By Reegan MacAulay

The Holland Hurricanes experienced a perfect six-for-six weekend (Feb. 17-18), including successful send-offs for the basketball teams as they played their final regular season home games on Saturday, and both volleyball teams now ready for the playoffs.

There’s no better time to peak, as the playoffs are just around the corner.

Here’s a full breakdown of all your recent ‘Canes action.

Women’s Volleyball

The women’s volleyball team clinched fourth place in the Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) with a pair of wins at the McMillan Centre this past weekend.

On Saturday, Feb. 17, the team welcomed the third-ranked Mount Allison University Mounties to Charlottetown and finally defeated them for the first time in three attempts this season, sweeping all three sets in a spirited battle. As they say, third time’s the charm.

The ‘Canes jumped out to a 15-8 lead in the first set, but the Mounties eventually closed the gap to three points. Morgan White came in clutch with a service ace to give Holland a 25-21 first set win. The ‘Canes dominated the second set 25-13 but were given a good battle in the third set as Mount Allison held a five-point lead twice. Thankfully, Holland persevered in a wicked battle to the end, with a kill by Myah Utrosa sealing the deal for a 26-24 set win and 3-0 game win.

Jenna O’Neill led the ‘Canes with eight kills, six digs, three service aces, and one assist. Morgan White recorded six kills, six digs, and three service aces. Ella Hickey recorded 25 assists, five digs, two kills, and two service aces. Holland improved to 10-7 and Mount Allison dropped to 13-5.

On Sunday, Feb. 18, the team welcomed the second-ranked Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU) Mystics to Charlottetown, seeking revenge after a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to them the previous weekend in Halifax, N.S. Holland had a strong start, taking the first set 25-16, and rallying to a close 27-25 second set win after being down 10-5 and 24-22. 

It’s almost as if a repeat from the previous game between the two teams was about to happen as MSVU forced a fifth set with back-to-back set wins. The Mystics jumped out to a 10-5 lead in the fifth, and after ‘Canes coach, Craig Hoskins, called a timeout, Holland responded with four straight points, forcing an MSVU timeout. They called another one while down 13-11, but Holland held on 15-12 to take the game.

Myah Utrosa saved her best game for last as she led the ‘Canes with 16 kills, seven digs, and one assist. Mason Babey, Jenna O’Neill, Morgan White, and Charlotte Sweetapple combined for 44 kills and 59 digs. Ella Hickey recorded 53 assists, 12 digs, and four kills. Holland concluded the regular season at 11-7 while MSVU concluded the season 14-4, clinching second place in the conference.

With the regular season completed, the ‘Canes now have their eyes set on the 2024 ACAA Volleyball Championships in Saint John, N.B. on the weekend of Friday, Feb. 23 through Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024. Holland will face the St. Thomas University (STU) Tommies in quarter-final action on Friday, Feb. 23 at 1pm.

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 clinched second place in the conference with a pair of wins in New Brunswick this past weekend, concluding the regular season with a four-game winning streak that featured three sweeps.

On Saturday, Feb. 17, the team visited Fredericton to play the STU Tommies in a rematch of an entertaining game back on Feb. 11 in Charlottetown, which saw Holland come from behind to win 3-2.

In the rematch on Saturday, the ‘Canes used momentum from a strong start to sweep the Tommies 3-0. STU looked to have a slight bounce back in the second set, but that was it. Set scores were 25-13, 25-21 and 25-17.

Nathan Wills led the ‘Canes with 11 kills, two digs, and two service aces. Carson Gray recorded 10 kills and eight digs. Izumo Ueda recorded seven kills, five digs, and one service ace. Tyler McBride recorded 37 assists and eight digs. Holland improved to 10-5 and STU dropped to 8-7.

On Sunday, Feb. 18, the ‘Canes stopped by Saint John on the way home to play the University of New Brunswick Saint John (UNBSJ) Seawolves in the final game of the regular season. The domination from Saturday continued as Holland earned its fifth three-set sweep win of the season, the third in the team’s last four games. Set scores were 25-21, 25-22 and 25-21.

Carson Gray led the ‘Canes with 15 kills and nine digs. Nathan Wills recorded 12 kills, two digs, and one service ace. Izumo Ueda recorded seven kills and seven digs. Tyler McBride recorded 31 assists and nine digs. Holland concluded the season 11-5, and in second, while UNBSJ concluded the season 6-10 and finished fourth in the conference.

With the regular season completed, the men’s team joins the women’s team in now focusing on the upcoming 2024 ACAA Volleyball Championships in Saint John, N.B. The men will face the STU Tommies in semi-final action on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 7:30pm.

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 concluded the home portion of the regular season with a 92-81 win against the University of King’s College (UKC) Blue Devils at the McMillan Centre on Saturday, Feb. 17, extending its win streak to three.

Holland jumped out to a 16-8 lead, but UKC fought back to close the gap to five points at the end of the first quarter. The ‘Canes returned to dominant form in the second quarter, ending it with a 10-0 run and leading 52-35 at halftime. It took until the fourth quarter for the Blue Devils to slowly gain momentum, but only came as close as nine points, as Holland held on 92-81.

Alexa Rancourt led the ‘Canes with 27 points. Lauren Armstrong recorded 13, Molly Steadman recorded 12, and, in her final-career regular season home game, fifth-year guard Danielle McKinnon recorded nine points and one assist.

Holland improved to 10-7 and UKC dropped to 10-6. Both teams are now tied for third in the conference. The ‘Canes have one game remaining in the season before the 2024 ACAA Championships in Charlottetown, which will be on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 5pm in Fredericton, N.B. against the STU Tommies, who 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 win the tiebreaker between themselves and 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 got one step closer to a potential third-place finish in the conference with a tight 92-78 win in its last home game of the regular season against the UKC Blue Devils at the McMillan Centre on Saturday, Feb. 17.

Heading into the game winless after 14 played this season, UKC gave Holland quite a challenge through the first two quarters and, at one point, led 33-24. The ‘Canes rallied with a 14-3 run to take a four-point lead at halftime. In the third quarter, Holland outscored UKC 26-10 and sealed the deal with six more points than UKC in the fourth quarter, taking the win.

Bryce Corless led the ‘Canes with 29 points and reached a career milestone by recording his 750th career point as a Hurricane. Zachary Dawkins recorded 15 points, 11 assists, and seven rebounds. Aaron Simmons recorded 14 points and two assists. Diangelo Woodside recorded 11 points, 12 bounds, and two assists.

Holland improved to 9-8 and UKC dropped to 0-15. The ‘Canes have one game remaining in the regular season before the 2024 ACAA Championships in Charlottetown, which will be alongside the women’s team in Fredericton, N.B. on Saturday, Feb. 24 against the STU Tommies at 7pm. The men’s Tommies are 13-3 and have their eyes set on clinching first in the conference. 

Holland will look to clinch third but have Mount Allison and Crandall right on the team’s tail, each two points behind the ‘Canes. 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.

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

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.

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