After a year without a title, the SSC Schwerin volleyball team has big plans for the new Bundesliga season. With five newcomers, the Mecklenburg women hope to dethrone the champions from Stuttgart.
At the press conference shortly before the start of the season, captain Anna Pogany was beaming and could hardly wait for the first appearance of the newly assembled team. More than six months after dropping out of the semi-finals of the Bundesliga playoffs, the record-breaking volleyball champions from Schwerin are playing their first game this season: On Saturday (7 p.m.), the SSC will be visiting Schwarz-Weiss Erfurt, who were tenth in the table last season.
“We want to go to the finals. That’s our goal for the Bundesliga and the DVV Cup.”
— SSC coach Felix Koslowski
In the DVV Cup, the North Germans will face SSC Freisen from Saarland in the round of 16 (November 13). The first appearances in the European CEV Cup with the duels against Zeleznicar Lajkovac from Serbia follow in December.
National player Pogany for the first time SSC captain
In the new season, Pogany will lead the women from Schwerin as captain for the first time. There are many reasons for that. On the one hand, according to coach Felix Koslowski, the national player is “very communicative” and has been a top performer at the Schwerin sports club since 2018. On the other hand, the rule change that Libera can be fielded as captains made her appointment as captain possible in the first place. “Anna has a lot of experience, a great standing in the team and has a high level of social skills. That’s why the decision was easy for me,” said Koslowski about the 28-year-old.
Pogany was happy about the praise and underlined: “We live certain values in the team and the team comes before the individual. I will always work for that. But I can also be exhausting, often say what I think. But I will don’t pretend, because when there are difficult phases, you need someone to lead the way. I like doing that and want to take everyone with me.”
Four players no longer there
The SSC had to reposition itself in several positions. After the retirement of the previous captain Femke Stoltenborg and Denise Imoudu, Stephanie Samedy and Symone Speech did not get a new contract with the SSC either. The squad should be strengthened by Canadian middle blocker Jazmine White, set players Pia Kästner and Pia Fernau, young player Leandra Negri and diagonal attacker Tutku Burcu. This is the first time a Turkish player has signed in Schwerin.
Attack hopes rest on the Turkish Tutku
“We are very happy that Tutku is with us. Her personality is already an asset,” emphasized Koslowski. However, the Turkish woman was absent from the pre-season for a few weeks due to back problems. The head coach is still optimistic: “We’ve seen what she’s capable of lately. But we still have to be patient. She won’t be in 100 percent form at the start of the season, but we hope that will be the case by the end of November at the latest .”
The position of the diagonal attacker has been the construction site at the SSC in recent years. After the departure of multiple volleyball player Louisa Lippmann in 2018, the club lacked consistency and quality in particular to be able to keep up with the competitor from Stuttgart. There, the SSC hopes for many points from the newcomer from Fenerbahce Istanbul.
Preparation under difficult conditions
In the twelve-week preparation for the new season, after athletic units and a training camp in Zingst, there were also a few test matches with second division teams and their league rivals in Aachen. A week before the start of the Bundesliga, the record champions also took part in a tournament in Poland and suffered two defeats against Rzeszow and the Polish champions Police. “These games were still very important for us. We only had the whole team together since October 17 because some players were still playing at the World Cup. And in Poland we played as a whole team for the first time,” explained Koslowski.
Opening opponent Erfurt should not be underestimated
The new player Kästner only arrived in Schwerin after the end of the World Cup. “Of course I wish we had a little more time to get used to things better, but I’ve been given a very warm welcome here. I also know a lot of people from the national team,” said Kästner, who last played in France. The 24-year-old is optimistic about the opening game in Erfurt: “Erfurt had all the players with them in preparation and shouldn’t be underestimated, but our goal is to take three points.”
Pogany, who can still clearly remember the botched start of the season a year ago, found warning words: “Back then we started really badly in the Bundesliga with three defeats and only a narrow win in Erfurt was the turning point at the time.” The untitled season still rankles for the international. As an athlete, she always wants to win titles and therefore puts her heart and soul into every training session in order to be successful.
Teammate Anne Hölzig is aggressive: “Schwerin’s goal is always to become German champion. We want to beat everyone and then we’ll see what’s possible.” Coach Koslowski is a little more cautious when it comes to the goals for the season: “We want to go to the finals. That is our claim for the Bundesliga and the DVV Cup. We are aware that Stuttgart is the measure of all things. But in a possible final then anything can happen and Stuttgart isn’t unbeatable either.”
Anticipation of the converted hall
Even if the focus is on the start in Erfurt, the anticipation for the first home game on November 5th is already great. Then the construction work in the Schwerin Arena should be completed. In the past twelve months, among other things, a new grandstand has been installed and a larger VIP room created.
“It’s great to see the new grandstand, but above all we’re happy not to hear the construction noise with the machines and saws during the training sessions,” said the coach. “We also have new offices, more space for our physiotherapist. Well, I think it’s a win for everyone and we’re happy to be able to celebrate with our fans in the new hall.”
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North Magazine | 10/27/2022 | 19:30 o’clock
