LAS VEGAS Top-seeded Colorado State defeated San Jose State 3 sets to 1 in the Mountain West women’s volleyball final on Saturday, ending a season full of controversy and uncertainty for the Spartans.
San Jose State issued a statement on behalf of head coach Todd Kress immediately after the game in which he called out schools that chose to forfeit against the Spartans.
“This has been one of the most difficult seasons I’ve ever experienced and I know this is true as well for many of our players and the staff who have been supporting us all along,” Kress said. “Maintaining our focus on the court and ensuring the overall safety and well-being of my players amid the external noise have been my priorities.
“I will not sugarcoat our reality for the last two months. Our team prepared and was ready to play each match according to established Mountain West and NCAA rules of play. We did not take away anyone’s participation opportunities. Sadly, others who for years have played this same team without incident chose not to play us this season.
“To be clear, we did not celebrate a single win by forfeiture. Instead, we braced for the fallout. Each forfeiture announcement unleashed appalling, hateful messages individuals chose to send directly to our student-athletes, our coaching staff, and many associated with our program.”
SJSU was unable to capitalize off a 23-21 lead in the first, ultimately dropping the set 27-25. The Spartans led 20-19 in the second as well but dropped six consecutive points, allowing CSU to take the set 25-20.
SJSU took the third set 25-23 before Colorado State clinched the Mountain West title and the conference’s NCAA tournament berth with a 25-16 victory in the fourth set.
Blaire Fleming was SJSU’s top performer in the loss, recording 17 kills, three digs and a block. Nayeli Ti’a added 12 kills and eight digs for the Spartans. Malaya Jones led Colorado State with 26 kills, nine digs, and three blocks while teammate Emery Herman tallied 16 digs.
San Jose State earned the two-seed in the conference tournament after being awarded six of its 12 wins in conference play due to opponents refusing to play. None of the schools confirmed why they elected not to play, but the presumed reason is a Title IX lawsuit filed by SJSU co-captain Brooke Slusser in September that sought to disqualify one of her teammates on the allegation that she was transgender.
Also joining the lawsuit was San Jose State assistant coach Melissa Batie-Smoose, who was suspended indefinitely by the team after publicly speaking out against the alleged transgender player. Batie-Smoose was in the stands for Saturday’s final and emotionally greeted members of the team following the loss.
In addition to Boise State forfeiting all three games against the Spartans this season, SJSU was also awarded wins after Southern Utah, Wyoming, Utah State and Nevada all pulled out of their scheduled matchups.
Colorado State played in all three scheduled match ups with the Spartans this season and never considered pulling out of the tournament.
“We can’t control what the crowd’s going to do, what lineups roll out there or what’s going to happen,” Colorado State coach Emily Kohan told the Associated Press after advancing to the final on Saturday. “We can control the way we play on our side, and that’s what we’ve done all year with any opponent we’ve played.”
The player was allowed to play in this week’s conference tournament after a federal judge in Colorado denied an emergency motion on Tuesday that was filed by Slusser and eight other players in the conference as a last-ditch attempt to prevent the player from competing in the tournament.
After Boise State pulled out of Friday’s semifinal matchup with SJSU, its media relations director Doug Link said he couldn’t comment when asked whether there were external pressures contributing to the team’s decision to forfeit.
Given the support the Boise State women’s volleyball team has gotten from in-state Republican leaders, it raises the question of just how much those politicians influenced the team’s decision.
It is unfortunate our women athletes must choose fairness in their sport and their own safety over their ability to play in a match-up they earned” Idaho governor Brad Little posted on X. “Even with their biggest game of the season on the line, the Boise State womens volleyball team has consistently shown leadership for female athletes everywhere. Idaho will continue to fight to defend womens sports.”
Two protestors attended Colorado State’s semifinal match on Friday afternoon but didn’t return for Saturday’s final. There were about 125-150 fans at the Cox Pavilion in total Saturday, with no noteworthy behavior taking place in the crowd.
San Jose State started the season 9-0 before losing its first game of the season in a sweep to Colorado State on Oct. 3. The Spartans ultimately split the season series with CSU before falling in Saturday’s final. Counting both regular and postseason games that were contested this season, SJSU went 7-5 overall and 6-6 in the Mountain West.