for future success,” Bookman said. “We must build the program on success like this year to become the competitive program that all the players envision.”

—Staff writer Michael R. James can be reached at mrjames@fas.harvard.edu.

M. Volleyball

RECORD: 10-6 (8-4 Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Hay Division)

COACH: Rob Keller

TRI-CAPTAINS: Mike Bookman, Alex Kowell, Russell Mosier

HIGHLIGHTS: Bookman breaks the Harvard records for career assists, assists in a season, assists in a match and career games played and is named an Academic All-Ivy selection. Kowell sets Crimson marks for hitting percentage in a game, aces in a game and season hitting percentage, in addition to being an Academic All-American selection.