Consider it the Year of the Transition for the Hawaii beach volleyball program.

Not only do the Rainbow Wahine have four freshmen making the jump from high school to collegiate competition, the SandBows’ roster also includes seven from the Wahine indoor team, as well as Harlee Kekauoha, who transferred in after her final indoor season at UC Irvine.

The biggest transition, however, may be found on the coaching staff. Ari Homayun, the program’s all-time leader in overall (118) and dual (115) match wins, is in her first year as volunteer assistant.

“It’s definitely different,” said Homayun, who is replacing Danny Alvarez who had been with the SandBows since their inaugural season in 2012. “I’ve been coaching since I was young and it’s a good skill to have. As my club coach told me, if you can coach something that skill will be easier for you.

“Seeing the girls execute what you’re wanting to get across is just as fulfilling as If I was doing it.”

There’s a lot of self-coaching in the beach game where coaches only are allowed so much input during a match, usually during timeouts or side changes. And, with three coaches dividing time among five pairs playing concurrently, two pairs are without a coach at times during a dual.

“I think the biggest thing for me is the level of respect I think I need to earn as a coach,” Homayun said. “I want them to trust me and I want to trust them as well.”

Homayun is on her way, in the eyes of freshman Maia Hannemman, daughter of former Rainbow Warriors setter Albert Hannemann, who played 18 years on the AVP tour.

“She’s someone I can relate to, also being a ‘small,’ ” the 5-foot-9 Hannemann said of the 5-7 Homayun. “She’s super experienced. Being the winningest player here I look up to her.

“I’m so excited about this season. The team is looking so good and we have lots of options. Having the seven indoor players has helped us get so much better way quicker. They’re bringing a lot of physicality, a lot of competition. Before we had 12 players and everyone traveled. Now we have 19 and we have to fight other people in order to travel. That’s exciting.”

While the beach-only players have been together since fall, Thursday was Day 8 on the sand for the indoor players. The Wahine crossing over to play for fifth-year coach Jeff Hall are juniors Jolie Rasmussen and Brooke Van Sickle, sophomore Janelle Gong and freshmen Hanna Hellvig and Riley Wagoner.

Norene Iosia, who finished her indoor eligibility last fall, is joining the SandBows for a third spring — this time for an entire beach season without the conflict of indoor spring practice. Also, redshirt freshman Kamalei Krug, who had been recruited by Hall out of high school, has decided to leave the indoor team to concentrate on beach.

“We’re starting to see the indoor kids get their sand legs this week and how and where they can contribute,” Hall said. “They have the work mentality that Robyn (UH indoor head coach Ah Mow) has instilled and that we love. It’s a different attention to detail and it’s been great.”

Hall said the staff will start looking at pairs next week, something that is complicated by “sharing” the indoor players, who begin spring practice next month. Double days take on a new meaning for the dual athletes.

Hawaii, which finished fourth nationally last May, opens the season with two-time defending NCAA champion UCLA on Feb. 22 in the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic at Queen’s Beach. Also in the field of the two-day event are Stanford and LSU.

For the first time since 2014, the SandBows will play all of their home matches at Queen’s. Among Hawaii’s returnees are all-conference selections Morgan Martin, Amy Ozee, Julia Scoles, Kylin Loker, Sofia Russo and Pani Napoleon, the latter the 2019 Freshman of the Year.