By Reegan MacAulay
The Holland Hurricanes continue their 2025 stint this weekend with a pair of home and away games for both basketball and women’s volleyball teams.
Here’s what’s to come for Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) between Saturday, Jan. 18 and Sunday, Jan. 19.
Women’s Volleyball
The women’s volleyball Hurricanes did not start the second half of their 2024-25 campaign the way they wanted to, but they hope a road trip to Halifax, N.S. this weekend could be what turns their current 5-7 record and five-game losing streak around.
Coming off back-to-back losses against Dalhousie, Holland’s journey toward the 2025 ACAA Volleyball Championships at the McMillan Centre continues with a mid-conference doubleheader on the road against the University of King’s College (UKC) Blue Devils.
The Hurricanes sit two points back of the Blue Devils in the standings, with UKC holding a 6-6 record and sitting fourth with 12 points. They had a solid return to regular season competition last weekend, nearly upsetting MSVU in a 3-2 loss at home and defeating Crandall 3-1 on the road. This weekend’s matches will be the first between Holland and UKC, so while the Blue Devils look to climb the standings, the Hurricanes seek to catch up and build momentum for the playoffs.
Hot off earning Women’s Volleyball Player of the Week honours is fourth-year middle Myah Utrosa (Brooklin, Ontario), who started 2025 strong with 12 kills, 15 digs, three assists, and three service aces in the team’s two losses against Dalhousie last weekend. Fourth-year left-side Jenna O’Neill (Cornwall, P.E.I.) also, as expected, had a solid weekend, along with rookie setter/libero Marissa O’Donnell (Fredericton, N.B.), who has shown with her elite setting abilities that she has progressed well since joining the squad.
Saturday’s game is at 2 p.m. and Sunday’s game is at 12 p.m. Watch the action live at https://acaa.tv.
Connect with the women’s volleyball ‘Canes at www.x.com/caneswvball and
www.instagram.com/caneswvball.
Women’s Basketball
The women’s basketball Hurricanes made a statement to start the second half of their regular season campaign last weekend, extending their winning streak to four games and sitting atop the conference in a tie with MSVU, each having 16 points. With their next three weekends featuring home-game doubleheaders, the squad has all the momentum in the world to be the playoff favourite.
This weekend, the St. Thomas University (STU) Tommies will trek across the Confederation Bridge for two matinees at the McMillan Centre on Saturday, Jan. 18 and Sunday, Jan. 19, looking to end a three-game losing streak and improve upon their current 3-5 record, which has them sitting fifth in the conference. Last weekend, they lost twice to MSVU on their home court. Holland has played STU once before, defeating the Tommies 79-55 in their final game of the first half of the regular season in Fredericton, N.B.
As for who’s hot for the Hurricanes, fourth-year guard Amy Plaggenhoef (Stratford, P.E.I.) couldn’t have asked for a better start to the 2025 portion of the regular season, earning Hurricanes Female Athlete of the Week and Women’s Basketball Player of the Week honours after a perfect weekend on the road in Saint John, N.B. Her 35 points across two games against UNBSJ helped her reach sixth in the conference in points with 125, and she has been an integral help to the continued dominance of fellow guard Lauren Armstrong (Canberra, Australia) and fifth-year forward Alexa Rancourt (New Dominion, P.E.I.).
The latter two are second and third in the conference in points with 161 and 145, with Armstrong just five points back of fourth-year MSVU Mystics forward Celine Sterckel. Armstrong also leads the conference in points per game with 16.1.
Saturday’s game time is at 4 p.m. and Sunday’s game is at 2 p.m. Watch live at https://acaa.tv.
Connect with the women’s basketball ‘Canes at www.x.com/caneswbball and
www.instagram.com/hurricanesbball.
Men’s Basketball
The men’s basketball Hurricanes will join the women with the first of three consecutive weekends of home-game doubleheaders this Saturday and Sunday, playing the men’s STU Tommies at the McMillan Centre.
Sitting right smack in the middle of the conference with a 5-5 record, two points back of UNBSJ for third, Holland is eager to get a consistent rhythm going as their regular season campaign continues to be filled with win after loss after win after loss.
The men’s Tommies, currently 3-5, have lost their last three games, with one coming against the Hurricanes in Dec. 2024, a barnburner 85-83 Hurricanes-winning match at the McMillan Centre. Four points behind Holland, their goal is to snag two wins and tie Holland, while the Hurricanes want to win both games to leapfrog UNBSJ for third.
Flying out of the gates to begin 2025 was, to nobody’s surprise, fifth-year guard Bryce Corless (Quispamsis, N.B.), the recent recipient of Men’s Basketball Player of the Week honours. His 37 points across two games on the road against UNBSJ helped him climb up conference statistics, where he currently sits third in points with 190, 20 back of fifth-year STU Tommies guard Noah McCarthy and 28 back of fifth-year MSVU Mystics forward Jaxon Smith. Corless is also second in the conference in points per game with 21.1, 5.2 behind McCarthy.
Saturday’s game time is 6 p.m. and Sunday’s game time is 4 p.m. Catch the action live at https://acaa.tv.
Connect with the men’s basketball Hurricanes at www.x.com/canesmbball and
www.instagram.co/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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