Kristen Bell’s career night led Utah Valley to a thrilling five-set victory over Hawaii, 3-2 (25-23, 14-25, 25-23, 24-26, 15-12) in front of a packed crowd in Lockhart Arena. With the win, UVU improves to 1-2 on the season as the Rainbow Wahine fall to 2-2 on the year. UH entered the match receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches Top-25 poll.

“It was our execution and our passing that got us more in system and allowed us to run our offense,” said Utah Valley head volleyball coach Sam Atoa. “We knew what kind of defense they were going to present against us but we didn’t have the passing to exploit that. Once we fixed that, it gave us chances to spread the ball around.

“I was really happy for them and how they kept their poise and allowed themselves to trust in their ability to compete. We obviously did not play well or execute in our last match and this game is just as much mental as it is physical. It was important for us to stay focused on our game plan and what we needed to do. If our minds our clear, it allows us to execute better in tough moments like that.”

Bell led the Wolverines, finishing with 18 kills and a career-high 18 digs. Tanuvasa chipped in a double-double, finishing with 12 kills, 11 digs and a pair of blocks. Dorius finished with 12 kills to go along with four blocks Miller added her second-career double-double, leading UVU with a career-high 28 assists and 10 digs. Natalie Palmer contributed her first-career double-double with career highs of 19 assists, 10 digs, and a pair of aces. Bryton Bishop chipped in a career-high 19 digs to go along with six assists.

The Wolverines travel to Salt Lake City for a matchup against Cal Poly on Friday, Sep. 3. The match is set for 4:30 p.m. MT. Utah Valley will then continue north to Ogden, Utah to take on in-state rival Weber State on Wednesday, Sep. 8, at 6:00 p.m. MT.

Men’s soccer rolls past Northridge

Utah Valley University erupted for five goals as the Wolverines won Kyle Beckerman’s home debut, 5-1, over Northridge on Thursday in front of 2,309 fans at Clyde Field. Aaron Nixon had a brace — including the game-winner on a bicycle kick — and also added an assist as UVU (2-0-1) moved to 8-0-0 all-time in home openers.

The five goals also matched a program record for goals scored, dating all the way back to the first game in program history, a 5-1 win over UMass on August 30, 2014.

“It was a really nice night. I’d heard a lot about the home games here and it didn’t disappoint,” Beckerman said. “The boys gave them something to cheer about from the first minute on. Everything we asked them to do today, they did it. I’m just really proud of them.”

Nixon’s golazo, which was No. 2 on SportsCenter’s Top 10 on Thursday night, came in the 22nd minute, again on the heels of a Wolverine corner. Alejandro Silva crossed it into the box where Johnson got his chest on it and directed it towards Nixon, who scored inside the far post. Both Silva and Johnson received assists on the goal.

“It was incredible. He actually worked on it in practice yesterday and today he got it. It really felt like the goals were coming. It was just a matter of time. It was really good to get them off the mark and now we just keep improving,” Beckerman said.

Utah Valley will head to Illinois next week for games at Northwestern (Sept. 9) and Bradley (Sept. 12). The next home game will be Thursday, Sept. 16 against No. 5 Washington.

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