LOS ANGELES- Volleyball standouts Sara Hughes of Mater Dei High in Santa Ana
(Calif.) and Allie Wheeler of Archbishop Mitty High in San Jose (Calif.) have
signed letters of intent with the USC women's sand volleyball team, USC head
coach Anna Collier announced Monday (Nov. 19).
"We are extremely delighted
to welcome Sara and Allie to the Trojan Family," said Collier. "Sara is
regarded as the top sand volleyball recruit in the nation. She is very
experienced and athletic for her age. She will be the foundation of our program
in the coming years. Allie is an up-and-comer who is just beginning to tap into
her sand potential. Her successful indoor experience will translate well to the
sand game."
Hughes played indoor with her Mater Dei team and helped her
Long Beach Mizuno club team win a gold medal at the 2011 Junior Olympics in the
16 Open division. On the beach in the summer of 2012, she was fourth at the
FIVB Junior World Championship in Halifx (with Summer Ross), seventh at the
NORCECA Beach tour stop in Chula Vista (with USC's Kirby Burnham), ninth at the
FIVB Youth World Championship in Cyprus (with long-time partner Justine
Wong-Orantes), 25th at the Manhattan Open (with
Lilla Frederick) and she also competed in the FIVB Thailand Open (with Kaitlin
Sather). In the summer of 2011, she won the AAU Junior National Beach
Championship and was ninth at the FIVB Youth World Championship in Croatia (both
with Wong-Orantes) and she was 17th at the
Manhattan Open and 25th at the FIVB Junior World
Championships in Halifax (both with Caitlin Racich).
Wheeler helped
Archbishop Mitty to a 34-0 record and the 2012 CIF Central Coast championship,
earning All-West Catholic Athletic League first team honors. Her Vision
Volleyball Club won a silver medal at the Junior Olympics. On the beach, she
was a member of the USA Volleyball High Performance Beach U19
program.Both players are 5-11.
