By Reegan MacAulay

From an undefeated weekend for the volleyball teams to, to ACAA basketball action, to the beginning of a new women’s hockey season, there are lots to discuss after another action-packed weekend for the Holland Hurricanes. Here’s a full breakdown of all your recent ‘Canes action.

Women’s Volleyball

The women’s volleyball Hurricanes enjoyed a successful home-opening doubleheader this past weekend at the McMillan Centre in Charlottetown with two victories.

On Saturday, the ‘Canes welcomed the 2-2 University of New Brunswick Saint John (UNBSJ) Seawolves. Although the ‘Canes faced early struggles and plenty of inconsistency, including a first set loss of 25-20, they came into the second set on fire with an early 10-1 lead, eventually winning 25-12. The third set saw back and forth action with the ‘Canes prevailing 25-19. With the home crowd cheering loudly, the ‘Canes controlled most of the fourth set and hung on 25-17 to win the match 3-1.

Morgan White led the 'Canes with 10 kills, and added 13 service aces.

On Sunday, the ‘Canes welcomed the 2-4 Dalhousie Agricultural Campus (Dal AC) Rams. The ‘Canes had yet another struggling start, once down 4-1 in the first set, but they came back around and hung on 25-20. The second set was almost the same as the Rams went up 17-12 and ‘Canes head coach Craig Hoskins had to call a timeout. It gave the ‘Canes enough momentum to make a comeback and win the set 26-24. They dominated the third set en route to a 25-15 set win and a 3-0 match win.

Once again, Morgan White led the ‘Canes with 13 kills and seven service aces.  Abby MacDonald also had a strong match, recording 12 kills.

The ‘Canes are now 4-2 and sitting in third place in the conference with a two-game winning streak, rebounding from a prior two-game losing streak.

The ‘Canes return to action on Thursday, Nov. 23 with a game against the 2-4 Crandall University Chargers at the McMillan Centre at 6 p.m. They will also play on Saturday, Nov. 25, visiting the 3-3 St. Thomas University (STU) Tommies in Fredericton, N.B. at 2 p.m.

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

Men’s Volleyball

The men’s volleyball Hurricanes also enjoyed a successful home-opening doubleheader this past weekend at the McMillan Centre in Charlottetown with two victories.

On Saturday and Sunday, the ‘Canes welcomed the 2-1 UNBSJ Seawolves for doubleheader matches, hoping to rebound from losing both season-opening doubleheader games against USTA.

In Saturday’s game, the first set saw competitive action, with the ‘Canes having a 15-12 lead, but two Seawolves timeouts led to them finding momentum and taking the set 28-26. The second set was similar as the Seawolves had a close lead for most of the set, but the ‘Canes fought back and won 25-23.

The third set was almost all ‘Canes, but once again, the Seawolves found a way to win 25-20. The ‘Canes struggled at the beginning of the fourth set down 5-1 early, but they remained hungry for the game to continue and forced a fifth set with a 25-21 win. They held control in the fifth set and hung on 15-11, winning the game 3-2, earning their first win of the season.

Izumo Ueda led the ‘Canes with 26 kills.

In Sunday’s game, the ‘Canes had their best start yet, up 10-5 in the first set, but the Seawolves remained close and eventually came back to tie the game. A late timeout by the ‘Canes relaxed them to a 25-23 win. The second and third sets featured back and forth action, with the ‘Canes taking set two 25-23 and the Seawolves taking set three 32-30. The ‘Canes dominated the fourth set, going up 9-0 at one point, and finishing up 25-17, winning the game 3-1.

Once again, Izumo Ueda led the ‘Canes with 13 kills. Blair Stanley also had a strong game, contributing 11 kills.

The ‘Canes are now 2-2 and sitting tied for second place in the conference with a two-game winning streak.

The ‘Canes return to action on Thursday, Nov. 23 with a game against the 0-4 Crandall University Chargers at the McMillan Centre at 8 p.m. They will also play on Saturday, Nov. 25, visiting the 2-2 St. Thomas University (STU) Tommies in Fredericton, N.B. at 4 p.m.

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

Women’s Basketball

The women’s basketball Hurricanes went into complete destruction mode when they visited the 0-3 Crandall University Chargers in Moncton, New Brunswick on Saturday.

The ‘Canes would never let the Chargers take a single lead throughout the game with 17-11, 26-9, 26-9, and 14-10 quarter leads, winning the game 83-39. Quarter one saw Crandall only trail by six points after 10 minutes, but the ‘Canes found momentum with 17 points between quarters two and three.

Amy Plaggenhoef and former Charger, Alexa Rancourt, tied for the ‘Canes lead with 19 points each.

The ‘Canes are now 3-3 and sitting tied for third place in the conference.

The ‘Canes return to action on Saturday, Nov. 25 with a game against the 5-1 Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU) Mystics at the McMillan Centre at 2:30 p.m.

Connect with the women’s basketball Hurricanes, visit www.twitter.com/caneswbball and www.instagram.com/hurricanesbball.

Men’s Basketball

The men’s basketball Hurricanes dropped to 3-3 with an 84-65 loss to the Crandall University Chargers on Saturday in Moncton, N.B.

The Chargers dominated most of the game, taking advantage of strong first and third quarters, with quarters two and four being played much more evenly.

Crandall led 25-15 after the first, 48-40 at half, and 73-52 through three.

Bryce Corless led the ‘Canes with 15 points, while Aaron Simmons registered 10 rebounds.

The ‘Canes return to action on Saturday, Nov. 25, joining the women’s basketball Hurricanes with their home game against the undefeated MSVU Mystics at the McMillan Centre at 4:30 p.m.

Connect with the men’s basketball Hurricanes, visit www.twitter.com/canesmbball and www.instagram.com/hurricanesbball.

Women’s Hockey

The defending Atlantic Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) champions got their 2023-24 season underway on a rough note this past weekend.

In doubleheader matches at the Eastlink Centre in Charlottetown against the rival Acadia University Axewomen, both teams tied Saturday’s game 0-0 and Acadia dominated Sunday’s game 4-0.

On Saturday, it was a veteran goaltender duel as Holland’s Emma Arsenault and Acadia’s Paige Mather stood tall in both nets. The Axewomen had a much better offensive advantage while the ‘Canes suffered through offense and discipline issues, taking eight penalties. A late third-period power play wouldn’t be enough for the ‘Canes to get on the board.

On Sunday, the ‘Canes stormed out with a giant offensive advantage and more big saves by Emma Arsenault, but Acadia’s rookie goaltender Emily Ritchot felt no pressure and played like a veteran. A late Axewomen goal in the first period led to them taking back the offensive advantage for the rest of the game, adding another three goals within 30 minutes.

Although the ‘Canes never scored all weekend, players with notable presences were rookie forwards Taylor Gillis, Josie Lynch, and Kailey Lutley, sophomore forward Livi Lawlor, and Emma Arsenault.

The ‘Canes will take a break next weekend and prepare for another doubleheader weekend on Saturday, Dec. 2 and Sunday, Dec. 3 as they will play the Cape Breton University (CBU) Capers in Nova Scotia. Saturday’s game time is 7:30 p.m. and Sunday’s game time is 10:30 a.m.

Connect with the women’s hockey ‘Canes at https://twitter.com/canesWhockey and https://www.instagram.com/caneswhockey

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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