Sara Hughes nets Pac-12 honor

Costa Mesa resident Sara Hughes and her sand volleyball partner, Kelly Claes, have been named Pac-12 Pair of the Year.

Hughes and Claes, both juniors, are the conference’s inaugural pairs champions and take a 44-0 record into the NCAA Championship, beginning Friday in Gulf Shores, Ala.

Claes was named Player of the Year while Arizona head man Steve Walker, a Newport Harbor High product, is Coach of the Year.

Hayley Hodson, who played indoor volleyball at Corona del Mar High and is a freshman at Stanford, was a second-team honoree.

Walker guided the Wildcats to a 19-5 record and one of two at-large berths into the eight-team NCAA Championship.

No. 1-ranked USC (30-2) meets No. 7-ranked Georgia State (25-8) in a first-round match Friday at 9 a.m. PT.

Arizona faces Pepperdine in the first round.

— From staff reports