Abbie Hughes

Abbie Hughes joined Sun Devil Beach Volleyball in July 2023 as a volunteer assistant and was promoted to assistant coach in the summer of 2024. The 2025 Sand Devils broke the record for single-season wins, winning 22 games with the help of Hughes, which included a 9-1 mark on home sand. Arizona State finished the season ranked No. 12 for the second year in a row. At the first Big 12 Beach Volleyball Championships, ASU finished in second place, coming up just short in a 3-2 battle against the 2025 NCAA National Champions TCU. The Sun Devils were undefeated against unranked opponents this season, a trend they continued from last season. Additionally, the squad picked up seven ranked wins, the second most in a season in program history. Hughes coached Samaya Morin to earn AVCA All-America Second Team honors and had three on the Big 12 All-Conference Team. In her first season with the Sand Devils in 2024, Hughes helped lead ASU to its most successful in program history alongside first-year ASU head coach Kristen Rohr. The team went 21-10 and made it to the NCAA Tournament for the first time, earning a No. 12 seed. The 21 wins tied the ASU record for wins in a season. ASU had raked in 11 ranked wins this season, the previous record was held at three during the 2019 season. Before this season, there were 13 total ranked wins throughout team history. In the rankings, Arizona State was No. 12 in the final AVCA Coaches Poll. The Sun Devils were ranked for the entire season, the first time the program has been ranked for more than four weeks. Hughes also coached Daniella Kensinger and Ava Williamson to earn AVCA All-America Second Team honors, the first All-Americans in program history. Williamson and Arden Besecker also earned AVCA Top Flight for Flight 2 this season. In the coaching sphere, Hughes had coached for Rob Long at Ohio Valley Beach/P1440. She also ran the developmental summer program for the club that consisted of over 100 players. Hughes has experience playing beach volleyball in college. She played the last two seasons at Grand Canyon, where Rohr was the head coach. She helped the Lopes to two-straight NCAA Tournament appearances and top-10 finishes. Last season was her final year and she played on the top court all year, earning a 16-4 record. She earned AVCA All-America honors for her first time. For the pair's efforts, they won the AVCA Top Flight award, one of 12 in the nation. In 2022, she went 24-9 on courts three and four. With strong work in the classroom as well, she was a CSC Academic All-American. Prior to GCU, Hughes played at Florida International for three years, both indoor and beach volleyball. On the indoor side, she compiled over 2,000 assists. Hughes has a bachelor's degree in psychology and is currently pursuing a master's degree. Her parents are John and Christie and she has one younger brother, Jake.