The Holland Hurricanes men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball teams hit the road this weekend as they begin their 2019-20 Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) regular seasons.  The basketball ‘Canes will be in Halifax, Nova Scotia for Saturday games versus the Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU) Mystics, while the volleyball Hurricanes will take on the Université de Sainte-Anne Dragons in Church Point, NS on back-to-back days.

Basketball

On the women’s side, the ‘Canes return three players (Ashley Plaggenhoef, Kassie Little, and Danielle MacKinnon) from their team that went 7-14 last season and saw them miss the playoffs for the first time since the 2007-08 season.  Under new head coach, Chris Connolly, the Hurricanes look to carry their pre-season success into the regular season starting with a tough road matchup versus the Mystics.

The men’s Hurricane also return three players from last season in Jordan Holness, Marc Hofer, and Josh Bourque. The ‘Canes went 21-0 last season, winning the ACAA title for the seventh straight season and finished fifth at nationals. Head coach, Josh Whitty, brings the new look Hurricanes to Halifax on Saturday in hopes of a strong showing versus MSVU.

The women’s game is set to tip-off at 2pm with the men’s game following at 4pm.  The Hurricanes will play their home opener on Saturday, November 9 when they host the University of New Brunswick-Saint John (UNBSJ) Seawolves at 4 and 6pm (w/m).

Connect with the basketball ‘Canes by visiting www.twitter.com/caneswbball and www.twitter.com/canesmbball.

Volleyball

The ‘Canes men’s team will enter the season as the defending ACAA champions after a thrilling victory against St. Thomas University (STU) Tommies on home court to win the conference title last February.

The Hurricanes return three players (Simon Archibald, Ethan Nadeau and Riley O’Keefe) from last season’s team that finished the regular season in third with an 8-7 record before winning the ACAA title and finishing eighth at nationals.  The ‘Canes also welcome back former CCAA All-Canadian, Gordon Veitch, who enters his fourth year with the team.

The Dragons finished last season in fourth place with a 1-14 record with the ‘Canes winning the season series, 4-1.

The men’s Hurricanes host their home opener on Saturday, November 9 versus the UNBSJ Seawolves at 2pm at the Holland College Centre for Community Engagement.

The ‘Canes women’s team is coming off their fifth-straight second place regular season finish and fourth finals appearance in the last five years. The team went 15-6 last year and lost to MSVU in the ACAA title game on home court.

The ‘Canes return four players from last year’s team in Sophia Blanchard, Abby Hyndman, Taylor Boudreau-Deveaux, and Zayley Murphy with Dana Trainor, Kalie MacKinnon, and Sam Gerbig returning to the squad after being away from the team for extended periods.

The Dragons finished last season in eighth with a 1-20 record with the ‘Canes winning all three matches.

Game times set for Saturday are 4 and 6pm, with Sunday’s matches taking place at 11 and 1pm (w/m). 

The women’s Hurricanes will host their home opener on Saturday, November 9 at 12pm when they host the Crandall University Chargers.

Connect with the volleyball Hurricanes by visiting www.twitter.com/caneswvball and www.twitter.com/canesmvball.

Follow all the action live this weekend by viewing the live broadcasts at www.acaatv.ca.

For more information on the Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association, visit www.acaa.ca.

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

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