By Reegan MacAulay
The Holland Hurricanes were in action with multiple games and matches in Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) volleyball and basketball play this past weekend. Here’s what happened between Friday, Nov. 8 and Sunday, Nov. 10.
Women’s Volleyball
The women’s volleyball Hurricanes narrowly avoided an upset by the winless Dalhousie Rams in Truro, N.S. on Saturday, barely earning their fourth win of the season in a fifth set.
Holland started the game by jumping out to a 6-1 lead, forcing a Rams timeout. Dalhousie struck back to close the gap to two at 11-9 Hurricanes, forcing Holland to call a timeout. Another timeout occurred with the Hurricanes up 21-16, but Dalhousie was unable to mount another comeback, which led to a 25-17 Hurricanes first set win.
The second and third sets both saw 25-19 scores in favour of the Rams, as they turned things around whilst the competition remained very close. Dalhousie went up as high as 15-5 in the second set, but Holland had a massive surge to bring the score to 19-17 ahead of a Rams timeout, which put the momentum back in Dalhousie’s favour. The third set featured a back-and-forth melee which Dalhousie slowly took advantage of, forcing a Hurricanes timeout while up 16-11. After a Rams timeout at a 20-17 score, Dalhousie sailed away with yet another set win.
The Hurricanes regained their footing in the fourth set, jumping out to a 10-3 lead ahead of a Rams timeout. Seeking their first win of the season, Dalhousie crawled back to close the gap to two at a 19-17 score, forcing Holland to call a timeout. The Hurricanes then pulled away to force a fifth and final set, winning 25-18.
In a dramatic and nail-biting fifth set, the Rams had an outstanding start, going up 5-2, forcing a Hurricanes timeout. The timeout wouldn’t do much at first as Dalhousie pulled further ahead at 8-2, but after each team swapped sides, Holland suddenly found momentum and battled back as much as they could. Down 14-10 and with Dalhousie one point away from a win, the Hurricanes rallied to tie the set 14-14 in unbelievable fashion. After a crucial kill by fourth-year left-side Jenna O’Neill (Cornwall, P.E.I.) to make the score 15-14 Hurricanes, one of the craziest volleyball sequences anyone has ever seen occurred, with at least 40 seconds of hits, blocks, and saves from each side. Sealing the deal was a Dalhousie save which flew out of bounds, giving Holland the match win.
Third-year right-side Charlotte Sweetapple (Corner Brook, NL) had her best game of the season up to this point, recording 14 kills and 11 digs. Fourth-year left-side Morgan White (Charlottetown, P.E.I.) continued her dominance as one of the conference’s most elite players, scoring 14 kills, 22 digs, and eight service aces, while second-year setter Hannah Power (Corner Brook, NL) contributed two kills, eight digs, and 42 assists.
Holland improved to 4-1 and is now tied with UNBSJ for the conference lead, while Dalhousie dropped to 0-5 and remain at the bottom of the standings. The Hurricanes return to action with a home-and-away-game split next weekend, beginning with a McMillan Centre evening match on Friday, Nov. 15 against the Mount Allison Mounties, and ending with a Sunday morning showdown in Pointe-de-l’Eglise, N.S. against the winless Université de Sainte-Anne Dragons.
The game times are 6 p.m. and 11 a.m. and can be viewed 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 came out of the weekend with a win and a loss in a road trip doubleheader against the Dalhousie Rams in Truro, N.S.
The doubleheader began on Friday night with the Rams setting a competitive tone early, jumping out to a 10-5 lead ahead of a Hurricanes timeout, and pulling ahead 15-8 before another Holland timeout. Neither timeout worked as Dalhousie surged to a 25-17 first set win. The second set saw an explosive start from the Hurricanes, who jumped out to a 5-1 lead, but not long after, the Rams came back to tie the set 8-8. After some more action from each side, Holland slowly widened the gap and led 14-11 ahead of a Rams timeout. From there, despite a strong effort from Dalhousie, the Hurricanes held on to tie the game 1-1 with a 25-22 set win.
The third set saw a heavyweight battle between both teams until, after the set was at an 11-11 tie, the Rams steadily took a 14-12 lead, and Holland called a timeout. After some more point exchanging from each side, Dalhousie eased ahead yet again, forcing a Hurricanes timeout while up 20-16, which was unable to stop the Rams, who walked away with a 25-21 set win and a 2-1 match lead. Despite a valiant effort by Holland in the fourth and final set, especially in the late stages (down 19-14 to down 24-23), one final kill by Dalhousie gave the Rams their second win of the season.
