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Earning Her Time
Nov. 5, 2009
By Larry Watts Michelle Bartsch wasn't used to missing out on any of the action. But every time if was her turn to switch to the back row during her rookie campaign with the University of Illinois volleyball team, a substitute entered the game. "I had always played back row in high school and with my club team," the Maryville, Ill. sophomore says. "It was all part of the adjustment and learning a new system and offense." A starter at right-side hitter, Bartsch seemed to have little problem making the adjustment on the front row. She earned Midwest Region and Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors after delivering 295 kills for a .195 hitting percentage and 134 blocks as the Illini advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament. "I didn't even know I was up for those awards," the 6-foot-3 Bartsch says. "The best thing about them is they brought more attention to our team. "That first year was really a learning experience. I was the only freshman out there playing and it was a little intimidating at first. I didn't really know the other girls that well, but during the preseason relationships started to form and things got a lot better. It was just a matter of learning how everyone else played and showing what I could bring to the court." Now Bartsch rarely leaves the court under first-year head coach Kevin Hamby. She has picked up all the responsibilities of a back row player, including serving. "The biggest adjustment overall is the college game is so much faster, especially in the Big Ten, than anything I have played before this," she says. "You don't actually realize how fast this game really is until you start playing in the Big Ten. All the teams we face in the preseason are pretty fast, but nothing compares to the Big Ten, especially the blocking, and that has been a hard adjustment." Because of the quicker play, Bartsch devoted a lot of time to her back row play during the spring. "The biggest thing is learning how to read tips and roll shots," she says. "I'm long enough to get them, but I had to move my feet quicker. I've gotten better at that."
The coaching staff also tried to get her to change from using a one-handed toss to a two-handed toss on her serve. "I usually use a jump float on my serves and the coaching staff thought I would have more control with a two-handed toss," she says. "But I felt awkward and it wasn't working out, so I've gone back to the one-handed toss this season." Coming out of Collinsville High School, where she scored over 1,000 points for the basketball team and also participated in swimming and track, Bartsch had quite the shopping list when it came time to make her college choice. She visited the likes of St. Louis, Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, Minnesota, Southern California and UCLA to name a few. "There were some thoughts of playing both volleyball and basketball at smaller schools, but I didn't love basketball as much as volleyball in high school," she says. "I really do miss basketball now, but I don't think I could run as much as they do in college. Pretty much all I did in high school was shoot." Bartsch actually never took an official visit. Her stops at both USC and UCLA were part of a family trip to visit her father, who was serving in the Naval Reserve in California. "My first trip was to St. Louis because it was right by my house and this (Illinois) was my second," she says. "Because of basketball, it was hard to find the time to take official trips. The only time I ever regret not going to one of the California schools is when it's negative-degrees here and I'm trying to walk to class." But the warmth from the support of Illinois fans is second to none, according to Bartsch. "Our student section has made Huff Gym one of the best places to play in the Big Ten," she says. "They go all out for the games and really want to be a part of the team as much as possible." The support in Champaign-Urbana also comes from a networking group. Each networker gets a volleyball player to exchange e-mails with during the course of the season. "It's just a nice touch to the whole atmosphere here," she says. "Just about anywhere you go around here people know you play volleyball. That networking group has really brought out the support for our team." Bartsch is majoring in kinesiology, but her goal is to play professional volleyball overseas and then go into coaching. "That's my dream plan," she says. "I don't know which country I want to play in, but I do have a lot of family on my father's side living in Austria." But for now she is just content on being part of a young Illini volleyball squad, which only has two seniors on its roster. "I think we're building a powerhouse and it's starting to show how strong we really are," she says. "We seem to have been underdogs the past couple of years, but it's a lot of fun being the underdog and then come out and cream someone." |
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