[3] Michelle Bartsch's career began at Collinsville High School in Illinois, where she excelled at basketball, swimming and track and field.

Bartsch-Hackley was named an alternate to the U.S. volleyball team at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

She used this as motivation to earn a spot in the future Olympic Games, as she said in July 2021 "I think after being an alternate in 2016 I grew hungrier because I was so close at that time.

[8] In May 2021, she was named to the 18-player roster for the FIVB Volleyball Nations League tournament [9] played May 25-June 24 in Rimini, Italy.

[11] On August 8, 2021, she won a gold medal as a member of the U.S. women's volleyball team that defeated Brazil 3–0 in the final match.

[13] On April 12, 2022, Bartsch-Hackley announced that she will take a break after the 2022 club season concludes and will leave volleyball indefinitely through at least January 2023.

[16] Her brother, Andrew Bartsch, is married to Kelsey Card, who competed in the Tokyo Summer Olympics in the discus throw.