Lasell volleyball player gets second chance after senior season is cut short by COVID
NEWTON, Mass. (BVM) — Scott Sterenberg started playing volleyball in eighth grade. This was the start to a long playing career. However, his last season as a college athlete was cut short just as quickly as his career started.
After playing the first three years of his college career with Lasell University, Sterenberg thought he would have a good senior season filled with wins and laughs. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Sterenberg鈥檚 final season as a Laser was a memorable one for all the wrong reasons.
COVID struck the country and ended what Sterenberg thought would be his ride off into the sunset. When he found out the season was canceled, many thoughts and emotions ran through his head.听
鈥淲ow, I kind of got screwed this year,鈥� Sterenberg said. 鈥淚’m not going to be able to finish out my career the way I wanted to.鈥�
Unlike his senior season of college, Sterenberg鈥檚 final year of high school in Oceanside, N.Y. was a successful one. He was recruited during his senior year and Lasell was one of the programs that had its eyes on Sterenberg. Luckily for Sterenberg and the Lasers, they had a good first meeting.听
鈥淟asell caught me at the best game I ever played,鈥� Sterenberg said. Although he was skeptical of Lasell at first, he visited campus and fell in love with what the school and campus are about.
Sterenberg鈥檚 freshman year started out great. He was named a starter as a freshman and his team went on to be ranked No. 6 in the country. His sophomore and junior seasons were similar, sending him and the Lasers on an upward trend. But no one could have predicted what was to come. COVID-19 swept across the country, bringing most if not all sports to a complete halt, including Sterenberg鈥檚 senior season with the Lasers.
It was a hard pill to swallow for Sterenberg, who felt he might have played his last game and was disappointed that he couldn’t finish his career the way he wanted to. His only choice was to stay patient and hope that he would get another chance.听
Eventually, Sterenberg found out that he would still be deemed eligible by the NCAA to play another season.听
鈥淎s soon I found out I got my eligibility back, my big goal was to change gears,鈥� Sterenberg said.听
With a changed mindset, Sterenberg started looking at the positives. He鈥檚 in the process of obtaining his master鈥檚 degree, which adds another challenge into the mix, but he can’t pass up the opportunity to get his senior season back.听
Although the path toward playing again looks good for Sterenberg, his final season won’t feel official until it starts.听
鈥淚’m really hoping that chance stays open,鈥� he said.听
Practices have begun, which gives him some feeling of some normalcy and helps his mind stay positive that the season will happen as planned, and he鈥檚 looking forward to coming back playing one more year with his teammates.听
鈥淭he only person who was going to leave last year was me, so we have the exact same squad plus a couple new guys,鈥� Sterenberg said. 鈥淚’m looking forward to having my last hurrah with the upcoming seniors. 鈥β� I’m expecting a nice finish. We have a really good young team with a lot of potential and I’m thankful for the opportunity I wouldn’t get otherwise.鈥�
Sterenberg received a second chance many wouldn’t even need, not to mention think about or experience. Ever since the pandemic began, volleyball has been a rollercoaster of emotions for Sterenberg. A second chance at his last season is an opportunity that he won’t take for granted.听
