Bears Sign Grad Transfer Gianna Bartalo

Bartalo’s career accolades include a Denver program record of 40 digs in a single match.

VB4/1/2024 4:33 PM | By: Cal Athletics

Defensive Specialist Was All-Summit League Honorable Mention

BERKELEY – California volleyball has signed 5-foot-7 defensive specialist Gianna Bartalo, a 2023 All-Summit League Honorable Mention and All-Summit League Tournament Team member at Denver. Bartalo will join the Golden Bears ahead of the 2024 fall season and will pursue a graduate certificate in entrepreneurship and business during her time in Berkeley.
 
“We’re thrilled to have Gianna joining us this fall,” head coach Jen Malcom said. “She had an outstanding career at Denver and brings high-level experience to the team. Her competitive drive and love for the game will fit in well with our squad, and we can’t wait to get her in the gym.”
 
A native of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Bartalo appeared in 120 matches in her four seasons with the Pioneers and led the team with more than 370 digs in each of the past three seasons. She set the program record for digs in a single match with 40 against South Dakota State in 2022 and ranked among Denver’s top-four players in both assists and aces in her final three seasons. Bartalo was a critical piece of Denver’s run to a share of the 2023 Summit League regular-season title.
 
Bartalo was a three-time 4A Colorado State champion and four-time Pikes Peak Athletic Conference champion at Lewis-Palmer High School. Following her senior season, Bartalo was named a 2019 Prep Volleyball All-American, Gazette Preps 5A/4A Peak Performer of the Year and Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) 4A Volleyball Player of the Year; she was also recognized as part of the MaxPreps Sophomore All-American Team in 2017. Off the court, Bartalo acted as the Lewis-Palmer student body president and was a member of the National Honor Society.
 
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