While professional volleyball opportunities are limited in the United States, pro leagues are very popular overseas and expanding into new countries every year. For former Missouri State volleyball star Rese McNatt, who has played professionally in Spain, Austria and Slovenia, the chance to play in a new league last fall afforded her the opportunity to do something truly unique.

    McNatt spent the winter playing for Al Jazira Club in Abu Dhabi, one of six organizations in the first professional women’s volleyball league the United Arab Emirates. In addition to breaking ground by simply play in the league, McNatt is also the first American woman to play in the UAE.

    No stranger to pro success after finishing second in Austria’s pro league earlier in her career, McNatt’s team championship in the inaugural season in UAE was truly memorable for the former Bear.

    McNatt starred at Missouri State from 1999-2001, earning first-team all-Missouri Valley Conference honors two times. She was on three 20-win teams and her 390 kills as a junior ranks 21st in a season in school history. She graduated from Rosary High School in Fullerton, Calif., and transferred to MSU in 1999 after her redshirt freshman season at Northern Arizona.

    To read a full interview with McNatt, click here.