By Reegan MacAulay  

The Holland Hurricanes approach a weekend (Feb. 23-25) filled with regular season finales and playoff matches, as the basketball teams enjoy one last road trip, and the volleyball teams seek regional glory at the Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) Volleyball Championships in New Brunswick.

Here is everything you need to know for this weekend.

Women’s Volleyball

The women’s volleyball team heads to the 2024 ACAA Volleyball Championships in Saint John, N.B. this weekend seeking back-to-back championships.

The defending champions concluded their regular season last weekend with an 11-7 record and a pair of wild wins at the McMillan Centre, clinching fourth place in the conference, four points behind the Mount Allison Mounties (third ranked) and six ahead of the St. Thomas University (STU) Tommies (fifth ranked).

Ironically, it’ll be the Tommies who Holland plays this Friday, Feb. 23 at 1 p.m. in a quarter-final match. During the regular season, the ‘Canes went 1-1 against STU with a 3-2 loss in Nov. 2023 and a 3-0 win earlier this month. The season series will come down to a sudden-death game, where one team goes to the semi-finals and one team has its season come to an end.

If Holland wins, there are two potential scenarios based on the other quarter-final game between Mount Allison and University of New Brunswick Saint John (UNBSJ); if Mount Allison wins, the ‘Canes will play the top-ranked, University of King’s College (UKC) Blue Devils, on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 11:30 a.m.; if UNBSJ wins, the ‘Canes will play the second-ranked Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU) Mystics on Saturday at 2 p.m. The women’s championship game will commence on Sunday, Feb. 25 at 12 p.m.

Heading into the championships, Morgan White, Jenna O’Neill, and Ella Hickey (recent Athlete of the Week) have carried the fort in conference stats, particularly in kills, digs, and assists. However, some players have recently built momentum at a pivotal point in the season, with Myah Utrosa, Mason Babey, and Charlotte Sweetapple all contributing valuable points in last Sunday’s big win against MSVU.

Stay tuned to www.acaa.ca and all of Holland Hurricanes’ social media pages for live game updates and catch the action live at www.acaa.tv. 

Connect with the women’s volleyball ‘Canes at www.x.com/caneswvball and www.instagram.com/caneswvball. 

Men’s Volleyball

The men’s volleyball team joins the women’s team in Saint John, N.B. for the 2024 ACAA Volleyball Championships this weekend looking to break a five-year conference championship curse, last winning the title in 2019.

Last season’s ACAA runners-up concluded their season last weekend with an 11-5 record and a four-game winning streak (which included three sweeps, two last weekend), clinching second place in the conference, six points behind the Université de Sainte-Anne (USTA) Dragons and six ahead of the STU Tommies.

Just like the women, the men will also play the STU Tommies, except they will play them on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. in a second vs. third semi-final game. During the regular season, the ‘Canes went 2-2 against STU (3-0 loss, 3-0 loss, 3-2 win, 3-0 win), and will look to solve the season series with a sudden-death match that sends the winner to the championship game on Sunday, Feb. 25 at 2:30 p.m. If Holland wins, they will play either the top-ranked USTA Dragons or the fourth-ranked UNBSJ Seawolves.

Heading into the championships, players divide themselves into different categories in terms of domination. Carson Gray and Izumo Ueda have led the way in kills and hits, Nathan Wills has been a prime blocker, Marcus Lapointe dominates the digs, and Tyler McBride leads the way in assists. Other players such as Dominik Pineau and Brett MacAusland provide substantial depth to a squad filled with energy and positivity. There would be no better way for Lapointe to end his long Hurricanes career than with a conference championship and one last journey to the CCAA Nationals.

Stay tuned to www.acaa.ca and all of Holland Hurricanes’ social media pages for live game updates and catch the action live at www.acaa.tv. 

Connect with the men’s volleyball ‘Canes at www.x.com/canesmvball and www.instagram.com/canesmvball. 

Women’s Basketball

The women’s basketball team concludes its regular season this Saturday, Feb. 24 hoping to clinch third place in the conference.

The squad, carrying a 10-7 record and a three-game winning streak, will head to Fredericton, N.B. to play the fifth-ranked STU Tommies at 5 p.m.; the Tommies are 7-9 and are 1-1 against Holland so far this season. For the ‘Canes to clinch third, they must defeat STU and rely on UKC winning no more than one of their final two games versus Crandall and MSVU. If the ‘Canes drop their final game to STU, they would need UKC to lose both of their final games.  The ‘Canes hold the tiebreaker between themselves and UKC.

Heading into the regular season finale, Alexa Rancourt leads the conference with 275 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, and is second with 16.2 points per game and third with a 56.6 field goal percentage. Amy Plaggenhoef is third in the conference with 250 points and 15.6 points per game. Lauren Armstrong is second in the conference with 10.1 rebounds per game. Danielle McKinnon enters her final-career regular season game coming off a nine-point and one-assist performance last Saturday against UKC.

Connect with the women’s basketball ‘Canes at www.x.com/caneswbball and www.instagram.cm/hurricanesbball. 

Men’s Basketball

The men’s basketball team enters its regular season finale this Saturday, Feb. 24 in a similar situation to the women’s team, hoping to clinch third place, but the men potentially have two teams to beat instead of one.

The squad, carrying a 9-8 record, will join the women in Fredericton, N.B. to play the top-ranked STU Tommies at 7 p.m., who are 13-3 and have yet to lose to Holland so far this season. The ‘Canes will enter the game with a “third time’s the charm” mindset and keep their fingers crossed that Mount Allison and Crandall lose their last regular season games this weekend. For Holland to clinch third, a win would seal the deal, but if they lose, they will need the Mounties to fall to STU in their season finale.  The ‘Canes, who win the tiebreaker against Crandall and the Mounties if necessary, can fall no farther than to fourth.

Heading into the regular season finale, Bryce Corless is on his way to ending the season as the top scorer in the conference, currently at 400 points and 66 ahead of the second-best. The veteran earned his 750th career point last Saturday against UKC. Diangelo Woodside enters the game third in the conference with 10.4 rebounds per game. Rookies Zachary Dawkins and Topaz Kana seek to end their first ‘Canes campaign on a high note and enter their first conference championships with momentum.

Connect with the men’s basketball ‘Canes at www.x.com/canesmbball and www.instagram.com/hurricanesbball.

The Hurricanes are hosts of the 2024 ACAA Basketball Championships, March 1-3, 2024, at the McMillan Centre in Charlottetown.  For more information on the event, visit www.acaa.ca. 

For more information on the Holland Hurricanes, visit www.hollandhurricanes.com, www.facebook.com/hollandhurricanes, www.x.com/hc_hurricanes, and www.instagram.com/hollandhurricanes. 

-30-