UCLA Women's Beach Volleyball: Star Bruin Nets Major Hardware For Off-Sand Triumph
Following a successful 2022-23 season with your UCLA Bruins women's beach volleyball team, 6'1" graduate student transfer Haley Hallgren was gifted with a new honor courtesy of the American Volleyball Coaches Association, the USMC/AVCA Battles Won Award, some hardware reserved for players who have dealt with difficult circumstances both on and off the sand, according to a UCLA press release and interview.
Hallgren has been dealing with lung cancer since her undergrad days at Michigan while playing indoor volleyball.
"When I first got to Michigan I was diagnosed with pneumonia then, after about a week and a half, my chest X-ray was clear and I was cleared to return to volleyball. Almost a month and multiple doctor visits later, I still had an aggressive cough and strained the muscles between my ribs," Hallgren said. "I went to the hospital and got the same X-ray I had two weeks before. They told me my lung completely collapsed due to a mass blocking my airway. They didn't know what it was, so I was admitted, and they did a scope surgery to remove the mass and have it tested."
"Two weeks later, I got the call… it was cancerous, and I'd likely had it for about five years. In January, I underwent surgery to remove the upper left lobe of my lung and part of the airway. I was extremely fortunate that I didn't have to undergo chemotherapy and that the surgeon was willing to attempt my surgery laparoscopically so I could continue playing."
Hallgren transferred to UCLA from USC for the 2022-23 school year, having helped power that program to a 2021 title. She earned a pair of All-Pac-12 Second-Team honors while with the Trojans.
"In March of this year I finally began to feel like myself and I owe a huge part of that to my teammates and staff at UCLA," Hallgren revealed. "I graduated in June from UCLA and traveled for most of the summer. Unfortunately, now I'm starting the job hunt and considering playing indoor overseas. Before this experience, I was super organized and probably would have had a job lined up months ago. Now I want to see what comes my way and live in the moment. That is very important to me after all of this."
Here's hoping she gets a pro opportunity overseas. All her fans from her Pac-12 days will be rooting for her, including UCLA Athletics Communications Director Ryan Finney.
"Haley Hallgren is unflappable when it comes to winning and losing on the court, and she has been mostly unfazed by her cancer, aside from the physical and mental stress it put on her," Finney said. "Her teammates and the UCLA coaching staff learned a lot from having her in the program this year. Our former Head Beach Coach Stein Metzger recently said that if he'd had Haley's mindset and determination when he was playing on the AVP Tour, he would have been a lot more successful and been a better partner."
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