San Jose State loses to Colorado State in MWC volleyball final due to ongoing gender controversy

CNN
—

No. 2 seed San Jose State lost to No. 1 seed Colorado State in the Mountain West Conference volleyball final at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas on Saturday amid an ongoing gender controversy involving a Spartans player.

The Rams defeated the Spartans in four sets, 27-25, 25-20, 23-25, 25-16, to secure automatic berths in the 64-team NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Tournament.

The loss diminishes San Jose State’s chances of reaching the tournament. The championship round will be announced on Sunday.

“Our team did its best today, just as it has all season,” SJSU head coach Todd Kress said in a statement.

“This has been one of the most difficult seasons I have ever experienced and I know that is also the case for many of our players and the staff who have supported us throughout. My priorities were to continue to focus on the field and ensure the overall safety and well-being of my players despite the outside noise.”

Sunday’s final came amid months of controversy and ongoing legal challenges alleging there was a transgender player on the Spartans’ team.

In recent months, several Mountain West Conference teams, as well as one other team, refused to play San Jose State. The dispute continued as several athletes from various schools in the conference filed a federal lawsuit earlier this month seeking to stop a San Jose State player from participating in championship games.

Neither the player in question nor San Jose State University have publicly commented on the player’s gender. CNN is not releasing the player’s name because she has not discussed her gender publicly and declined comment through a university official.

“I will not sugarcoat our reality of the last two months. Our team prepared for every game and was ready to play it according to the established Mountain West and NCAA rules of the game,” Kress said. “We have not taken away anyone’s opportunity to participate. Unfortunately, others who have played against the same team for years without incident have decided not to play against us this season.

“To be clear, we have not celebrated a single victory by loss. Instead, we braced ourselves for the consequences. Each forfeiture announcement triggered horrific, hateful messages that individuals sent directly to our student-athletes, our coaching staff and many associated with our program.”

The first and second rounds of the tournament are scheduled to begin on December 5th and last until December 7th. The national championship game is December 22nd at the KFC Yum! instead of. Center in Louisville, Kentucky.

CNN’s Thomas Schlachter and Kevin Dotson contributed to this report.