There was a year of awkwardness, one that coincided with being a “tween” as Filip Humler went from age 12 to age 13. He already was 6-foot-6 … and still growing … trying to catch up to those size 14 shoes and find his balance.

A year of Thai boxing would help with that, as well as help with flexibility, discipline and physicality. So would swimming, a sport not as harsh on a body that was continuing to stretch out and reach for athletic potential.

It all came together when Humler discovered volleyball, a discovery that would lead to a starting outside hitter’s role for No. 1 Hawaii (2-0). Two matches into his sophomore season, the now-6-7 Humler is proving to be a solid option — both on offense and defense — on a Rainbow Warriors squad full of them.

The Czech national has stepped into a hitting position opened up by the graduation of All-American Stijn van Tilburg. It would be unfair to say, however, that it is a direct replacement since both Humler and senior hitter Colton Cowell are able to be used as what is called the L1 — the primary left-side hitter — complementing senior All-American opposite Rado Parapunov.

“You want to avoid making comparisons,” Warrior coach Charlie Wade said as the team prepared for tonight’s Raising Cane’s Classic tournament opener with Emmanuel (0-0). “I don’t need Filip to be Stijn. I need Filip to be the best Filip he can be. He’s a little more physical than Stijn and that’s a nice place to start.

“The guy has worked really hard. Last year, he was coming in almost every day for an hour on his own to get reception reps. He’s a big, strong kid who is good on serve-receive and is a high-level attacker. That’s a good combination.”

The Czech national team saw the potential when putting him in the national team pipeline early and often in international age-group competition. It was mutually beneficial including the Czech U19 team winning the 2017 Youth European Championship and Humler being named MVP during the qualification tournament.

The mutual benefits continued later that summer when Humler had a chance meeting with Hawaii outside hitter Brett Rosenmeier, a member of the U.S. team competing in the FIVB U21 World Championship in the Czech Republic. Part of the tournament was being held in Humler’s hometown of Ceske Budejovice and “I was always trying to follow college (volleyball) in the U.S.,” Humler said. “I never thought about Hawaii because it was too far. I didn’t know how the level of play or the level of education was here.

“I talked to Rosenmeier, watched videos of the team on YouTube, and the coaches contacted me. I am very fortunate. It is the best decision I have made.”

Humler admits to being homesick on occasion, missing his family and the food. Most of all, he misses Roxy, his 6-year-old Jack Russell terrier.

“I can call my sisters, my brother and my parents, but I can’t call my dog,” Humler said. “They put her on the video chat but she doesn’t get it.”

What Humler has gotten is an appreciation of Hawaii, its fans and its culture. He is learning Hawaiian, adding it to his language repertoire of Czech, English, German, Polish and Slovakian, and is enrolled in a Hawaiian history class this semester in addition to his business and math classes.

Although his club team wanted Humler to stay home to play this season, “I want to finish my degree and enjoy my years playing in the Stan Sheriff Center,” he said. “I want to go to the (UH) Shidler Business College, go into finance and business. And, of course, play volleyball for as long as I can.”

“What I like about Filip is he brings a lot of energy,” Cowell said. “He’s a big, physical guy who brings that element of power, that presence, and his ability to play above the net.

“He’s worked really hard and it shows. What is important for him is to stay positive with himself. He brings so much energy that it often drains him. I feel if he can maintain that consistent level of energy he’s going to continue to develop into a great player.”

Consistency also is a word that Humler wants to be used when describing his game. He said he admired van Tilburg’s consistency; the Dutch national ranked second in the country in hitting percentage last season (.457).

Humler hit .429 as a freshman and, through two matches as a sophomore, is tied with senior middle Patrick Gasman at .571. Both have committed just one hitting error.

“It’s only two games, so it’s hard to tell how good our team is,” Humler said. “Even though I wasn’t starting last year, I was working hard, the same as I am now so maybe this year I will start. I work hard for the team, I play for the team and leave everything out there.

“I’ve been loving it so far, playing in front of so many people. It’s exciting to see the fans and the support. It’s perfect.”