Mahalo for supporting Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Enjoy this free story!
The number is not a surprise to Pittsburgh freshman Lexis Akeo.
Akeo is one of 70 Division I women’s volleyball players representing 47 different schools on the mainland who graduated from high school in Hawaii.
In her third collegiate preseason tournament, at Utah, the Utes had three girls from Hawaii on their roster and Pepperdine, which she faced the same day, had two.
Awesome? “Yes,” she said. Surprising? “Not really.”
As Akeo put it, if you’re from Hawaii and grew up playing volleyball, you know how much talent there is.
“The competition in Hawaii is pretty tough volleyball-wise,” Akeo said Tuesday while on a six-hour bus ride to Virginia for tonight’s Atlantic Coast Conference opener against the Cavaliers. “Volleyball is a huge part of who we are as a people, and I think it’s amazing for all of the girls from Hawaii to be off at (Division I) colleges and doing so well representing the state.”
Akeo might not be surprised at the number of players from Hawaii, but she’s a little shocked at the situation she finds herself in a month into her Panthers career.
After leaving her high school friends early in the summer to get to campus for workouts by the end of June, Akeo was in the middle of a practice in mid-August when returning setter Kylee Levers suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Four days after her first college class, Akeo was on the court as the starting setter for the Panthers in a win over Cleveland State.
“It is definitely a shock,” Akeo said. “We had a surprise injury to the starting setter and so I had to be able to step into the role as setter and it’s just worked out. It’s definitely been interesting.”
It’s also been successful. The Panthers are 11-1 to start the year, with Akeo averaging 10.49 assists per set. She’s third on the team with 13 aces and is one of five girls averaging more than two digs per set.
The Panthers swept through their first three tournaments and are 3-1 against ranked teams after splitting a home-and-home series over the weekend against then-No. 4 Penn State.
Pitt swept the match at University Park, Pa., before losing at home in five.
On Monday, the Panthers jumped to No. 4 in the AVCA Top 25 to record the highest ranking in program history.
“Our team is so highly skilled and experienced that I don’t even have to do that much,” Akeo said. “(My teammates) have really helped me move into my position and have helped me get situated with the team and blend together.”
Akeo finished in the top five of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser Fab 15 three consecutive seasons at Kamehameha and was the 70th-ranked recruit nationally in the class of 2019, according to Prep Volleyball Senior Ace.
Her older sister, Kamalani, finished her four-year career at Pittsburgh last season and is third on the school’s all-time assists list with 3,956.
“The whole culture and vibe at Pitt was something I was always about and how they helped my sister so much — I wanted that same experience to play collegiate volleyball,” Lexis said.
Kamalani now plays professionally in the Czech Republic, so the younger Akeo hasn’t gotten to talk to her older sister as much as she would like.
Lexis Akeo hasn’t been overwhelmed by the jump in competition so soon from her high school days. Instead, she has simply enjoyed the experience.
“I would say in Hawaii we’re very skilled, but over here (the girls) are just so much bigger and so much stronger and faster that it is just a whole different animal,” Akeo said. “It’s actually really exciting to get to play with and against these high-level athletes.”
Pittsburgh is one of five ranked teams (including Hawaii) with players who graduated from Hawaii high schools.
>> Sophomore Jhenna Gabriel (Maryknoll ’18) is the starting setter for No. 8 Texas (6-2). Gabriel is averaging 10.87 assists per set and is third on the team averaging 2.03 digs per set.
>> Senior Kiani Moea’i (Punahou ’15) is a backup setter with 13 assists in nine sets played for No. 9 Brigham Young (9-2) while freshman Grace Wee (‘Iolani ’19) is a backup libero with 18 digs, two assists and an ace in 18 sets played for the Cougars.
>> Sophomore Saige Ka‘aha‘aina-Torres (‘Iolani ’18) is the starting setter for No. 18 Utah (8-3). Ka‘aha‘aina-Torres is averaging 10.90 digs per set and has 18 kills and six aces while also ranking third on the team averaging 2.25 digs in her 40 sets played. Middle blocker Phoebe Grace (Kahuku ’17) has started seven of 11 matches and is hitting .278 with 30 kills. She is tied for the team lead with 49 block assists and averages 1.37 blocks per set. Freshman defensive specialist Naya Dong (‘Iolani ’19) hasn’t played yet this season.
