A month ago, the University of Northern Colorado volleyball team had won once in 10 road matches during a tough portion of its schedule.

Later this week, the Bears will play for first place in the Big Sky Conference.

UNC started the season 3-10 overall and lost its conference opener to Weber State in late September. Since then, the Bears have won six of seven matches, including four in a row, heading to a Big Sky rivalry match Friday evening.

UNC meets Northern Arizona for the first time this season at 7:30 p.m. (MST) in Flagstaff, Arizona, where they’ll play for the Blue and Gold Trophy. Both UNC and NAU have blue and gold as school colors, and both volleyball teams are 6-2 in the Big Sky with 4-match winning streaks at the halfway point of the conference season.

Northern Arizona has

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