By Reegan MacAulay
The Holland Hurricanes are set to enter their final weekend of regular season competition for the 2024-25 collegiate athletics season. Across two days, each volleyball team and the women’s hockey squad will wrap up their campaigns at home.
Here’s what’s on the run in Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) and Atlantic Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) competition between Saturday, Feb. 15 and Sunday, Feb. 16.
The women’s volleyball Hurricanes conclude their regular season campaign with an important home-game match on Saturday against the University of New Brunswick Saint John (UNBSJ) Seawolves at the McMillan Centre.
The squad feels more comfortable heading into this weekend than last weekend. Previously, they faced the possibility of missing the playoffs and being unable to play in front of their home crowd at the 2025 ACAA Volleyball Championships. However, they made a statement and arose to the occasion by winning back-to-back games in straight sets on their home court, one featuring a season-saving comeback in the third and final set against UKC, who were tied with Holland for the final playoff spot going into the weekend.
With a guaranteed shot at championship contention heading into this weekend’s regular-season finale against UNBSJ, the goal will be to ride a high into the playoffs and await official playoff seedings. If the Hurricanes emerge victorious this weekend, they will carry a three-game winning streak (which would be their first since the season started) into their first time hosting the regionals since 2019.
While Holland is within a three-team, two-point bubble battle with STU and Dalhousie for fourth in the standings, the Seawolves are in second with a 15-4 record and five wins in their last seven games. They are 22 points ahead of Holland and chasing Mount Allison for the top spot, who are two points ahead. UNBSJ and Mount Allison each have one game remaining before the playoffs, so if the Seawolves beat Holland and the Mounties lose to MSVU this weekend, there will be a tie for first place.
The Hurricanes and Seawolves last played each other on Nov. 24, 2024 in Saint John, N.B., with UNBSJ winning 3-1 and, at the time, extending their winning streak to eight games. The second and final game of the regular season series could be a preview for the playoffs.
Multiple Hurricanes have been performing at all-time highs in recent games and have shown they’re ready to earn the program its second regional title within three years and third within six years. Third-year right-side Charlotte Sweetapple (Corner Brook, NL) and third-year middle Abby Macdonald (Charlottetown, P.E.I.) exited last weekend as heroes after clutching against
UKC on Sunday, making game-winning blocks during the team’s dramatic comeback rally from down 23-17 to up 26-24.
Fourth-year left-side Jenna O’Neill (Cornwall, P.E.I.) earned the most recent Hurricanes Female Athlete of the Week and Women’s Volleyball Player of the Week honours after recording 21 kills, 17 digs, one assist, and one service ace across two games. Rookie setter/libero Marissa O’Donnell (Fredericton, N.B.) has continued to shine and breakout in the second half of her first Hurricanes campaign, with 167 assists between Jan. 11 and Feb. 9 compared to the 36 she scored when first getting comfortable within the program in the first half.
Saturday’s game is at 5 p.m. Watch the game live at .
Connect with the women’s volleyball ‘Canes at w and .
The men’s volleyball Hurricanes will also wrap up their regular season campaign against the UNBSJ Seawolves this weekend at the McMillan Centre. While the women have one game on Saturday, the men are tasked with a doubleheader across Saturday and Sunday.
On paper, the squad has struggled in February with four consecutive losses after starting the second half in January with three straight-set victories across four games and carrying six wins within seven games. However, it must be noted that all four losses came against tough opponents, both being the conference’s two best teams, and three of the losses ended with five sets. Despite falling short in clutch performances, Holland showed lots of resilience and intensity through each game and remains a team to keep an eye on going into the 2025 ACAA Championships. As head coach Brett Butler has said multiple times, it’s all about peaking on championship weekend.
