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

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Compiled by Billy Hull, Star-Advertiser