Former Varsity Red Tanya Paulin is thoroughly enjoying her time playing for the Sollentuna Volleyball Club of the Swedish Elitserien.
 
The 6’2” middle from Bathurst, N.B. flew to Europe after an illustrious Atlantic University Sport career at the University of New Brunswick. Paulin first signed with a professional club in France before settling just outside of Stockholm with Sollentuna.
 
“So far I really like Sweden, and especially this club,” Paulin said in an email. “Everyone included in the Sollentuna Volleyball Club is so nice and they make you feel welcome.”
 
She has been in contact with her former coach John Richard regularly in recent weeks. It marks the first time Richard had a member of his women’s volleyball team sign with a professional organization and play volleyball for a living.
 
“I’m tremendously proud of the courage it took to take that leap of faith,” Richard said.
 
“It’s something that a lot of our former players wanted to do in the past, but no one has really taken that leap of faith and gone after it. Now she’s probably opened some doors and satisfied those questions that no one could answer for her.”
 
Paulin’s contract expires April 4^th, but can be prolonged to April 25^th if the club makes the playoffs. The top eight Elitserien teams move to the postseason and Sollentuna currently sits in the final spot at 4-9 with five matches remaining. Paulin has played in three games with the squad and helped end a four-game losing streak with a win over Svedala on January 28^th. The club is back in action on February 4^th against Hylte/Halmstad.
 
“We won our first game since I've been playing yesterday after an eight-hour bus ride so it felt good to finally win, especially after travelling for so long right before a game,” she said.
 
Paulin is making the most of her time in Sweden both on and off the court, taking in all the culture and competition. She said rooming with Team Canada member and Sollentuna teammate Britt Page has helped with the adjustment and time is flying by.
 
“The rest of the season is going to go by so fast,” she said. “I can’t believe we only have five games left plus playoffs, but it's kind of nice because I miss home a lot.”
 
Paulin helped the Varsity Reds capture two AUS titles during her time at UNB. She was also a two-time Academic All-Canadian and AUS all-star.