Reigning world champion Sara Hughes will return to beach volleyball action after her long injury-prompted absence with a new partner. The 30-year-old American defender has teamed up with professional volleyball player Ally Batenhorst, who is giving up her indoor career, so that the newly formed duo gets off on a quest for Los Angeles 2028 Olympic qualification, as they revealed to NBC.
In partnership with Kelly Cheng, Sara Hughes triumphed at the 2023 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championship in Mexico. In that year, they were also the number two team in the women’s FIVB World Ranking for 21 straight weeks. Together, Hughes & Cheng picked up five golds, one silver and one bronze on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour, including the title at the 2022 Tour Finals. Eventually, they competed at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where they reached the quarterfinals. After Paris, Hughes & Cheng appeared together at a couple of stops on USA’s AVP Tour to finish the 2024 season.