While still in high school and college, Hughes competed as an amateur on the domestic and international professional tours.
Her first professional tournament result was a 17th place at the 2011 Manhattan Beach Open.
In October 2012, she debuted in her first FIVB World Tour event at the $190K Bangsaen Thailand Open, where she and teammate Kaitlin Nielsen lost in the first round of the country quota qualifier.
Hughes partnered with Lane Carico to win her first international event the following year at the $8K NORCECA tournament in Boquerón, Cabo Rojo.
She made her Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) debut playing with Geena Urango at the $75K Milwaukee Open in 2014, but did not progress past the qualifying rounds.
After partnering with Kelly Claes, her results improved over the next two years, highlighted by three more NORCECA titles and two AVP semifinal appearances.

Their breakthrough came in June 2016, when Hughes and Claes narrowly lost to Olympians April Ross and Kerri Walsh Jennings with a score of 21–17, 18–21, 15–17 in the third round of the $75K AVP San Francisco Open.
Despite the loss, they eventually made it to the finals of the double-elimination tournament where they were defeated once again by A. Ross and Walsh Jennings.
Hughes and Claes were given a wild card entry into the main draw of the $400K Klagenfurt Major a month later, where they upset the top-seeded German team of Kira Walkenhorst and Laura Ludwig in the group stage, eventually finishing 17th; Walkenhorst and Ludwig would go on to win gold at the 2016 Summer Olympics a few weeks later.
While still in high school and college, Hughes competed as an amateur on the domestic and international professional tours. Her first professional tournament result was a 17th place at the 2011 Manhattan Beach Open. In October 2012, she debuted in her first FIVB World Tour event at the $190K Bangsaen Thailand Open, where she and teammate Kaitlin Nielsen lost in the first round of the country quota qualifier. Hughes partnered with Lane Carico to win her first international event the following year at the $8K NORCECA tournament in Boquerón, Cabo Rojo. She made her Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) debut playing with Geena Urango at the $75K Milwaukee Open in 2014, but did not progress past the qualifying rounds. After partnering with Kelly Claes, her results improved over the next two years, highlighted by three more NORCECA titles and two AVP semifinal appearances.
Their breakthrough came in June 2016, when Hughes and Claes narrowly lost to Olympians April Ross and Kerri Walsh Jennings with a score of 21–17, 18–21, 15–17 in the third round of the $75K AVP San Francisco Open. Despite the loss, they eventually made it to the finals of the double-elimination tournament where they were defeated once again by A. Ross and Walsh Jennings. Hughes and Claes were given a wild card entry into the main draw of the $400K Klagenfurt Major a month later, where they upset the top-seeded German team of Kira Walkenhorst and Laura Ludwig in the group stage, eventually finishing 17th; Walkenhorst and Ludwig would go on to win gold at the 2016 Summer Olympics a few weeks later.
Sara Hughes