LOGAN, Utah — The Utah State women’s volleyball team became the fourth program to cancel a match against San Jose State for reasons that have not been specified.
The Aggies announced Wednesday the decision to forfeit their Oct. 23 Mountain West Conference match. Boise State already forfeited its match on Sept. 28 against the Spartans, and Wyoming followed suit this week, announcing the match slated for Saturday was now a 3-0 forfeit win for San Jose State.
On Sept. 14, Southern Utah became the first school not to take the floor against San Jose State, with the result listed as “canceled” on the conference’s website. An email sent to Southern Utah wasn’t returned. In follow-up emails to Boise State and Wyoming, the schools referred back to their original statements.
Political figures from Wyoming, Idaho and Utah have weighed in and suggested the forfeits centered around protecting women’s sports.
The Spartans did finally take the court Thursday night against Colorado State in Fort Collins, Colorado. They appeared rusty in their return to action for the first time in more than a week, losing 25-18, 25-20, 25-20.
“I walked up to (Colorado State coach) Emily (Kohan) and I was like, ‘Should I say thank you for playing us tonight?'” said San Jose State coach Todd Kress, whose team had won nine straight to start the season before the three-set loss to the Rams. “I seriously meant that because, of course, we’re disappointed that we’re losing opportunities to play. But it’s not just us that are losing opportunities to play, it’s the people choosing not to play us. That’s very unfortunate when it comes to these young women that have earned the right to step on the court and play.”
Before playing Thursday, the Rams (7-6, 3-0) had a team conversation about the situation.
“We decided to prioritize our unity and our quest for a conference championship and try to make the statement in playing,” Kohan said.
The Spartans won’t play again until Oct. 10 at home against San Diego State.
“This team is one of my favorites, in regard to the fact of who they are as human beings,” Kress said. “They are incredible people. I love each and every one of them, and they have rallied around each other.
“I’m not sure of any teams that I’ve coached in the past would be able to handle some of the outside pressures that we’ve dealt with, but we’ve done an incredible job of doing that.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
