BU’s Van Schaick leads nation in volleyball service aces

Binghamton University sophomore Christine Van Schaick (Babylon/Babylon) is doing something no BU volleyball player has done in 29 years. She is leading the entire country in a statistical category. The 5-10 outside hitter is averaging 1.05 service aces per game, tops among some 268 Division II programs across the nation — or more specifically, Van Schaick is the best server among more than 2,100 players.

Van Schaick, who has led the 1999 Bearcats to a 21-8 record entering the conference tournament, has 111 aces, and also leads the team in digs (3.84 per game). In the eight-team New England Collegiate Conference, she is first in aces and second in digs. She was named NECC Player of the Week on October 19, and has been named to the NECC Honor Roll two more times.

“Christine is probably our best all-around player,” first-year coach Glenn Kiriyama said. “Her serve has been very effective, and it has provided us with a lot of points. She moves way back, and serves a hard floater that other teams are almost scared to pass. If they do, they have trouble handling it, and that throws off their offense, and makes it easier for our defense to score. Christine also is our most consistent passer and defensive digger. She keeps a lot of balls in play.”

Van Schaick established a single-match school record with nine aces in a victory over St. Anselm (N.H.). She also served up eight aces against both Adelphi and Merrimack (Mass.), and has had at least five aces in 10 matches. She broke the existing season record for aces (96), and was named to the all-tournament team at UMass Lowell, and was named Binghamton’s Athlete of the Week on September 27 and again on October 18.