After an extended holiday break, the Holland Hurricanes are set to return to Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) regular season action this Friday.  It will be a busy two week stretch for the ‘Canes volleyball and basketball teams as they play a combined 18 regular season games in 17 days.

“While the extended Christmas break was indeed challenging for everyone, we are extremely excited to return to action and experience what promises to be an exhilarating end to the varsity year with playoffs and championships coming our way,” shared Director of Athletics and Recreation at Holland College, Albert Roche.

Play begins this Friday, February 18 when the women’s volleyball Hurricanes host the Mount Allison University Mounties at 6pm at the Holland College McMillan Centre for Community Engagement (MCCE) in Charlottetown.  The ‘Canes play again on Saturday, also at home, at 3:30 versus the University of New Brunswick Saint John (UNBSJ) Seawolves.

The ‘Canes return to action sitting atop the ACAA standings with an 8-1 record in 2021-22, while the Mounties enter at 7-2 and in third.  The Hurricanes earned a win on November 3 versus Mount Allison in four-sets.  This will be the first meeting with UNBSJ this season, who enter the weekend at 3-7 and in sixth.

‘Canes vet, Sam Gerbig, was excited to finally receive news that the season would continue.

“After a long winter break, we are all so excited to hit the court again at home. We’ve been doing everything since our last game in December to make sure we’re ready for the second half. Every point matters from this point on, we have five weeks to give it our all.”

The ‘Canes are also gearing up to host the 2022 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) National Championship on March 23-27 in Charlottetown, facing seven other qualifiers from across Canada.

“The women's volleyball team is looking forward to hosting the CCAA's best at the end of March, however, for now we are focused on keeping our place at the top of the conference standings in order to have home court advantage throughout the playoffs,” shared head coach Hayden Nichol. “This will give us the best chance to defend our ACAA title.”

The men’s volleyball Hurricanes return to action on Saturday at 5:30pm, also at the MCCE and versus the Université de Sainte-Anne (USTA) Dragons.

“The urge to get back onto the court has been high for everyone on our team,” shared left side, Luke Hyde. “With our shortened roster of rookies, our team is planning to bring an exciting first game back for the fans. The team has been working hard for this second half stretch and look forward to getting back playing the game we love.”

The men’s volleyball Hurricanes are hoping a strong finish to the season will give them a home-court advantage come playoff time.  They currently sit in third at 2-5 while their opponents on Saturday, the USTA Dragons, are 4-3 and in second.  In three meetings with the Dragons prior to the holidays, the Dragons earned two wins, while the ‘Canes claimed the single victory.

“After an extended winter break, the team has had an inspiring few weeks of training,” shared Nichol, who also serves as the head coach of the men’s volleyball Hurricanes.  “All season the team has been able to successfully adjust when faced with challenges on and off the court.  The final phase of the season will be no different.  If we play our best volleyball at the right times, we will be a team no one wants to match up with come playoff time.”

Completing the action this weekend is the basketball Hurricanes when they host the Crandall University Chargers at the MCCE at 2 and 4pm (women/men) on Sunday. 

The women’s basketball ‘Canes currently are 5-3 and in third place in the ACAA standings while the Chargers are 1-7 and in sixth.  The ‘Canes defeated Crandall in the only meeting so far this season on November 6 by a score of 71-59.

“We are excited to get back on the floor and play,” expressed women’s basketball head coach, Chris Connolly. “It’s been a tough stretch for everyone and we are grateful for the hard work put in to make this possible. Practices have been great and the girls are working hard to prepare for Sunday.”

‘Canes vet, Ashley Plaggenhoef, is ready to finally get back to action this weekend.

“This season has definitely been unlike any other season but we have been working hard in practice and challenging each other in order to come out and play even stronger than we did first semester.”

The men’s basketball Hurricanes enter Saturday’s game at 8-0 and in first place in the ACAA standings. The Chargers enter at 5-3 and in third and will surely be motivated to be at their best after falling to the ‘Canes on November 6 by a score of 78-76.

“We’re thrilled with the chance to resume the season and look forward to getting back on the court,” said ‘Canes head coach, Josh Whitty. “We are appreciative of all the work done by the ACAA and our Athletic Department to allow this to happen. We had a strong first semester and hope to build on that." 

Logan Rempel, guard with the Hurricanes, looks forward to seeing his team continue what they started prior to the holiday break.

“We are beyond excited to get back into competition after an extended break. We hope to hit the ground running and pick up where we left off last semester. With only four regular season games remaining, we need to make a strong push to maintain our position atop the conference standings. This would secure home court advantage for us throughout playoffs.”

In their return-to-play release, the ACAA recently announced that the 2021-2022 conference championships would not be played at set locations as in years past.  This years playoff games will be hosted by the higher-seeded team, beginning March 8. Please see the full Hurricanes court-sport schedule for the remainder of 2021-22 regular season and playoff games below.

For fans looking to follow the action live this weekend, you have several options.

• In-person. The Hurricanes home games this weekend are operating at half-capacity. Booster Club members have reserved seating, while all other fans may enter on a first-come-first-serve basis. PEI Vax Passes must be presented and masks warn at all times.
• Live broadcast. Each of the games can be viewed live for free at acaa.tv. 

• Live updates. On the run? Follow live updates from each Hurricanes home and road game at twitter.com/hc_hurricanes.

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.

Connect with the Hurricanes court-sport teams across several social media platforms here – www.twitter.com/caneswvball, www.instagram.com/caneswvball, www.twitter.com/canesmvball, www.instagram.com/canesmvball, www.twitter.com/caneswbball, www.twitter.com/canesmbball and www.instagram.com/hurricanesbball.

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For media inquiries, please contact:

Daniel Cudmore

Athletics Development and Communications Coordinator

Department of Athletics and Recreation

Holland College

(902) 894-6870

dccudmore@hollandcollege.com