USA Volleyball’s 2017 Female Indoor Most Improved Player of the Year Michelle Bartsch-Hackley may be taking her talents to South America as the 6-3 outside hitter as many reports state that she is in negotiations with Camponesa Minas in the Brazilian league.
The Illinois alumna played the 2017-18 season with UYBA Busto Arsizio in the Italian league. She first came to Italy in 2016-17 as a member of Neruda Bolzano in Serie A1.
Bartsch-Hackley has also had pro stints in Puerto Rico (Llaneras de Toa Baja, 2012) and Germany (Rote Raben Vilsbiburg 2013-14; Dresdner Sportclub, 2014-16). With Dresdner, the outside won the German Bundesliga title in 2014-15 and the German Cup in 2015-16.
Bartsch-Hackley was an alternate for the U.S. team at the 2016 Olympics and was a member of Team USA’s gold medal squad at the 2017 Pan American Cup and bronze medal team at the FIVB World Grand Champions Cup in Japan.
As a collegian, Bartsch was a three-time All-American, earning AVCA third team accolades in 2010 and 2011 and honorable mention selection in 2009. The Maryville, Illinois, native was the 2008 AVCA Mideast Freshman of the Year after earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year nods.
Campeona Minas plays in the Brazilian Superleague, finishing third behind Praia Clube and Sesc with a 16-6 record in 2017-18. The squad featured two Americans in 2017-18 with opposite Destinee Hooker and outside Sonja Newcombe.
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