Lyndsi Hughes likes hitting things.

Volleyballs, softballs, holes in the defensive line. It doesn't matter. She'll hit 'em and hit 'em hard.

Hughes, raised on a farm in Volant, has never shied away from a hard day's work. Even now as an assistant volleyball coach at SlipperyRock University, she spent her Thursday afternoon mowing grass and working outdoors.

"I really got a perfect opportunity here," said Hughes, who was hired as the top assistant under SRU volleyball coach Laurie Lokash earlier this month. "I get to be at home. I get to coach volleyball. Yeah, it's really cool."

It also allows Hughes, who was a standout volleyball and softball player at Grove City HighSchool, a chance to pursue her newest passion.

The Pittsburgh Passion that is.

At 5-feet-4 and 155 pounds, Hughes is a running back for Pittsburgh's National Women's Football Association franchise.

Like everything else she has done athletically in her career, she excelled in her rookie season with the Passion this spring.

Hughes led the team with 510 yards rushing on 72 carries and scored five touchdowns and helped Pittsburgh to a 5-3 record.

She had three 100-yard rushing days, gaining 152 yards on 15 carries against the Cincinnati Sizzle, 148 yards on just eight attempts — including a 72-yard scoring run — against Erie and 102 yards on 22 grueling carries in her first NWFA game inWeek 2 against Columbus.

Pittsburgh won that game 6-0.

"When I went into it, I knew what to expect on the field," Hughes said. "But I didn't know how I was going to feel after a game. I had 22 carries in that game (against Columbus) and I felt like I was run over by a truck for days after that."

That gave Hughes, whose only football experience before that was watching Steelers games on television, even more appreciation for what the players go through.

"Every game was different," Hughes said. "Some teams were more physical than others. But I felt it after every game."

Rumbling downfield with the football was never far from her thoughts, even while she was spiking volleyballs for Mercyhurst College.

She tried out for the Passion during her senior year in college and made the roster, but opted not to play.

"I thought my coach at Mercyhurst might not like that, might not like me getting hurt playing football," Hughes said.

So, she waited a year and tried out again in the fall. Once again, she made the team and was determined to strap on a helmet.

For Hughes, playing football was a chance to stoke the competitive fires that burned while she was growing up.

Even now, she gets the urge to play volleyball instead of merely coaching it.

"I'd rather play than coach because it is much less stressful," she said on her Passion player profile.

But going from kills to carries was by no means an easy transition for Hughes.

"I've been playing volleyball forever," Hughes said. "I watched football on TV, but I knew absolutely nothing about playing football. There was such a big learning curve, learning all the play calls, how things worked, the terminology and all that stuff. It was hard at first."

Hughes plans to play for the Passion again when the season kicks off next spring.

Despite leading the team in rushing, she has to try out for the Passion again in September.

"I think I'll make the team," she said.

For now, she's focused on her new job in a more familiar sport.

Hughes was one of the most successful volleyball players in Mercyhurst College history, leaving the school as the all-time leader in kills (1,585) and digs (1,698). She also set the school mark for single-game and single-season digs and the single-season record for kill attempts.

She played in every game in her four-year collegiate career.

After graduating in 2005, she served as a volunteer assistant at SRU last season.

"She is a great role model for the current players on this team," Lokash said. "As a player on the court, she was recognized for her intensity and hard-nosed style of play. Off the court, she excelled in the classroom."

Hughes also was a standout outside hitter in college despite standing only 5-4.

Slippery Rock is a bit undersized this season.

"We're not a very big team," Hughes said. "But just because you are not the biggest team, that doesn't mean you aren't the best team if you outwork them."