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

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

The Rams downed the Spartans in four sets: 27-25, 25-20, 23-25, 25-16 to clinch an automatic bid to the 64-team NCAA Division I women’s volleyball tournament.

With the loss, San Jose State’s chance of making the tournament takes a hit. The championship bracket will be announced on Sunday.

“Our team played their hearts out today, the way they have done all season,” SJSU head coach Todd Kress said in a statement.

“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. 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.”

Sunday’s final came amid a monthslong controversy and ongoing legal challenges claiming there is a transgender player on the Spartans’ team.

Over the last several months, multiple teams in the Mountain West Conference, as well as one other team, refused to play against 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 competing in championship games.

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

“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,” Kress said. “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.”

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

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