Hughes played volleyball in high school and aimed to join the Penn State men's volleyball team as a walk-on. However, the women's team head coach
Russ Rose convinced him to be a practice player with the women's team. He attributed being a practice player to his love for the sport and starting his coaching career. Hughes served as a volunteer assistant and manager for Penn State women's volleyball from 2003 to 2008. Following this, Hughes was named the volunteer assistant coach for the women's volleyball team at UC Irvine in 2008–09. ==Head coaching record==