The SC Potsdam volleyball players are threatened with a quick end to the season in the Bundesliga after the performance slump of the past few weeks. “It’s going to be really difficult to flip the switch now,” said sports director Toni Rieger of the German Press Agency after the unexpected 0: 3 home defeat in the first quarterfinals against VfB Suhl on Saturday.
Next Saturday is the second encounter in the play-off series Best of three, then in Suhl. If the Potsdam women lose to the in-form sixth place in the table, the season is definitely over for them. If they win, they still have a chance of qualifying for the semi-finals in an all-important third game at home on April 19. “We have to somehow manage to shake up our players,” says Rieger.
The low performance of SC Potsdam in the final phase of this season is a mystery. The team led by captain Laura Emonts had suffered just one defeat in their first 16 Bundesliga games. In the meantime, the Brandenburg women were even at the top of the table. This raised vague hopes that the team might trade last season’s runners-up spot for the title of German champion this year. But the SCP has now lost four of the last six Bundesliga games.
Against Suhl, the team appeared without momentum, without self-confidence. Acceptance was one of the biggest weaknesses. “We didn’t get into the game well. Suhl was superior to us in every respect,” admitted Rieger. The SC Potsdam should have been warned. At the beginning of March, Suhl revealed the weaknesses of the SCP team in the Bundesliga main round with a 3-0 win in Potsdam. “They have now managed to defeat us twice within a month,” says Rieger angrily.
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