Luxembourg, April 2, 2021. VakifBank Istanbul is in the Super Finals of the CEV Champions League Volley 2021, but it was by no means as straightforward as many would've thought.

A defeat at home in the first match of the semi-finals against Italy's Busto Arsizio  and Giovanni's Guidetti's side had to wait a whole week before being able to get back on the court and get their "revenge". And so they did, in quite an impressive manner, winning the return leg in straight sets and booking their place in the Super Finals, scheduled to take place on 1st May.

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The people's Champion!

Following the conclusion of the semi-final matches, the CEV gave the opportunity to fans to vote for who they believe was the Top Performer of the Round out of two top players: Conegliano's Kimberly Hill and VakifBank's Michelle Bartsch-Hackley. The 24 hours vote was carried out on all of the CEV's digital platforms and gathered 5,740 votes with a very close finish:

Kimberly Hill - 2,858 (49.8 %)

Michelle Bartsch-Hackley - 2,882 (50.2 %)

Bartsch-Hackley was once again a dominant figure on the court in the semi-finals of Europe's premiere club competition, contributing 31 points over the two matches, 4th top scorer of the Round. 

Here is how she did it!

The 31-year old American is at her second season with the Turkish giants of VakifBank Istanbul, however she is widely considered to be one of the most experienced and decorated players on the volleyball court, having managed to play and win at the highest level for club and country, including Gold in the Champions League 2021, two consecutive gold medals at the FIVB Nations League (2018, 2019) and a silver medal at the World Championship (2019 Japan).

This season, she has the opportunity of winning her second major trophy at club level as they prepare to take on Conegliano for Champions League Gold in less than a month, same as she did in 2019 when she was wearing Novara's jersey.