By Reegan MacAulay
The Holland Hurricanes volleyball and basketball teams continue their November run with multiple road trips and two final home games at the McMillan Centre this weekend ahead of the December break.
Here’s what to expect in Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) competition between Friday, Nov. 8 and Sunday, Nov. 10.
Women’s Volleyball
The women’s volleyball Hurricanes are coming off an eventful weekend when they dealt with two matches that each required a fifth set.
This Saturday, the team will prepare for a road trip to Truro, N.S. to take on the winless Dalhousie Rams. Dalhousie has yet to win a game after four previous attempts, and each of their four losses saw straight-set results. Sitting at the bottom of the conference behind eight other teams, the Rams are ready to play their second home game of the season, which will be their first match against Holland.
The Hurricanes are in a much better spot, currently tied for the conference lead with UKC and UNBSJ, although Holland has played one more game compared to the other team’s three each. Up until the third set against STU last Saturday, it looked to be three consecutive games with straight-set victories, which was denied by the Tommies. Coming off a tough loss to MSVU, the Hurricanes will look to rebound versus the Rams this Saturday in Nova Scotia, but, as they say, never underestimate the underdog.
Fourth-year left-side Morgan White (Charlottetown, P.E.I.) has been unstoppable regardless of her squad’s results, as her 26 kills, 28 digs, and 12 rebounds across last weekend’s two games earned her Hurricanes Female Athlete of the Week honours. Her fellow fourth-year teammates, including left-side Jamie Spencer (Fort Frances, Ontario) and middle Myah Utrosa (Brooklin, Ontario), have been just as energetic and lethal on the court whilst carrying the fort.
Saturday’s game time is 2 p.m. Watch the match live at https://acaa.tv.
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 will be desperate to reclaim their season-opening momentum on the road this weekend after recording back-to-back straight-set losses against familiar foes from last year’s ACAA Championships semifinals last weekend.
While the team was at their best to begin the season with 3-2 and 3-0 wins against Crandall at the McMillan Centre, a failure to come out of the recent weekend with either a doubleheader sweep or an even split against STU will have the squad hungry to show more than just flashes of brilliance, pick up the consistency, and show off their true firepower.
This Friday and Saturday, joining the women’s team, the men will also visit Truro, N.S. to take on the men’s Dalhousie Rams, except they will play a doubleheader compared to the women’s one game on Saturday. The men’s Rams have fared slightly better than the women, as after starting their season on a high note with a close 3-2 win against UNBSJ, they went on to lose three consecutive straight-set matches, which has them sitting two points behind Holland in the conference; Holland is tied for second with Crandall, while Dalhousie is tied with UNBSJ for fifth.
Third-year left-side Carson Gray (Stratford, P.E.I.) has been on fire statistically, adding 19 kills and 10 digs to his totals in last weekend’s two games, but what will be on his mind going into this Saturday is helping his team come together to play on his level. Second-year middle Brett MacAusland (Summerside, P.E.I.) earned Hurricanes Men’s Volleyball Player of the Week honours after recording eight kills, three digs, and two service aces. Despite last weekend’s losses, he noticeably picked up his performance and produced strong kills.
Friday’s game time is 7 p.m. and Saturday’s game time is 4 p.m. Watch both matches on the road live at https://acaa.tv.
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 look to rebound after a roller coaster of a game against the MSVU Mystics last Friday, which saw Holland’s early domination in front of a packed McMillan Centre get squashed and turned into a 79-68 loss, which was their first of the season.
This Sunday, they look to get back on the winning track with their final game at home until January 2025, which will then be followed by five consecutive away games. The University of New Brunswick Saint John (UNBSJ) Seawolves will come to town for the first time this season in what will be their first of four straight road games. It’s been a rough start for the Seawolves with zero wins and three losses, and each of them seeing UNBSJ fail to score any more than 53 points.
The Hurricanes have seen most of their contributions so far come from their elite veteran core, with third-year guard Molly Steadman (Coldbrook, N.S.) in particular recently earning Hurricanes Women’s Basketball Player of the Week honours and sitting second in the conference with 18 points per game.
Reigning ACAA Player of the Year and fifth-year forward Alexa Rancourt (New Dominion, P.E.I.) and third-year guard Lauren Armstrong (Canberra, Australia) have had slow starts but have plenty of time to turn things around and have still been noticeable in the rebound category. Rookie guard Karissa George (New Glasgow, N.S.) has been steadily progressing over to the basketball court after a solid first women’s soccer campaign, getting her feet wet last Friday with four points and 25 minutes played in the loss against MSVU.
Sunday’s game time is 1 p.m. and will be 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 would love nothing more than to regain what they experienced and showed in their home-opening game in late October.
Coming off a valiant effort in a 104-92 loss against MSVU, which saw multiple players step up with the absence of reigning ACAA leading scorer and fifth-year guard Bryce Corless (Quispamsis, N.B.), the squad joins the women with their own final home game of the 2024 portion of the season, welcoming the men’s UNBSJ Seawolves to the McMillan Centre on Sunday.
The men’s Seawolves have had a different story to begin their campaign compared to the women, starting their run with a close loss against STU but turning things around with big wins against Mount Allison and UKC. Just like the women, this Sunday’s game will also be their first of a four-game road trip between this weekend and the weekend of Nov. 23-24, with it being their first against Holland this season.
Regardless of game results, second-year guard Aaron Simmons (Nassau, Bahamas) couldn’t have asked for a better start to his sophomore season with the Hurricanes, as he currently sits third in the conference with 52 points and also leads the conference with 26 points per game. Other sophomores including forward Owen Parsons (Hebbville, N.S.) and guard Michael Surur (Calgary, Alberta) have also impressed, particularly in the field goal and three-point percentage categories. Third-year guard Tyrell Casimir has quietly put himself in the conference lead with an 85.7 field goal percentage.
Sunday’s game time is 3 p.m. and will be live at https://acaa.tv.
Connect with the men’s basketball ‘Canes at www.x.com/canesmbball and www.instagram.com/hurricanesbball.
For more information on the Holland Hurricanes, please visit www.hollandhurricanes.com, www.facebook.com/hollandhurricanes, www.x.com/hc_hurricanes and www.instagram.com/hollandhurricanes.
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