July 6, 2018

CHARLOTTETOWN – The newest member of the Holland Hurricanes men’s volleyball team is trading one island for another.

Riley O’Keefe, a six-foot-two middle from Mount Pearl, N.L., has committed to Holland College for the 2018-19 season.

O’Keefe is looking forward to getting started in Charlottetown.

“I decided that Holland College would be a great school to start my journey in post-secondary education because of its great reputation in academics, as well as athletics,” he said.

O’Keefe comes with plenty of high-level playing experience, having competed with his club team, the Mount Pearl Huskies, at the 18U Canadian Volleyball Championships in Edmonton in May, as well as in 2016 in Saskatoon with the Eastern Edge.

Locally, he was part of the Mount Pearl Senior High Huskies squad that captured the gold medal at VolleyFest 2017, Canada’s largest school-based volleyball tournament.

Hurricanes associate coach Max Arsenault describes O’Keefe as an explosive front row presence with the tools to be very effective in ACAA competition.

“He is definitely a player who loves the game, wants to improve, and asks a lot of questions,” he said. “He is going to come into our program and make an immediate impact on what is already a strong roster with many returning players from last year.”

O’Keefe possesses a strong skill set, featuring a 40-inch vertical jump to go along with strong blocking and hitting techniques. He also brings hard work, focus, positivity and leadership to the court.

O’Keefe is eager to have a strong season at the ACAA level as the Hurricanes look for their second conference championship in three years.

“Hopefully the fans can expect to see lots of success and exciting plays from the whole team,” he said.

The Hurricanes open their regular season on Sunday, November 4 against the Université Sainte-Anne Dragons.

Holland College will also host the 2019 ACAA Volleyball Championships at the Centre for Community Engagement in February.

To connect with the men’s volleyball Hurricanes please visit www.twitter.com/canesmvball.

For more information on the Holland Hurricanes please visit www.hollandcollege.com/athletics, www.facebook.com/hollandhurricanes, www.twitter.com/hc_hurricanes and www.instagram.com/hollandhurricanes.

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Story written by:

Geordie Carragher
Assistant Communications Coordinator
Department of Athletics and Recreation
Holland College