Sara Hughes

Sara Hughes
Personal information
Full nameSara Elizabeth Hughes
National teamUnited States of America
Born (1995-02-14) February 14, 1995 (age 29)
Long Beach, California, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Southern California
Years active2011–present
Height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)[1][2]
Sport
SportBeach volleyball
College teamUSC Trojans
Intercollegiate Athletic ConferencePac-12
Turned pro2017
Partner(s)Kelly Cheng (2022–present, 2013–18)
Former partners
Coached byJosé Loiola (2016–present)[3]
Achievements and titles
Highest world rankingNo. 2 (August 23, 2023)
Medal record
Women's beach volleyball
Representing the  United States
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2023 Tlaxcala Beach
World Tour Finals
Gold medal – first place 2022 Doha Beach
World Tour
Gold medal – first place 2018 Moscow Beach
Gold medal – first place 2020 Siem Reap Beach
Gold medal – first place 2021 Rubavu Beach
Gold medal – first place 2022 Itapema Beach
Gold medal – first place 2022 Torquay Beach
Gold medal – first place 2022 Torquay Beach
Gold medal – first place 2023 Tepic Beach
Gold medal – first place 2024 Ostrava Beach
Silver medal – second place 2023 Gstaad Beach
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Espinho Beach
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Yangzhou Beach
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Itapema Beach
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Doha Beach
U21 World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Larnaka
U19 World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Porto

Sara Elizabeth Hughes (born February 14, 1995)[4] is an American beach volleyball player. With teammate Kelly Cheng she achieved a career-high world ranking of No. 2 in August 2023. Hughes has won six tournaments on the AVP Pro Tour and seven gold medals, one silver medal, and three bronze medals on the FIVB World Tour/Pro Beach Tour.

Hughes began her beach volleyball training in Huntington Beach, California, at the age of eight. As a junior, she partnered with Cheng to win bronze medals at the 2013 U19 and 2014 U21 World Championships. Her partnership with Cheng continued through college, where the pair won 103 consecutive collegiate matches and led the USC Trojans to back-to-back NCAA Championships in 2016 and 2017. Soon after turning professional in mid-2017, Hughes and Cheng became the youngest team to win an AVP event when they won the season-ending Championship. Hughes split from Cheng in early 2018 and teamed up with Summer Ross. In their first year playing together, Hughes and Ross won their first World Tour title and entered the top ten of the world rankings. Hughes re-partnered with Cheng in late 2022, winning several Beach Pro Tour events including the Finals in Doha in January 2023.[5]

Hughes is a right-side defender and has been noted for her speed and willingness to chase down balls. She is the 2017 FIVB Top Rookie.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference majorteam was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "AVP Athletes: Sara Hughes". Association of Volleyball Professionals. Archived from the original on October 11, 2017. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference loiola was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "2017 USC Beach Volleyball Roster: Sara Hughes". USC Trojans. Archived from the original on October 8, 2017. Retrieved October 8, 2017.
  5. ^ "Wild cards Hughes & Cheng claim historic Beach Pro Tour title". Volleyball World. January 29, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2023.