Schultz joins CMU volleyball's 1000-kill club
Kaitlyn Schultz is now part of a club that only 13 other Central Michigan volleyball players are a part of.
Schultz became the 14th member of the Chippewas 1,000-kill club over the weekend.
“We were a middle-driven team before she got here,” said head coach Erik Olson. “She has been a defensive impact and offensively, she is a player that every team game plans against.”
The Chippewas are 63-46 since Schultz arrived at CMU. She has earned All-Mid-American Conference honors all three years and is almost a guarantee to get a fourth this season.
“She is having her best season right now,” Olson said. “Normally she doesn’t put up great numbers until this week in the season."
This season, Schultz has 147-kills with a hitting percentage of .485, which puts her at the top of the MAC.
This weekend she recorded 31-kills, giving her 1,024 for her career. It makes her No. 13 all-time in kills at CMU, passing Julie Roberts (1978-80) who had 1,005. She is 93-kills shy of putting her in the top 10 all-time.
“It’s an honor to be in the 1,000 club now at Central,” Schultz said. “It’s pretty cool.”
Schultz has fit into Olson’s system without any problem.
“You get the ball in transition and it’s almost a guaranteed point,” Olson said. “Since her second weekend as a freshman, she has been a problem for every team.”
She doesn’t just make life easy for Olson. She is a leader on the court and is there to pick her team up when they need it most.
“She is awesome and it’s great to play next to her,” said junior right side hitter Jocelyn VerVelde. “Watching her get 1,000 was awesome and we all went crazy on the sideline.”
With teams having to plan their games around Schultz, it creates opportunities for those around her, including VerVelde. It gives her teammates a chance to step up and make a big impact.
