A new experience for most of her teammates will have a familiar feel for Kalei Adolpho.

The University of Hawaii women’s basketball team’s first NCAA tournament berth in 18 years will be the fifth postseason appearance for Adolpho, her first four coming with the Rainbow Wahine volleyball program.

In preparing to compete in an NCAA tournament atmosphere one last time, Adolpho said there is a carry-over from her volleyball days.

“Even though it’s not the same sport, it’s the same kind of feel to it,” Adolpho said after Tuesday’s practice at the Stan Sheriff Center.

“A lot of it is confidence and lot of it is just trusting in yourself and knowing it’s the same game, it’s the same baskets. The competition’s different, the stakes are higher, but it’s the same thing.”

The Rainbow Wahine (21-10), the 14th seed in the Bridgeport Regional, are scheduled to depart today for Los Angeles, where they’ll face third-seeded UCLA (24-8) on Saturday in a first-round game at Pauley Pavilion.

Adolpho doubled up with the volleyball and basketball teams her first three years before splitting up her senior seasons, focusing on volleyball last year and devoting this season to basketball. The senior center started 27 of UH’s 30 games to date and is averaging 6.6 points and 5.5 rebounds going into Saturday’s game.

Along with Adolpho’s production in the post, UH coach Laura Beeman said her volleyball experience is a resource her basketball teammates can tap into heading into the postseason.

“Kalei has helped with that all year long,” Beeman said. “Understanding how you’re supposed to travel, how you’re supposed to have confidence, how you have a winning attitude versus a just-excited-to-be-there attitude.

“So Kalei has been an integral part of our growth in confidence in our team because she’s played for someone like Dave Shoji and she’s had successful seasons in the NCAA. She absolutely will be someone they rely on.”

Adolpho played in the NCAA volleyball tournament each December from 2011 to 2014. The Wahine reached the regional semifinal in her freshman year and capped the season in the second round the next three seasons. She closed her volleyball career by hitting .563 with 10 kills in 16 swings in a four-set loss to Washington.

While regional berths are seemingly an annual rite for the volleyball program, Adolpho is relishing being part of the basketball team’s breakthrough.

Adolpho said she’s looking forward to “enjoying the different atmosphere that basketball has in the NCAA tournament and just being in the moment and enjoying this last little bit of my ride.”

Along with Adolpho, center Megan Huff played in the 2014 NCAA volleyball tournament as a freshman. She turned her focus to basketball this season and repeated as Big West Sixth Player of the Year with 9.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game while shooting a team-best 51 percent from the field coming off the bench.

The Wahine returned to practice on Tuesday for the first time since Saturday’s Big West tournament championship game win over UC Davis. They’ll have one more practice on campus this morning before boarding one more flight to Los Angeles.

“I think all of us have got that five-hour flight out of Hawaii down to a T,” Adolpho said. “We know when we’re sleeping, when we’re getting up; we know how to navigate through airports and typically have a really good fan base in California.”