After seven months, Hawaii’s inaugural sand volleyball team goes for all the grains of gusto this weekend in the fourth annual USA Volleyball Collegiate Challenge at Hermosa Beach, Calif.

Sunday night, participants in the inaugural American Volleyball Coaches Association Collegiate Sand Volleyball Championships will be announced by the Sand Volleyball Coaches Committee. Nationals are in Gulf Shores, Ala., at the end of April. The top four schools and 16 doubles teams qualify.

In its first year as an NCAA emerging sport, there are 15 Division I sand volleyball teams. All but five are in the Southeast and that region will have two teams in the championship. The West gets one, with the final team an at-large selection. The top two pairs from each of the four championship teams, and eight at-large pairs will compete for the doubles championship. No school can have more than two pairs participate.

Hawaii coach Scott Wong believes the Wahine teams of Elizabeth Stoltzman and Emily Hartong, and Jane Croson and Ashley Lee — who have both won titles — should be in. UH needs to finish in the top two this weekend, against USC, Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount and Long Beach State, to have a shot at qualifying for the team championship.

"But you never know with committees," Wong said.

The sport needs to draw 40 schools to have an official NCAA championship. Florida State coach Danalee (Bragado) Corso, who grew up here, gleefully admits there is "lots to tweak." She is a member of the AVCA Sand Committee.

"We meet every other week and tweak everything as we go," said Corso, the nation’s first full-time sand coach.

She believes most schools wanted to watch the first season before jumping into the sand, and thinks there could be 40 teams by 2015, particularly with the Olympics coming up.

"Mark my words," said Corso, an accredited beach coach who has helped the national program — including Croson. "Collegiate sand volleyball will forever change the landscape of beach volleyball for women. Our Olympians will come straight from the college scene."

Hawaii plays Long Beach State and LMU in dual matches Monday before returning home. The national championship begins April 27 with pairs pool play. The team championship is the following day and the pairs championship is April 29. Team results and highlights, and the pairs semifinals and final, will be shown on CBS Sports Network.