This weekend, the Hurricanes will play the Seawolves for the third, fourth and final times this season looking to defend third place, which could be tied for if UNBSJ wins both games. The Seawolves are 7-11, four points back of Holland, and recently lost back-to-back games against STU. In February, they are 2-2. Since the second half began, they’re 3-5. Holland and UNBSJ last played each other on the weekend of Nov. 23-24, 2024 in Saint John, N.B., with Holland sweeping the doubleheader.
Rookie libero Connor Daniels (Adelaide, South Australia) recently earned himself time in the spotlight as the newest Hurricanes Men’s Volleyball Player of the Week after contributing 22 digs and six assists during last weekend’s doubleheader against USTA. He currently leads the conference in digs with 146 and is second in digs per set with 2.28; he’s ahead of third-year left-side Carson Gray (Stratford, P.E.I.) in both categories, who is also second in kills with 255 and in kills per set with 3.75. Gray recorded 35 kills, 20 digs, and two assists across two games last weekend against USTA.
Saturday’s game is at 3 p.m. and Sunday’s game is at 10 a.m. Catch all action live at .
Connect with the men’s volleyball ‘Canes at and .
The women’s hockey Hurricanes are coming off their best weekend of the 2024-25 ACHA regular season, featuring a doubleheader sweep in their return to home ice against the Cape Breton University (CBU) Capers. The upcoming doubleheader offers a big opportunity for the defending back-to-back champions to end the campaign strongly and build momentum for the 2025 ACHA Championships in March, during which they will chase a historic three-peat.
The league-leading Acadia University Axewomen will visit the Hurricanes at the Eastlink Centre on Saturday and Sunday for the final two games of the two team’s six-game regular season series. The Axewomen are six points ahead of Holland, who overtook CBU for second place last weekend and have yet to lose in regulation with a 7-0-1 record. Their current six-game winning streak was extended two weekends ago with 4-1 and 7-1 victories against CBU and has been active since Nov. 2, 2024. Veteran defenseman Jenni Simpson, from Glovertown, NL, leads the team with five goals and seven assists in eight games. Goaltenders Paige Mather (5-0-0) and Emily Ritchot (2-0-1) have combined for just 12 goals against, two shutouts, a 1.73 goals-against-average, and a 0.937 save percentage after eight games.
The Hurricanes look to extend their second-place advantage over CBU, which is currently two points, and improve their 4-5-1 record; if they sweep Acadia this weekend, a four-game winning streak and a winning record (which was 2-5-1 heading into 2025) would provide a huge playoff push. They are 1-3-0 against Acadia this season, with a 2-0 loss and a come-from-behind 3-2 overtime win at home in Oct. 2024, and 3-2 and 2-1 losses on the road in Nov. 2024.
Leading the team statistically is second-year forward and captain Kristyn Taylor (Summerside, P.E.I.), who has four goals and five assists in 10 games. Although she went scoreless in regulation last weekend, she recorded multiple assists plus last Sunday’s shootout-winning goal. Rookie forward Adyson MacGillivray had a breakout weekend in the previous doubleheader, scoring her first career ACHA goal on Saturday (also the game-winning goal) and adding another on Sunday. Her performances earned her Hurricanes Women’s Hockey Player of the Week honours for the first time.
Other goal scorers last weekend who look to keep up their scoresheet presence are third-year forward Livi Lawlor (Sherwood, P.E.I.), rookie forwards Cassie Gordon (Murray Harbour, P.E.I.) and Emma Carey (Yellowknife, NWT), and second-year forwards Josee Allain (Bouctouche, N.B.) and Kailey Lutley (Stratford, P.E.I.). Fourth-year goaltender Emma Arsenault (Searletown, P.E.I.) earned both victories against CBU and enters this weekend with a 4-4-1 record, 24 goals against, a 2.67 goals-against-average, and a 0.928 save percentage; the latter stat is second-best in the league.
Saturday’s game is at 8 p.m. and Sunday’s game is at 11:15 a.m. Tune into both games live at .
Connect with the women’s hockey ‘Canes at and . For more information on the Holland Hurricanes, visit , , and .
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