DAVIS, Calif. -- Some nine months after the announcement of new head coach Ali McColloch and four months since the team's exhibition at Queen's Beach in Hawaii last November, UC Davis opens its inaugural women's beach volleyball season with a doubleheader against Sacramento State this Saturday.

UPDATE: The 2019 season opener has been relocated to Davis on the new beach courts at Howard Way. Match times remain 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday.

For McColloch, the season opener stands as a culmination of a long process of getting the program off the ground. She inherited the underclassmen from the Aggies' fall indoor team, which means she lost the veteran senior class (other than libero Malia Bolko, who remains as something of a player-coach hybrid). When the Aggies were in Honolulu for their exhibition, the new UC Davis beach facility had barely broken ground.

Even throughout January, the team was either forced indoors due to inclement weather, or practicing at an intramural court across campus. The team did not even set foot on their new courts for its first true beach practice until Monday, February 11 – less than three weeks from the season's start.

"They're excited just to play and compete," said McColloch. "It would have been nice to have a full year of training but they've improved a lot."

Most of the 2019 UC Davis roster comprises players with only indoor experience, which makes the transition to beach that much tougher. A middle blocker who only rotated into the front row now has to serve and pass. A defensive specialist or libero who only patrolled the back row now has to block and hit.

"A lot of our time was spent learning things like footwork, how to cut shot, how to line shot, how to block and pull. It's stuff that makes you look silly if you don't know how to do it," said McColloch. 

On the flip side, the high volume of touches certainly appeals to many an indoor player, particularly those who only have a specialized role on the hardwood. "Players are constantly touching the ball and are constantly involved. You can't hide. That's the biggest difference between indoors and beach, and why it tends to be more enjoyable for some players."

McColloch's starting lineups feature a number of familiar faces. Paloma Bowman, Lauren Matias, Jane Seslar, Ally Reyes and Josephine Ough each appeared in at least 20 matches and 60 sets last fall with the indoor squad. Jackie Graves, Chelsea Maeglin and Rose Holscher saw time as reserves in the fall, but have earned lineup spots for this weekend.

Among the opening-day starters are Heather Reed, the team's lone senior; and Savanah Schroeder, a transfer from Sierra College and thus the only player on the roster with collegiate beach experience. Reed started the 2016 indoor season as the team's primary libero, rating among the Big West Conference digs leaders before injury shortened her season. She retired from the sport and was working as a student assistant in the athletics department when the announcement of the new program came last spring. Reed joined the team this winter, and earned her way onto one of the starting five pairs.

Schroeder played for Irvine Valley College as a freshman, then came home to attend nearby Sierra College, where she won the Big 8 Conference pairs title, then went on to place fifth at the CCCAA tournament. As the only member of the 2019 Aggies with collegiate beach experience, Schroeder's value to the team runs beyond the actual competition. "I think she's really important for the girls who don't have beach experience," McColloch said. "Savanah is a solid foundation for them to turn to, since it's a large group of girls with only three coaches. I think she can guide them in the beach culture, which is different."

"She's also helpful to me. She has been to a few events and she's played at Sac State before, so I can ask her, 'how are the courts there?' Her experience in the collegiate world is helpful to both the players and to me."

Sacramento State returns its top pairing of Sarah Davis and Mikaela Nocetti, plus All-Big West Conference honorable mention Paige Swinney from its 4-17 2018 season. 

"This weekend, our goals are for the girls to go out and play with as much confidence and energy as possible," said McColloch. "We want them to do the best they can do with what they've learned so far. That's all I can ask from them: to put the same effort into their play that they put into practice every day, and leave it all out there."

NOTES & HIGHLIGHTS

MEET THE COACHES: Ali McColloch was announced as the program's first head coach back in June and began her appointment amidst AVP tournaments in Seattle, San Francisco and Hermosa Beach... The former Ali Daley earned All-Big West first-team and Freshman of the Year honors in 2005, before transferring to UCLA... She reached both the 1,000-kill and 1,000-dig clubs as a Bruin in just three years... Amy Buchanan, who joined the indoor volleyball team as a director of operations in 2017, serves as McColloch's assistant during the beach season... Buchanan played her collegiate ball at Tennessee and Metro State, then coached at the club, college and high school levels prior to her arrival at UC Davis... Students Taylor Ho and Bailey Bonham serve as volunteer assistant and team manager, respectively.

FALL BALL: UC Davis played in an exhibition pairs tournament at Hawai'i two days following the indoor season finale against the Wahine... Three of the five Aggie pairs consisted of current beach members: Jackie Graves and Ally Reyes, Paloma Bowman and Lauren Matias, and Jane Seslar and Alexa Rockas... At that point, however, none of the UC Davis players had match experience on sand (except for a Saturday workout).

BEACH VOLLEYBALL 101: A collegiate beach dual consists of five 2-on-2 matches, with doubles pairings ranked from No. 1 to No. 5... Each match is played as a best-of-three, with the first sets played to 21 and the deciding set going to 15 (with a minimum winning margin of two points)... Teams switch sides after every seven points in Sets 1 and 2, and every five points during Set 3... The beach court is also slightly smaller, measuring 16 meters long by 8 meters wide (compared to 18x9m indoors)... UC Davis competes in the Big West Conference along with Cal Poly, Hawai'i, CSUN and Long Beach State, plus associate members Sacramento State and CSU Bakersfield.

ABOUT UC DAVIS: Providing a small-town community feel while providing a world-class academic experience, UC Davis is home to more than 37,000 students and centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley. The No. 5-ranked public university in the nation according to the Wall Street Journal, and among the top 10 public universities nationwide according to U.S. News and World Report, UC Davis offers nearly 100 graduate programs and more than 100 academic majors across four colleges and six professional schools, ranking among the world and nation's best in numerous disciplines, including veterinary science, agriculture, and plant and animal programs.

AGGIE EVO: Established in 2017-18, the Aggie EVO System is UC Davis Athletics' investment in the primary mission of preparing student-athletes for a successful "launch" after graduation. Thanks to a collaboration of alumni, university resources, corporate partners, coaches and Student-Athlete Outcomes staff, all Aggies are guided over four years to acquire the skills, knowledge, opportunities and tools to better know and navigate the "World of Work" after graduating from UC Davis. Follow the Aggie EVO system on Twitter and Instagram at @AggieEVO.