To the surprise of no one, the University of Hawaii has the most Division I women’s volleyball players from its home state.

Next on the list is a tie between two schools. One is Utah, which is nationally ranked and led by starting outside hitter and Pac-12 player of the year candidate Adora Anae of Kahuku and setter Bailey Choy of ‘Iolani.

The other school would probably be on the West Coast, right? California, maybe? Washington, perhaps?

Nope. Try South Carolina.

Winthrop — yes, the Eagles of the Big South Conference — is building a surprising Hawaii-to-the-East-Coast pipeline.

Bruce Atkinson, a graduate of Brigham Young-Hawaii who served as head coach at Hawaii Hilo for three years, has brought three girls over since he was named Winthrop’s head coach in February 2013.

A regular at the Hawaii Volleyball Combine each year, Atkinson began his quest for Hawaii talent by landing Punahou alumna Keaupono Fey, who is now a senior.

Fey, a 6-foot middle blocker who played three sports in high school, wanted to go to college on the West Coast like most athletes from the islands.

Atkinson convinced her to take a trip out east, and the school itself handled the rest to convince Fey to make the cross-country journey for the next four years.

“My plan originally was to stay on the West Coast, but I came out here and loved all of the girls I met,” Fey said. “I also realized it’s kind of like the West Coast because it doesn’t get that cold out here and that was pretty big for me. I was kind of scared about the cold and all the snow.”

When Fey committed, she figured she’d be a lone wolf in South Carolina, left with the task of representing the islands by herself in a place far, far away.

That would change two years later. Again, Atkinson made an appearance at a volleyball camp in Hawaii and he stumbled into Kalaheo senior Siani Yamaguchi.

Yamaguchi, who helped Kalaheo win the OIA Division II title as a junior and then took the Mustangs to the state tournament in Division I as a senior, received an offer from Atkinson and committed sight unseen.

Her flight to Winthrop to start practice her freshman season was the first time she’d ever been to South Carolina.

“Luckily I do like it here,” said Yamaguchi, the Eagles’ starting setter. “I was kind of scared (at the start), but (Fey) was always around me, so it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”

The pipeline continued to grow a year later when Puaoolelagi Sao, who played for Kahuku last year, accepted a scholarship offer from the Eagles.

Sao, who is already the team’s starting libero, told her good friend, Yamaguchi, that she committed to Winthrop for one reason.

“We were already friends and she told me she chose to come here because of me, and I was like, ‘Why would you make your decision off of me?’ ” Yamaguchi said. “I’m glad she’s here though. Everyone is kind of tripping out now that we have three girls from Hawaii.”

Winthrop is 13-11 overall this season but has lost five of its last six in conference to fall below .500 in league play.

Six teams qualify for the Big South tournament and the Eagles are currently in possession of the final playoff spot.

Winthrop plays its next two matches against UNC Asheville, which is tied with the Eagles in the loss column, and Charleston Southern, which is in seventh place.

“We’ve had a couple of rough weeks these past few weeks after we started off really strong,” said Fey, who leads the team in blocks and is second in kills. “I think our team has a lot of great talent. We’re still figuring out how to be more consistent in our play, but if we can do that, we can be a threat.”