ACAA Champions: Tommies Down Hurricanes 3-1 for Conference Crown

By: Shannon Blackmore, BA'19
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The St. Thomas University Tommies were crowned ACAA men's volleyball champions after downing the Holland College Hurricanes 3-1 in the conference final Sunday afternoon at the Lady Beaverbrook Gym.

Set scores were 26-24, 25-20, 19-25, and 25-16.

The Hurricanes struggled to contain ACAA Rookie of the Year Christian Christie, who recorded a game-high 24 kills to go along with 12 digs and two blocks. STU captain and fifth-year setter Jonah Burridge was all over the floor in the win—he assisted on 47 of the Tommies' 54 kills and picked up 12 digs and two kills.

After dropping the first two sets, the Hurricanes responded in the third. They took an early lead and never looked back, much to the credit of strong attacks from ACAA Player of the Year Brett Butler and ACAA Libero of the Year Marcus Lapointe. Butler picked up 19 kills to lead the Hurricanes' offense and Lapointe tallied 16 digs.  

The Tommies jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the fourth and deciding set and led by as many as seven points before the Hurricanes found their rhythm. The 'Canes came back to within four points of the Tommies but that was as close as they would get.

With this year's championship, the Tommies have won five of the last seven ACAA men's volleyball titles. The STU squad will represent the ACAA at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association National Championships, March 7-10 in Victoria, BC.