June 01, 2018

Sara Hughes Signs 10-Year Beach Volleyball Deal with Nike

Sara Hughes (23) is following in the footsteps of former Nike Beach Volleyball players including Misty-May Treanor and Gabrielle Reece, and is setting herself up for a long career in beach volleyball. 

Hughes, from Costa Mesa, California, has idolized Misty-May Treanor since she was 8, and has long aspired to have a career like hers. She grew up training in Huntington Beach under local coaches, and later joined the USC Trojans, graduating in 2017. While at USC, Hughes and her teammate Kelly Claes (22), won consecutive NCAA Beach Volleyball Championships in 2016 and 2017. Together, the duo had an overall 147 wins and 4 losses. Hughes was also a Division 1 Collegiate Beach All American in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. 

After college, the duo competed in the World Series of Beach Volleyball in Long Beach, CA, and came in third place, beating out Germany’s Kira Walkenhorst (27) and Laura Ludwig (32). In September 2017, at the Chicago Open, the pair became the youngest ever to win an Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) tournament.

In 2018 Hughes teamed up with Summer Ross (25), and the duo played their first tournament together in April. Hughes also singed a 10-year deal sponsorship deal with Nike. Both Ross and Hughes are Nike Athletes and are shaping up to be one of the most promising duos on the beach volleyball circuit.