VOLLEYBALL
A list of all 70 D-I women’s volleyball players on the mainland who graduated from Hawaii high schools:
NAME / SCHOOL / POS / HT / GR / HIGH SCHOOL
Teana Adams-Kaonohi Kansas St. S 6-1 Fr. Punahou
Kayla Afoa Nevada OH 5-9 Jr. Kamehameha
Lexis Akeo Pittsburgh S 5-8 Fr. Kamehameha
Aly Borje-Bunkowski Seattle U. L 5-4 Sr. Maryknoll
Cookie Burnett Delaware St. OH 5-9 Fr. Sacred Hearts
Shelby Capllonch UNLV OH 5-8 Fr. Damien
Shekinah Clarke Oregon St. OH 5-10 Sr. Kapolei
Chandler Cowell St. Mary’s (Calif.) OH 5-10 So. King Kekaulike
Naya Dong Utah L/DS 5-5 Fr. ‘Iolani
Rhyenne Filisi West Virginia OH/RS 6-2 So. Maryknoll
Julia Fisher Eastern Michigan MB/RS 6-2 So. Le Jardin
Erin Fujitani USF DS 5-1 Jr. Moanalua
Jhenna Gabriel Texas L/S 5-8 So. Maryknoll
Alleyah Galdeira North Texas DS 5-6 Fr. Kamehameha
Kiari Gier Texas Tech L/DS 5-4 So. Maryknoll
Phoebe Grace Utah MB 6-2 So. Kahuku
Savana Greene Pepperdine OH 6-1 So. Punahou
Paige Hilliard Illinois St. OH 5-10 Fr. Punahou
Shayla Hoeft Portland MB 6-2 Sr. Seabury Hall
Halia Hogan Oklahoma MB 5-11 Jr. ‘Iolani
Jojo Ishida Cal St. Bakersfield L 5-5 Jr. Mid-Pacific
Saige Ka‘aha‘aina-Torres Utah S 6-0 So. ‘Iolani
Ka‘ehu Keala E. Washington RS/MB 6-3 Fr. Mid-Pacific
Lillie Klemmer Colorado MB 5-11 Sr. Punahou
Jojo Kruize Western Illinois OH 5-10 Sr. Moanalua
Kailee Kurokawa Seattle U. S/DS 5-9 So. Hilo
Colby Lane Seattle U. DS 5-4 Fr. McKinley
Taina Leao Delaware St. OPP 5-9 Fr. Hilo
Hana Lishman Pepperdine L 5-8 Sr. Punahou
Nikki Lum Army S 5-6 Sr. Punahou
Kamalu Makekau-Whittaker CSUN S 6-0 Sr. KS-Hawaii
Brandee Markwith East Carolina DS/L 5-8 Jr. Punahou
Syenna Masaki UTEP S/OH 5-9 Jr. Kalaheo
Malie McClure E. Washington DS 5-9 Fr. Kamehameha
Aria McComber Washington St. DS/L 5-6 Fr. Punahou
Kristen McDaniel N.C. State S 5-9 Fr. ‘Iolani
Name school Pos HT Gr High school
McKenzy Metter Columbia DS/L 5-6 Fr. Punahou
Kira Morikawa Oklahoma DS 5-7 Jr. Punahou
Kiani Moea‘i BYU S 5-10 Sr. Punahou
Gabby Naniseni Charleston S. OH 5-10 Fr. Mililani
Kassidy Naone Portland OH 5-11 Jr. Le Jardin
Shali Niu George Mason OPP 6-0 So. Kahuku
ShaRae Niu E. Washington S 5-6 Jr. Kahuku
Jasmine Niutupuivaha Utah Valley MB 5-11 Sr. Kahuku
Kanile‘a Nomura Jackson St. MB 5-11 Jr. King Kekaulike
Ana Oglivie Army S 5-6 Jr. ‘Iolani
Paris Oliveira UNLV L/DS 5-6 Fr. Kamehameha
Ofeira Petaia Utah Valley DS/L 5-8 So. Kalani
Sasha Petticord UC Davis MB 6-0 Fr. ‘Iolani
Emi Pua‘a Arizona L/DS 5-6 Sr. Punahou
Mahina Pua‘a Arizona S 5-7 Jr. Punahou
Kili Robins Nevada OH 6-0 So. Kamehameha
Nikki Saito Temple DS/L 5-3 Fr. Maryknoll
Xeryah Salanoa Temple MB/RS 6-0 So. Punahou
Averi Salvador Temple DS/L 5-5 Jr. Punahou
Puaoolelagi Sao E. Washington DS 5-6 Jr. Kahuku
Mapu Sekona Cal St. Bakersfield OH 5-10 Jr. Mid-Pacific
Jeslyn Spencer Oral Roberts OH 5-8 Fr. Moanalua
Laken Te’o Tennessee St. S 5-9 Jr. Kahuku
Haley Thomas Maryland-ES MB 5-11 Jr. Nanakuli
Moana To‘oto‘o USF L/DS 5-8 So. Maryknoll
Kaile Tuiasamatatele Southern Miss MB 5-11 Jr. Kapolei
Sina Uluave Wichita St. OH/OPP 5-11 Fr. Punahou
Kalena Vaivai Utah St. S 5-10 Fr. King Kekaulike
Ally Wada USF S 5-9 So. Hawaii Baptist
Grace Wee BYU L 5-6 Fr. ‘Iolani
Carey Williams Portland DS/L 5-7 Jr. Kahuku
Siani Yamaguchi Winthrop S 5-8 Sr. Kalaheo
Sheena Yoshioka St. John’s DS/L 5-3 So. Punahou
Sandra Zeng Harvard OH/DS 5-9 Jr. Punahou
———
Compiled by Billy Hull, Star-Advertiser
78