By Reegan MacAulay and Joshua Shwaykowski
The Holland Hurricanes fell short in claiming the ACAA championship banners this weekend as they hosted the 2025 Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) Championships at the McMillan Centre in Charlottetown. The women would fall in quarterfinal play on Friday versus the STU Tommies, while the men would also fall to the Tommies, but on Saturday in the semi-finals.
Women’s Volleyball
The St. Thomas University (STU) Tommies were the first team to achieve victory at the 2025 ACAA Volleyball Championships, taking down the hosting ÎçÒ¹av Hurricanes 3-1 in quarterfinal action on Friday afternoon in front of a big crowd at the McMillan Centre for Community Engagement.
As much as the Hurricanes fought to make a statement with a home crowd advantage and a veteran core consisting of former champions, the Tommies were far superior in remaining composed, coordinating well together, and responding to Holland’s attacks.
The Tommies couldn’t have asked for a better start to the championships, jumping out to 5-0, 13-5, and 20-11 leads in the first set. During that time, the Hurricanes were forced to call two timeouts. Despite flashes of brilliance and having a loud fan base behind them, Holland couldn’t find the momentum they needed, allowing STU to pull away and win the set 25-13.
The Hurricanes battled back early in set two with incredible resilience, pulling ahead 6-1 before a Tommies timeout. They continued to lead the way throughout the rest of the set but STU didn’t let them pull too far ahead, keeping things about five to seven points close on average. At a 21-14 Holland lead, the Tommies called another timeout. Unfortunately, that didn’t do the trick, and the Hurricanes won the set off a lethal kill by Myah Utrosa.
After exchanging the first two sets, both teams waged an all-out war in set three with points fired back and forth, intensifying the atmosphere to an all-time high and keeping fans on the edge of their seats. As each team entered double digits, the Tommies slowly gained control of the match, going on a four-point run after an 11-9 lead. Hurricanes head coach Craig Hoskins called a timeout to reset his team and calm their nerves. Although STU initially pulled further ahead afterward, a pile of errors led to Holland closing the gap to one point, forcing the Tommies to call a timeout while up 19-18. A three-point run by STU led to a Hurricanes timeout. As much as Holland tried to overtake STU, a series of attack errors and Tommies kills did them in, giving the Tommies a 25-21 set win and a 2-1 game lead.
STU’s late-set dominance continued into the fourth set as they jumped to 4-0 and 7-2 leads. Although the Hurricanes found some brief momentum and were down by one at one point (9-8), the Tommies refused to give up their lead knowing they were one set win away from a semifinal berth. Holland called a timeout while down by five at 20-15 and another at 22-15, but by then it was too late to keep themselves alive. STU ultimately won the set 25-16 and the game 3-1, clinching a spot in Saturday’s semifinals.
Kathleen Boyle was awarded Tommies Player of the Game honours after recording 13 kills, 14 digs, one assist, and two rebounds. Megan MacDonald added 12 kills, 10 digs, and four service aces, and Brooke Thompson contributed 21 digs and two assists. Jenna Murphy led the assist category with 32.
Charlotte Sweetapple earned Hurricanes Player of the Game honours with 12 kills, 15 digs, and one assist. Morgan White and Jenna O’Neill combined for 14 kills, 18 digs, one assist, and three block assists. Marissa O’Donnell led the assist category with 21.
The Tommies would go on to lose to the UNBSJ Seawolves in straight-sets on Saturday in semi-final action, before the Seawolves would drop the ACAA Championship match to the Mount Allison Mounties on Sunday in straight-sets.
Connect with the Hurricanes women’s volleyball team at and .
Men’s Volleyball
The St. Thomas University (STU) Tommies advanced to the ACAA championship game after taking down the hosting ÎçÒ¹av Hurricanes in four sets on Saturday afternoon at the McMillan Centre for Community Engagement.
The Hurricanes were looking to advance to the finals in front of their home fans but the Tommies high powered offense was simply too much for the hosts to handle.
The first set saw both teams trading points back and forth, neither side could gain a sizeable lead. The Tommies led 21-19 and forced Holland to take their first time out, the Hurricanes instantly responded with 2 straight points, tying the game at 21. STU got the next point and Holland used their final timeout to calm their nerves. Holland got the next point, and tied the game at 22, but, the Tommies took the next three points, claiming the first set 25-22.
The Hurricanes came out hot in the second set in front of their huge crowd of home fans. The support helped the Hurricanes to jump out to a 4-1 lead. The Tommies made it close by tying the set at 6-6 but the Hurricanes pulled away with a five-point run and never looked back. Taking the set 25-17 and tying the game 1-1.
The third set was close back and forth to start, but the Tommies eventually began to run away with it. The set was tied 4-4 but an 8-0 run helped give STU a commanding lead they never gave up. A timeout by Holland hoped to turn the momentum around but it was too late. While Holland never gave up with their home crowd behind them, they had no answer for the Tommies' consistent pressure and strong defense. The Tommies won the set 25- 12 and took a 2-1 lead in the game.
The fourth set started with the Tommies coming out to a commanding 5-1 lead, but the Hurricanes weren't backing down, after a timeout was called by Holland, they got six of the next ten points. Back-and-forth action continued with the Tommies maintaining a one or two-point lead until the Hurricanes eventually tied the set 16-16. The crowd was electric trying to help the hometown Hurricanes advance to the finals. The teams continued to trade points until the Hurricanes went on a 3-1 run thanks to three straight blocks from Holland’s Brett MacAusland to put the Hurricanes up 21-19. But STU didn’t falter, and they would fight back to tie the set at 24 and eventually win the set and the game.
Mason Brewster was awarded Tommies Player of the Game honours after recording 11 kills, one assist, and two digs. Dallas Melnick led the team with 17 kills while Tim Juvonen led with 26 assists.
Carson Gray earned Hurricanes Player of the Game after recording 15 kills and seven digs. Tyler McBride led the team with 27 assists while Connor Daniels led with nine digs.
The Tommies would eventually fall to the Université de Sainte-Anne Dragons on Sunday in four-sets, as the Dragons claimed the 2025 ACAA Mens’ Volleyball Championship.
Connect with the men’s volleyball Hurricanes at and .
For more information on the 2025 ACAA Volleyball Championships, visit .
Connect with the Holland Hurricanes at , , and .
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