SJSU volleyball falls in Mountain West final, no sign of trans protests

LAS VEGAS – After months of public proclamations and court filings about how its transgender player gave San Jose State’s women’s volleyball team an unfair advantage, Colorado State ignored all the conservative political talking points and convincingly defeated the Spartans in four sets in the Mountain West Conference finals. tournament on Saturday and secure a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

With top-seeded Colorado State’s defense dominating, the Spartans dropped the first two sets and were unable to slow down conference player of the year Malaya Jones, who finished the game with 26 kills. After losing the third set, the Rams won the fourth 27-25, 25-20, 23-25, 25-16.

San Jose State’s transgender player struggled in the first two sets but played better in the third and fourth sets. Their play helped the Spartans take a 24-20 lead in the third set, which they were able to hold on to. But Jones overcame an injury to her right pinky finger as the Rams (20-10) took the lead late in the fourth set, ending San Jose State’s season barring an upset in the NCAAs.

“This has been one of the most difficult seasons I have ever experienced, and I know that is also true for many of our players and the staff who have supported us throughout,” SJSU coach Todd Kress said in a statement released afterwards the game. “For me, the priorities were to continue to focus on the pitch and ensure the overall safety and well-being of my players despite the outside noise.”

In the fourth set, a kill from Jones made it 14:14 and another made it 18:16 for the Rams. Another kill from Jones made it 21-16. The Rams then won the final four points and secured the game.

Since co-captain Brooke Slusser joined a lawsuit in September against the NCAA over its rule allowing transgender players to play women’s sports, the Spartans (14-7, 12-7 in conference) have embarked on one of the most controversial seasons in the history of university sports. They suffered seven losses in their own conference, including Boise State refusing to play them in the semifinals of the conference tournament. That got SJSU into Saturday’s finale.

“There’s a lot of ways people have shown courage all season, right?” Rams coach Emily Kohan said after the game. “And a lot of them had to be really young people who were still figuring out themselves and their lives. And so our team, individually and collectively, decided to remain a group and show courage in the way we played and the way we would, you know, make our statement by making our own Controlling fate.”

Slusser, who has repeatedly claimed that her teammate poses a threat to the safety of her Spartans and opponents because she hits the ball so hard, declined to comment after the game. Jones was easily the hardest hitter on the field Saturday and none of her spikes hurt anyone.

Throughout the game, Slusser celebrated the killings of the teammate she had taken legal action against, and the two interacted on the court. The Spartans responded to each kill with emotion, often shouting and hugging each other in the hard-fought sets.

Despite national media attention on the team, the Spartans played without incident in front of the tournament’s thinnest crowd. Police officers surrounded the outside area of ​​the arena and several security guards were stationed at each spectator entrance. There were no protesters outside or inside before the game. Mountain West officials said there were no safety issues during the day.

The Spartans and Rams traded points until the end of the first set, but the Rams pulled away 27-25 after challenging for a point that would have extended the set for SJSU. They overcame a four-point run by SJSU and trailed for most of the set.

At the end of the second set, Colorado State went on a run to win 25-20 as the Spartans were undone by offensive errors. Unlike the first two sets, the Rams took an early lead in the third set, but the Spartans made a run and took a 19-14 lead.

Colorado State used five blocks and a strong 69% side-out percentage to prevent the Spartans from making long runs. They also forced the Spartans into 26 attack errors. The Rams also outscored the Spartans on the receiving end, 62-52.

Slusser led SJSU with 34 assists and shot 16.7% with four kills and two attack errors.

The first time the Spartans faced the Rams this season, Colorado State won in Fort Collins. Less than a month later, SJSU played a home game in five close sets. On Saturday, the Rams’ experience showed in their ability to finish sets.

The Spartans’ courtroom turmoil will continue for the foreseeable future as the school and Mountain West face the lawsuit filed by Slusser and suspended associate head coach Melissa Batie-Smoose, accusing both companies of violating Title IX, by allowing the transgender player to play.

San Jose State was scheduled to play a semifinal against No. 6 seed Boise State on Friday after securing the No. 2 seed in the conference. But just hours after Boise State beat No. 3 seed Utah State on Wednesday, it announced it would not play the Spartans. It was the third time the Broncos declined to play SJSU this season.

San Jose State began the season 9-0 in non-conference before Slusser joined the lawsuit against the NCAA. Later that week, Boise State became the first Mountain West team to lose, followed by Utah State, Wyoming and Nevada.

“I will not sugarcoat our reality over the last two months,” Kress said in the statement. “Our team prepared and was ready to play every game in accordance with established Mountain West and NCAA rules of play. We have not deprived anyone of the 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 through 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 team to refuse to play San Jose State was Southern Utah on September 14, citing overcrowded schedules. However, a Chronicle public inquiry revealed that school administrators had considered not playing because of the Spartans’ transgender player.

After Slusser joined the NCAA lawsuit in September, the Spartans went 6-6 in the regular season, with just one win against teams that qualified for the conference tournament.

Batie-Smoose, who was suspended after leaking student information to a conservative media outlet, filed a Title IX complaint against SJSU and Mountain West that made numerous allegations against the transgender player. The Mountain West found insufficient evidence to support those claims, a fact Colorado State coach Emily Kohan reiterated Friday.

In mid-November, Slusser joined a second lawsuit against Mountain West and SJSU officials – both funded by the Independent Council on Women’s Sports – that included a request for an injunction to either remove her transgender teammate or prevent the Spartans from to participate in the conference tournament if she remained on the squad. The lawsuit, in which Batie-Smoose is also a plaintiff, argues that the transgender player’s participation violates Title IX, a federal civil rights law that prohibits gender discrimination in educational programs.

Slusser has declined interview requests with the Chronicle, including at the Mountain West tournament.

San Jose State has repeatedly stated that all of its players comply with NCAA rules. The NCAA’s mandatory medical requirements for trans volleyball players’ participation are the same guidelines set by USA Volleyball, the sport’s governing body.

San Jose State has never won a conference volleyball championship. It has appeared in the NCAA Tournament 12 times, most recently in 2001. Colorado State reached the Mountain West semifinals last season but has not been to the NCAA Tournament since 2021.

The story of this San Jose State women’s volleyball season will continue to be debated for a long time, with the next hearing in the lawsuit against the school and Mountain West scheduled for January. On the floor, however, things ended quietly in a season that was anything but a success.

Reach Marisa Ingemi: [email protected]; X: @marisa_ingemi