The Holland Hurricanes men’s and women’s volleyball teams picked up victories in their final games of the regular season this weekend.  The Hurricanes women went three-for-three, picking up important wins over the Mount Allison Mounties before two victories at home over the UKC Blue Devils.  The Hurricanes men finished the season with a winning record after taking down the Université de Sainte-Anne Dragons on Saturday at home.

In the women’s game on Friday, the Hurricanes and Mounties entered the match tied in the standings as they battled for second place.  The Hurricanes went on to win the match by set scores of 25-21, 25-17 and 25-23.

Abby Hyndman led the attack for the ‘Canes with 12 kills while Brittany States and Taylor Allen added seven and six respectively.

Laura Ready had a match-high 28 assists in the win while Taylor Allen had 12 digs to lead the way on defense; Zayley Murphy added ten digs for the ‘Canes.

On Saturday versus the Blue Devils, the ‘Canes looked impressive in their straight-sets victory on home court; set scores were 25-9, 25-21 and 25-16.

The ‘Canes had the first serve of the match and by the time Zayley Murphy was done, Holland College had opened up a 20-1 lead over the Blue Devils. During the incredible serving run that prompted a standing ovation from the fans at the CCE, Murphy recorded seven aces in the set and would finish with nine.

Jasmine Smith led the attack for the Hurricanes with 13 kills with States adding six, Murphy five, and Allen four. States and Smith both added three aces.

Ready had a match-high 27 assists for the Hurricanes with Katie Wood leading the way in digs with 17. Murphy and Smith both added nine in the win.

On Sunday, the ‘Canes once again took on the Blue Devils, winning by set scores of 25-21, 25-17 and 26-24.

Smith once again led the attack for Holland College, this time with 15 kills with States adding nine and Hyndman recording eight in the win.

Ready once again led the way with 24 assists with Murphy adding nine. Wood and Allen led the way in digs with 12 and ten respectively.

With three straight-set victories over the weekend, the women’s Hurricanes finish the regular season in second place in the ACAA standings with a 15-6 record.  They will receive a bye to the ACAA semi-finals due to being one of the top two seeded teams.

The Hurricanes weekend opponents, the Mount Allison Mounties (12-9, fourth) and UKC Blue Devils (8-13, sixth) both also qualified for the playoffs.

The Hurricanes will be in action on Saturday, February 23 at 2pm when they face the highest advancing team from the ACAA quarter-finals.

ACAA quarter-final matches taking place on Friday, February 22 at the Holland College Centre for Community Engagement include the UNBSJ Seawolves (3) versus UKC Blue Devils (6) at 1pm and Mount Allison Mounties (4) versus the St. Thomas Tommies (5) at 3:30pm.

The MSVU Mystics enter the playoffs as the number one seed and receive a bye to the semi-finals alongside the Hurricanes.  They will take on the lowest advancing team from the quarter-finals at 11am on Saturday.

In the men’s final game of the regular season on Saturday, the Hurricanes hosted the Université de Sainte-Anne Dragons.  The ‘Canes went on to win by set scores of 25-11, 21-25, 25-20 and 25-21.

Brett Butler had 19 kills, five aces, and 11 digs for the ‘Canes with Jeff MacDonald adding ten kills, one ace, and six digs.

John Ronalds added seven kills and five aces with Nicholas Menzies recording 40 assists in the win.

With the victory, the ‘Canes finish the season in third place with an 8-7 record, moving above .500 for the first time since winning their season opener on November 4.

The Hurricanes will take on the UNBSJ Seawolves (9-6, second) in ACAA semi-final action on Saturday, February 22 at 7pm at the Holland College Centre for Community Engagement. 

The second ACAA semi-final match will take place at 4:30pm on February 22 featuring the number one seed, STU Tommies (12-3), and fourth seed, USA Dragons (1-14), also being played at the Holland College Centre for Community Engagement.

For more information on ACAA volleyball, including the 2019 ACAA men’s and women’s Volleyball Championships being hosted by Holland College, visit www.acaa.ca.

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

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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