On Saturday, the competition saw a rapid change and an improved Hurricanes squad. While things started on a roller coaster, with Holland leading 6-1 but a Rams timeout getting the score to 11-9, 17-16, and 21-21, a late surge with four consecutive points helped the Hurricanes to a first set win. The second set featured similar competition until Holland pulled ahead 16-9 and 21-10 ahead of a Rams timeout, and eventually held on 25-14. The third set was nearly a replica of the first set, with a great start and a sudden loss of momentum for Holland, but it didn’t take long for the Hurricanes to assert dominance and control the rest of the set, hanging on 25-17 for a straight-set game victory.
Third-year left-side Carson Gray (Stratford, P.E.I.) and second-year left-side Dominik Pineau (Cornwall, P.E.I.) each led the Hurricanes with a combined total of 42 kills and 16 digs. Third-year setter Tyler McBride (Oakville, Ontario) added 30 assists and six digs.
Holland dropped to 2-3 after Friday but improved to 3-3 after Saturday, putting them in a tie with the STU Tommies for second in the conference. Dalhousie improved to 2-3 after Friday but dropped to 2-4 after Saturday, putting them in a tie with Crandall for fourth in the conference.
The Hurricanes will now prepare for yet another road trip doubleheader next weekend, with matches against the league-leading and undefeated USTA Dragons in Pointe-de-l’Eglise, N.S. on Saturday, Nov. 16 and Sunday, Nov. 17.
Matches will take place at 6pm and 1pm and can be viewed 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 dominated the winless University of New Brunswick Saint John (UNBSJ) Seawolves en route to an 86-49 win at the McMillan Centre on Sunday afternoon.
The game started with massive individual performances by fifth-year forward Alexa Rancourt (New Dominion, P.E.I.) and rookie guard Vantaya Talbot (Truro, N.S.), who helped their squad jump out to an 11-1 lead. However, the Seawolves suddenly turned things around and closed the gap to four by the end of the first quarter, with the final score being 19-15. The second quarter is what won the game for Holland, as a 20-0 run with contributions from nearly every player gave the Hurricanes a 52-25 lead at halftime; they outscored UNBSJ 33-10 in the quarter alone. Despite a closer effort in the third and fourth quarters by UNBSJ, the game had become completely out of reach at halftime, as Holland comfortably held on for their second win of the season.
Third-year guard Lauren Armstrong (Canberra, Australia) led the Hurricanes for the first time this season, recording 18 points, six rebounds, two assists, and three steals; she also capitalized on both of her three-point shot attempts. Fourth-year guard Amy Plaggenhoef (Stratford, P.E.I.) contributed 16 points, five rebounds, and two assists, and was successful on four of her seven three-point shot attempts. Rancourt added 13 points, five rebounds, two assists, and four steals. Talbot and fellow rookie guard Nykeva Wilson-Brown (Halifax, N.S.) each had strong showings with a combined total of 15 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and six steals.
Holland improved to 2-1, placing them in a three-way tie for third in the conference, while UNBSJ dropped to 0-4, keeping them at the bottom of the standings alongside Crandall.
The Hurricanes will return to the court with a New Brunswick road trip next weekend, visiting the winless Crandall University Chargers in Moncton, N.B. on Friday, Nov. 15 and the 4-1 Mount Allison Mounties in Sackville, N.B. on Sunday, Nov. 17. The game times are 6 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Watch every ACAA basketball regular season game 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 were unable to overcome a big start by the UNBSJ Seawolves, who held on for a 92-78 win at the McMillan Centre on Sunday afternoon.
UNBSJ jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, forcing the Hurricanes to call a timeout, which wouldn’t do much as the Seawolves led 29-19 at the buzzer. In the second quarter, Holland put in an outstanding effort to take a 32-31 lead, but the Seawolves attacked back hard with a 15-2 run thanks to multiple three-pointers; they pulled away for a 52-40 lead at halftime. The Hurricanes tried again in the third quarter, closing the gap to as little as four points (63-59), but that’s the best they could do. UNBSJ held a slightly better advantage in the fourth and final quarter, hanging on for their third win of the season.
Fifth-year guard Bryce Corless (Quispamsis, N.B.) led the Hurricanes with 24 points, nine rebounds, one assist, and one steal. Second-year forward Owen Parsons (Hebbville, N.S.) recorded 17 points, six rebounds, and two assists.
Holland dropped to 1-2, putting them in a tie with Mount Allison for fifth in the conference, while UNBSJ improved to 3-1, putting them in a three-way tie with MSVU and Crandall for the league lead.
The men will join the women next weekend in Moncton, N.B. on Friday, Nov. 15 to take on the men’s 3-1 Crandall University Chargers and Sackville, N.B. on Sunday, Nov. 17 to challenge the men’s 1-4 Mount Allison Mounties. The game times are 8 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Watch both men’s basketball games 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.x.com/hc_hurricanes, www.facebook.com/hollandhurricanes and www.instagram.com/hollandhurricanes.
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