No outside strain from political disagreement could slow Colorado State volleyball down as the Rams collected yet another victory Thursday night.
CSU now stands at a 7-6 record for its entire season, but now getting into its conference season, the team has asserted its place at the top of the Mountain West, not having lost a game yet.
San Jose State put up a tough fight, but could not manage to secure a set. The Spartans lost in three sets (25-18, 25-20, 25-20) against the CSU’s well-oiled machine.
“One of our core values is unity, and we really wanted to stick together and be a team that is able to go on a quest for a championship,” Naeemah Weathers said. “Being able to kind of stick to the program and do it together was something that was super important to all of us.”
Amid the controversy regarding former athlete and political activist Riley Gaines’ lawsuit stating that the NCAA’s Transgender Eligibility Policies violate Title IX and the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, CSU elected to compete against the Spartans Thursday night.
The controversy regarding SJSU ramped up online when SJSU player Brooke Slusser joined Gaines’ class-action lawsuit, claiming she has a transgender teammate who she believes has a physical advantage over other players and stating concerns regarding safety and equality within the sport.
A total of four schools have pulled out of their game against SJSU, yet CSU was very collective in its decision that, yes, the team was making a statement, but also working its way back to the championship game.
“We’ve talked a lot about controlling our destiny in conference,” Kennedy Stanford said. “(We are) coming out and taking command and proving that we are the team to beat in this conference.”
Coach Emily Kohan said that the program would not force players to play against SJSU, still, the team came out as a “full unified front,” with the typical starting players active on the court including team leaders Malaya Jones, Stanford and Weathers.
With strong attackers came ease on the court, CSU gained 13 more kills than SJSU and another sweep on the court, this being its second this season.
“I’m really proud with our team leading with kindness and continuing to discover their own self and what’s important to them,” Kohan said.
CSU glided into its third win in a row against SJSU with ease as Maria Brun went on a serving spree tallying a game-high three aces, to secure her team momentum and evidently the first set.
Although making it look easy, the Rams hitting .347 compared to San Jose’s .100, was not always a simple match for them. They understood that while racking up points on the court, people watching were aware of the impact their participation in the game made.
“It’s an incredibly complex and divisive issue, and we went into it having a conversation with our team, and I’m very proud of how thoughtful our leadership was the entire time,” Kohan said. “We represent a university where inclusivity is something that we prioritize, and I was really proud with the way our team handled the discussions.”
Evidently, playing or not playing was a statement on CSU’s behalf, especially noting that the match was on CSU’s Inclusive Excellence Day.
“Where diversity, equity, and inclusion are not just ideals, but the foundations of Colorado State’s progress and innovation,” the university’s statement on inclusive excellence reads.
Completely rewriting their wrongs from the beginning of the season in terms of losses, Rams volleyball not only stands together but excels at what they are doing, remaining undefeated in their conference season.
“When (the Rams are) in (their) system, they’re tough to stop, and they seem to be in (the) system a lot in their home gym,” said Todd Kress, SJSU volleyball coach. “They just have a lot of weapons that they can throw at you at any given time and make it very difficult to slow them down.”
As for SJSU, it was previously undefeated before facing off against the Rams, but as its routine was broken, so was its streak.
“We lost because we didn’t play like ourselves, and there was so much more that we walked away not giving that we should have,” Slusser said. “We’d rather that happen now than later on and be able to grow and learn from it.”
Similar to CSU, SJSU also wanted to appear as a connected and united front, leaving the differences off the court.
It was vital that politics would not be included in the game, Kress saying that the tension should end wherever it started, with nothing left that would create a boundary between players.
“When we walk into that gym, it’s all about mutual respect,” Slusser said. “We love each other at the end of the day.”
Slusser chose to provide no further comments regarding the situation off the court.
“There’s a human in the jersey number three over there, and there’s a lot of stakeholders on our team that have individual opinions about it,” Kohan said. “We decided to prioritize our unity and our quest for a conference championship and try to make this statement in playing.”
By going through with the game, the team is confirming their dominance and showing that they belong and have a place as the No. 1 team in the conference.
The Rams have become more established whether that is with their lineup or skills, showing that when they play Fresno State on Saturday they can win and get one step closer to claiming the championship game for the Mountain West Tournament.
“It’s a completely different set of emotion,” Kohan said. “We want some revenge because that was our championship game. We’ve always said we’re our best team when we’re doing our thing.”
Reach Sophie Webb at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @sophgwebb.
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