LAS VEGAS (AP) — San Jose State said Thursday it was disappointed Boise State forfeited its semifinal match in the Mountain West women’s volleyball tournament but that the Spartans were focused on the future. Boise State, which twice boycotted regular-season matches with San Jose State, pulled out of the conference tournament Wednesday night, hours after securing a spot against the Spartans in Friday’s semifinals. With Boise State’s withdrawal, San Jose State advanced to Saturday’s championship match. While the Broncos didn’t announce explicitly why they withdrew, a lawsuit was recently filed in Colorado by players from various schools against the conference and San Jose State officials calling for a Spartans player not to be allowed to participate in the tournament. They cited unspecified reports asserting there was a transgender player on the San Jose State volleyball team, even naming her. U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Kato Crews in Denver ruled Monday that the player was allowed to play, and a federal appeals court upheld the decision the following day. “In this time of Thanksgiving, we are especially thankful for those who continue to engage in civil and respectful discourse,” San Jose State’s statement said. “We celebrate and support all of our students,

Despite missing 18 straight field goals in the first half and facing a nine point deficit early in the second half — the largest faced by USU this season — the Aggies hung on to beat St. Bonaventure 72-67 in the opening round of the NIT Season Tip-off in Orlando on Thanksgiving. Utah State’s offensive numbers entering this week were what jumped off the page for most people. A 98.6 points per game average (first in the nation) and top ten ranks in most shooting percentage categories were about as impressive as it gets. But the question for teams with those kinds of numbers always tends to be what happens when the shots aren’t falling. For Utah State, the answer is just to win anyway. The Aggies have won back-to-back games in uglier fashion with this Thanksgiving win alongside the victory over Iowa earlier this week. “Really what you got look at is, around the country, who’s winning like that,” USU head coach Jerrod Calhoun asked. “In this NIL and this [transfer] portal world, who wins ugly like that, with so many new players? Not a lot. And I think that’s what makes Utah State a different place.” The defining