Denise Hanke is a German national volleyball player. She was the German champion six times with SSC Palmberg Schwerin and the vice-European champion with the national team in 2013.
Denise Hanke was born on August 31, 1989, in Berlin, Germany. Denise Hanke began her career in her hometown at the Berlin Brandenburger Sportslub. After that, she played in the youth teams VC Olympia Berlin and VC Olympia Rhein-Neckar. At the U18 European Championships in 2005, she finished fifth with the German youth women’s national team.
In 2007, Denise Hanke made her senior national team debut. In the same year, she moved to the Bundesliga club SSC Palmberg Schwerin. With the club, she became the German champion for the first time in the 2008/2009 season. She was also voted the league’s best setter and server. With the national team, she reached third place at the Grand Prix 2009. Shortly before the European Championships in Poland, however, she was dropped from the squad. In 2010, Denise Hanke finished third in the Bundesliga with SSC Palmberg Schwerin and reached the semi-finals of the cup. She was also named Elite Student of the Year and again voted the league’s best setter and server. She took part in the national team at the World Cup in Japan, which ended in seventh place for Germany.
In the 2010/2011 season, Denise Hanke became the German champion for the second time with SSC Palmberg Schwerin. However, she was not called for the European Championship 2011, which ended with a silver medal for Germany. In the next two seasons, 2011/2012 and 2012/2013, SSC Palmberg Schwerin won the league and cup double with Denise Hanke and she was named the most valuable player (MVP) of the season in both years. Since SSC Palmberg Schwerin reached the playoffs in the 2012/2013 Champions League and Denise Hanke attracted attention there with her successful serves, several top international clubs took notice. She decided to move to Turkey to Eczacibasi Istanbul. Before that, she won the Europa League with the national team in 2013. She also reached the final at the European Championships in Germany, although she only played a few games.
Denise Hanke finished fourth in the Champions League with Istanbul in the 2013/014 season but was personally less successful than before in SSC Palmberg Schwerin. In the following season, she stood in Poland for Impel Wroclaw but did not get any games. That’s why she returned to SSC Palmberg Schwerin in 2015. The 2015/2016 season ended for the setter and the club in the playoff semifinals. At the European level, there was also third place in the CEV Cup. In the 2016/2017 season, Hanke was again the German champion with SSC Palmberg Schwerin. In 2018 she also won the German championship with SSC Palmberg Schwerin. It was their sixth league title.
Denise Hanke photos
