Five volleyball players from SSC Schwerin dropped out for the last home game of the year against Münster – including both set players. The only 16-year-old Paulina Ströh took their place in the squad and was named player of the match on her Bundesliga debut.
“I wasn’t excited at all, to be honest,” said Ströh after the 3-0 win for Schwerin, surprisingly cool and calm for a 16-year-old who had just celebrated her premiere on the big Bundesliga stage. But then she got emotional: “I can’t really put it into words, especially my MVP title. It’s really amazing!”
Player of the match on Bundesliga debut
You can hardly formulate their debut more aptly. For the home game against USC Münster, coach Felix Koslowski had to do without his regular players Pia Kästner and Pia Fernau due to illness – Ströh moved up from the second team. “I thought I’d play one or two points here,” said the captain of the German U17 team, “and then I played through.”
“I can’t even put it into words yet. It’s really amazing.”
— Paulina Ströh, SSC Schwerin
She appeared surprisingly courageous and self-confident, putting her teammates in the limelight: “I knew I could do it and I did it well,” said Ströh. So good that she immediately secured the MVP gold medal.
Only two training sessions with the team
And that despite the fact that she only found out about her assignment in the morning and had only completed two training sessions with the Bundesliga team beforehand. She was still a bit nervous and shy in the first training session, but the players accepted her well. “They told me how I could distribute the balls a bit better, that helped me,” said Ströh, “it’s really fun to play with the team.”
In order for her to feel safe on the field despite the brief preparation, coach Kosloswki also went through a few game situations with her. But he didn’t expect her to do it so confidently on the field: “Pauli did a great job, was super brave,” said the 38-year-old, who remembered long-time SSC player and former international Kathleen Weiß. who had also been thrown in at the deep end at 16. “I was hoping history would repeat itself,” said Koslowski.
Top game in Potsdam at the end of the year
And she has. With the win against their competitor Münster, the SSC consolidated third place in the table and is keeping up with the top duo. In the last game of the year, the Schwerin women face a difficult away task at leaders SC Potsdam on Saturday (5:30 p.m.).
Quite likely that Ströh will be back in the Bundesliga squad. If the two regular players are fit, she is happy to join the back: “The two Pias are doing it,” said the U17 international with a laugh. If one fails due to illness, she is happy to be ready: “I’m looking forward to what’s to come.”
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Sports current | 12/28/2022 | 09:17 am
