If you are 2.05 meters tall and you play volleyball, you tend to become a middle blocker or an attacker. Australian Arshdeep “Arash” Dosanjh has chosen a different path: He became a setter, much to the luck of the BR Volleys, who have signed him for the next two months.

Since last week, the Berliners have had to do without their first setter Ángel Trinidad, who sustained a metacarpal fracture in the Champions League game against Halbbank Ankara. The captain underwent surgery on Monday and, according to managing director Kaweh Niroomand, will only start training again in four to five weeks.

Until then, however, there are a few important volleyball games on the program, for example the cup quarter-finals against second-placed Lüneburg on Thursday. “If our second setter Johannes Tille gets injured too, we won’t have anyone left. That was not an option,” says Niroomand.

So he and coach Cédric Énard explored the market, hoping to find a short-term solution, and died with Dosanjh. “It was coincidence and luck. Before that, he trained with a top Italian club and was possibly also waiting for assignments there,” says Niroomand. “That’s why it happened to be on the market and we grabbed it straight away.” First of all, the 26-year-old Australian international is only supposed to help bridge the coming months. “We are very satisfied with the combination of Tille and Trinidad. They complement each other well and there’s no need for a third player, but you never know.”

In terms of size, the volleys should be considered

He sees Dosanjh’s potential above all in his “huge size”, which is a “huge advantage” both in attack and in the block. “Because of his size, he can interpret the position very offensively, so the team is tactically more variable.” Dosanjh even knows at least one team-mate from his time with the Australian national team, namely Nehemiah Mote. “He gave us a good description of the hat, which Énard and I also thought about,” says Niroomand.

Dosanjh arrived in Berlin on Monday afternoon and now has little time to mentally and physically get involved in the first game, which takes place on Thursday. At least the rest of the team is looking forward to the game. “The mood is great,” says Cody Kessel, for example. He is particularly proud of the win against Düren in the Bundesliga, which offered some consolation for the “heartbreaking defeat” in Ankara. “We are now preparing for the important game on Thursday and are hoping for a lot of support from our home fans.”

They probably missed the volleys, which in difficult situations have often fueled energy from the loud backdrop. And especially in the cup, which the Berliners last won three years ago, they will be able to use the noise of the gossip and the cheering of the fans. In terms of size, they are superior to the players from Lüneburg: Tille and Dosanjh together measure 3.89 metres, while Jo Worsley and Hannes Gerken “only” measure 3.72 metres. But as you know, size isn’t everything.

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