By Reegan MacAulay
The Holland Hurricanes head into a weekend filled with multiple battles against the Crandall University Chargers at home and on the road, as well as a cannot-miss Friday night showdown against a league-leading team at the McMillan Centre.
Here’s what’s to come in Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) competition between Friday, Jan. 24 and Sunday, Jan. 26.
Women’s Volleyball
The women’s volleyball Hurricanes turned a ship of mediocre play and tough luck in the right direction last weekend with a pair of crucial straight-set victories. They look to push forward with momentum and positivity going into a pair of matches on Friday. Jan 24 and Saturday, Jan. 25.
To start the weekend run, which concludes the January portion of the regular season, Holland has one of, if not the most important match of the season to prepare for on Friday, as the league-leading Mount Allison Mounties return to the McMillan Centre for the first time since Nov. 15, 2024. On Saturday, it’s one extreme to the next, as the Hurricanes will head to Moncton, N.B. to challenge the eighth place Crandall University Chargers.
It’s been a heck of a campaign for the Mounties, who remain unstoppable since the start of the season. After losing their season-opening game against UKC on Oct. 26, they’ve won a whopping 13 consecutive games, with seven of them being straight-set victories. Since their only loss, they’ve lost more than one set just once. Against the Hurricanes, they won both games in Nov. 2024, 3-1 on the road and 3-0 at home. A player to keep an eye on will be Charlottetown’s very own Marie Fogarty, a fourth-year middle who leads the conference with a .403 hitting percentage and has been consistently strong in kills and digs all season.
On the opposite side of the conference are the Chargers, who started the season with a 3-2 record after five games but, even with some players leading multiple conference statistics, have since been on an eight-game losing skid. They started the season with back-to-back straight-set losses against the Hurricanes and will look for a “third time’s the charm” result this Saturday.
As for Holland, riding the momentum train at high speeds is fourth-year left-side Jenna O’Neill, who earned the most recent Hurricanes Female Athlete of the Week honours for multiple fantastic performances in Halifax, N.S. last weekend. Fellow fourth-year talents in left-side Morgan White (Charlottetown, P.E.I.) and middle Myrah Utrosa (Brooklin, Ontario) remain powerful since the start of the new year, along with rookie libero Erica Correard (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).
Friday’s game is at 6 p.m. and Saturday’s game is at 4 p.m. and can be seen 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 are back in action after taking the previous weekend off. They are more ready than ever, carrying a five-game winning streak, three of which were straight-set matches, going into this Saturday’s road trip matinee in Moncton, N.B. against the men’s Crandall University Chargers.
It’s not just the women’s Chargers struggling, as the men also have experienced plenty of loss for most of their regular season campaign. While the men have three wins versus the women’s one, their most recent win was their only one in the last 10 games. Recently, they lost in straight sets to the STU Tommies. The previous time Crandall played Holland was, like the women, at the season’s start, losing 3-2 and 3-0. Take note that, after Saturday’s game, the two teams will have a rematch in Moncton on Wednesday, Jan. 29.
As for the Hurricanes, they fell out of the second-place conference tie with STU this past weekend since the Tommies played and they didn’t; however, since STU is on break this weekend, they will be hot on their heels to reel them back toward them with a win and two points going into the weekend after, when the two teams will battle a doubleheader war in Fredericton, N.B. to begin February.
Based on the team’s previous doubleheader, keep an eye on third-year left-side Carson Gray (Stratford, P.E.I.), second-year left-side Dominik Pineau (Cornwall, P.E.I.), and second-year middle Brett MacAusland (Summerside, P.E.I.), who all played phenomenal together across the team’s two victories against Dalhousie. Third-year left-side Jonathan Hyndman (Stratford, P.E.I.) also impressed, particularly in Saturday’s match with seven kills and four digs. While rookie libero Connor Daniels (Adelaide, Australia) was quiet statistically, he remains the conference leader in digs (93) and digs per set (2.38).
Saturday’s game is at 2 p.m. and will be free to view online 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 league-leading women’s basketball Hurricanes seek to move on from an uncharacteristic weekend that included an end to their five-game winning streak after losing to STU on Sunday at the McMillan Centre.
The opportunity to return to their true form comes this weekend with a home-game doubleheader against the Crandall University Chargers, who recently ended an 11-game losing streak to start the season with a huge win against UNBSJ. Sitting at the bottom of the conference with just one win across 12 games and two points, their goal will be to catch up to UNBSJ and the STU Tommies to claim one of the final playoff spots. Leading the charge for Crandall has been second-year center and hometown hero Kelsey Alward, who leads the conference in rebounds per game with 10.3 and is seventh in points with 137, just one behind fourth-year guard Amy Plaggenhoef (Stratford, P.E.I.). The Chargers last played Holland on Nov. 15, 2024, losing 83-56 in Moncton, N.B.
As for the Hurricanes, who are tied with Mount Allison for the conference lead with 18 points, their top players were, despite the results, solid last weekend but must boost their intensity back up, particularly the trio of Plaggenhoef, fifth-year forward Alexa Rancourt (New Dominion, P.E.I.), and third-year guard and conference points leader Lauren Armstrong (Canberra, Australia). A notable storyline to start 2025 has been the impressive progression by rookie guard Karissa George (New Glasgow, N.S.), whose recent Hurricanes Women’s Basketball Player of the Week honours are just one of many great things she has accomplished since she transitioned from the soccer field late in 2024. Since the start of 2025, she has recorded 24 points, a 10-for-28 field-goal record, and a 4-for-13 free-throw record across four games.
Saturday’s game is at 2 p.m. and Sunday’s game is at 1 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 can finally say they’re on the up and up after a turbulent first half of the regular season, as they carry back-to-back wins from last weekend along with three wins in four games to start the new year into a McMillan Centre doubleheader this weekend against the men’s Crandall University Chargers.
The men’s Chargers, who are tied with Holland for third in the conference with 14 points and have the same record of 7-5, have been trending downward since 2025 began with three losses across four games. After a first half where the team went 6-2 between October and November, they hope a pair of wins while invading Holland’s home court will fire them back up. This weekend’s doubleheader is expected to be a must-watch one as, in the last match between the two teams back on Nov. 15, 2024 in Moncton, N.B., the Hurricanes barely stole the win in the closing minutes 79-71.
Both teams have an opportunity this weekend to leapfrog UNBSJ for second in the conference whilst in a chase to catch the undefeated, 11-0 MSVU Mystics. The momentum will be on Holland’s side, on paper, with them having won their last two games and Crandall having lost their previous two games.
Hot off simultaneously earning Hurricanes Male Athlete of the Week and Men’s Basketball Player of the Week honours after last weekend’s games is third-year guard Dorrell Bedminster (Hamilton, Ontario). He has made an enormous impact since first joining the Hurricanes earlier this month with 34 points, an 11-for-27 field-goal record, a 2-for-7 three-point record, a 10-for-13 free-throw record, 23 rebounds, 19 assists, and six steals across four games thus far. Alongside his contributions to the squad comes the chase for the conference lead in points by fifth-year guard Bryce Corless (Quispamsis, N.B.), who is now 25 points back of STU Tommies star Noah McCarthy. Corless has been on an upward trend since the new year began, having recorded 82 points, a 29-for-56 field-goal record, a 12-for-23 three-point record, a 12-for-17 free-throw record, 24 rebounds, eight assists, and nine steals in four games so far.
Saturday’s game is at 4 p.m. and Sunday’s game is at 3 p.m. Both will be available to watch 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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