SENIOR SPOLTLIGHT: Seamus McKiernan

Even with injuries limiting him, Seamus McKiernan was The Man.

The Harvard men's volleyball co-captain, an EIVA All-East second-team selection a year ago, continued to punish opposing defenses in 2006, leading the Crimson in total kills and kills per game.

The senior finished 10th in the EIVA in kills per game despite being slowed during much of the season by a nagging shoulder injury.

McKiernan posted some of his best numbers in Harvard's biggest games. In Harvard's March 18 victory over eventual Hay Division champion East Stroudsburg, the middle hitter registered 25 kills on .657 hitting and added six blocks in a 3-1 win.

Down the stretch, McKiernan's teammates looked to the co-captain with the match on the line. And more often than not, he delivered.

"You know if you set Seamus the ball, fifty to sixty percent of the time, he's going to kill it," junior Dave Fitz said. "For me, as a setter, that's a great safety net to have."

With the graduation of McKiernan, rising sophomore Brady Weissbourd will look to fill the void at middle hitter. The rookie showed flashes of brilliance in 2006, finishing the season with a .404 hitting percentage--good enough for eighth in the EIVA.

--KARAN LODHAN