LAS VEGAS, Nevada – Utah State volleyball saw their season come to an end in the first round of the Mountain West Tournament, falling to Boise State, 3-1 (25-19, 18-25, 25-20, 25-23) on Wednesday at Cox Pavilion.  Head coach Rob Neilson “Sometimes competition breaks your heart. I am so proud of this group and their battle all season. Climbing back into that fourth set was special, but ultimately not enough to beat a tough Boise State team. I am so proud of Adna, Kelsey and Kaylie for all they’ve given to our program, and extremely excited for the future of Aggie volleyball with a talented group of future stars. Amazing things to come, the Aggies are on the rise!” Set One After USU defeated the Broncos twice during the regular season, Boise State came out in the opening set determined for a different result, opening up an 8-2 lead to begin the match. After the Broncos led by as many as eight points, Utah State rallied with an 8-3 stretch to claw back within three points. BSU responded with another run to restore their lead and extend it to nine points at 23-14. The Aggies fought back with a 5-0 burst

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Boise State, which twice boycotted regular-season matches with San Jose State, pulled out of the Mountain West women’s volleyball tournament Wednesday night even after securing a spot in the semifinals against the Spartans. San Jose State, which received six forfeit victories because of boycotts from Mountain West opponents, is seeded second in the conference tournament and received a first-round bye. Now the Spartans will advance all the way to Saturday’s championship match rather than take the court Friday. Boise State released a statement that read: “The decision to not continue to play in the 2024 Mountain West Volleyball Championship tournament was not an easy one. Our team overcame forfeitures to earn a spot in the tournament field and fought for the win over Utah State in the first round on Wednesday. They should not have to forgo this opportunity while waiting for a more thoughtful and better system that serves all athletes.” The statement came hours after the Broncos defeated Utah State 25-19, 18-25, 25-20, 25-23 in the quarterfinals. Boise State didn’t commit immediately after the match to playing San Jose State. What went into its decision to withdraw from the tournament was unclear, whether it

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A team that previously boycotted at least one match against the San Jose State women’s volleyball program will again be faced with the decision whether to play the school, this time in the Mountain West Conference semifinals with a shot at the NCAA Tournament on the line. Five schools forfeited matches in the regular season against San Jose State, which carried a No. 2 seed into the conference tournament in Las Vegas. Among those schools: No. 3 Utah State and No. 6 Boise State, who will face off Wednesday with the winner scheduled to play the Spartans in the semifinals on Friday. Wyoming, Nevada and Southern Utah — which is not a Mountain West member — also canceled regular-season matches, all without explicitly saying why they were forfeiting. Nevada players cited fairness in women’s sports as a reason to boycott their match, while political figures from Wyoming, Idaho, Utah and Nevada suggested the cancellations center around protecting women’s sports. In a lawsuit filed against the NCAA, plaintiffs cited unspecified reports asserting there was a transgender player on the San Jose State volleyball team, even naming her. While some media have reported those and other details, neither

A federal appeals court upheld a ruling Tuesday that allows a San Jose State women’s volleyball team member to play in this week’s Mountain West Conference tournament after a legal complaint said she should be ineligible on grounds that she is transgender and thus stronger, posing a safety risk to teammates and opponents. A two-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with U.S. Magistrate S. Kato Crews in Denver. On Monday he rejected the request for an emergency injunction, finding the players and others who challenged the league’s policy of allowing transgender athletes to participate should have filed the complaint earlier. The tournament starts Wednesday in Las Vegas, but top-seeded Colorado State and second-seeded San Jose State have byes into Friday’s semifinal matches. They waited too long Judge Crews and the 10th Circuit noted the request for the emergency injunction was filed in mid-November, less than two weeks before the tournament was scheduled to start. The complaint could have been made weeks earlier, both courts said. The first conference forfeit happened Sept. 28. All the schools that canceled games against San Jose State acknowledged at the time that they would take a league loss, Crews noted.