LAS VEGAS – Boise State has not yet decided whether it will play San Jose State in the Mountain West women’s volleyball semifinal on Friday, after losing two matches to the Spartans in the regular season.
Boise State defeated Utah State by a score of 3 sets to 1 in Tuesday’s quarterfinals, winning the first, third and fourth sets. The game was contested between two of the five teams that opted not to play San Jose State this season, which created uncertainty over whether the winner would advance to face the Spartans in the semifinals.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” said Doug Link, Boise State’s director of media relations. “I think we are playing, but at the moment there is nothing more to say.”
When asked if he personally thought Boise State would choose to play, Link again said he didn’t know and the university couldn’t say anything more at this time.
When asked whether external pressure contributed to the decision, Link said he was unable to comment. He did not provide a timetable for the impending decision. The match is scheduled for Friday at 4 p.m. PT in Las Vegas.
SJSU has won six in conference and seven overall due to its opponents refusing to play. Neither school has explained why they withdrew, but after a September lawsuit filed by Spartans co-captain Brooke Slusser and others alleged that an SJSU teammate was transgender, arguing that she had advantages over her opponents and teammates. Neither San Jose State nor the player have commented on the allegation, nor have any of the schools that withdrew.
A motion in a second lawsuit to exclude the player from the tournament was denied by a federal judge on Monday, and that decision was upheld on appeal Tuesday.
Largely as a result of these forfeits, San Jose State earned the No. 2 seed and a bye to the conference semifinals. The Spartans enter with a 12-5 record in conference play, but they are 6-5 in Mountain West games that have actually been played. Boise State took home sixth place with a 10-8 conference record.
Originally published:
