Boise State forfeits Mountain West volleyball semifinal to San Jose State

LAS VEGAS – San Jose State will advance to the Mountain West tournament final volleyball match after Boise State forfeited the semifinal against the Spartans late Wednesday night.

The school did not explain its reason for forfeiting Wednesday night in a statement announcing the choice:

“The decision to not continue to play in the 2024 Mountain West Volleyball Championship tournament was not an easy one,” the statement read. “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.”

Boise State defeated Utah State by a score of 3 sets to 1 in Wednesday’s quarterfinal, winning the first, third and fourth sets. The match was between two of the five teams that opted out of playing against San Jose State this season.

“I think we’re playing, but at this point in time, there’s nothing more to say,” Boise State media relations director Doug Link said immediately after the Broncos’ win.

When pressed further about whether he personally thought Boise State would opt to play, Link again answered that he did not know and that there was nothing more the university could say at this time.

When asked if there were any external pressures contributing to the decision, Link said he wasn’t able to comment. The match was scheduled for 4 p.m. PT Friday in Las Vegas.

SJSU was awarded six conference wins and seven overall due to opponents refusing to play. None of the schools declared why they forfeited, but the forfeits came after a lawsuit filed in September by Spartans co-captain Brooke Slusser and others alleged that an SJSU teammate was transgender, arguing she had advantages over opponents and teammates. Neither San Jose State nor the player have commented on the allegation, nor has any school of the schools that forfeited.

A legal motion in a second lawsuit seeking to bar the player from the tournament was denied by a federal judge on Monday, and that decision was upheld upon appeal Tuesday.

In part because of those forfeitures, San Jose State earned the No. 2 seed and a tournament bye into the conference semifinal. The Spartans enter with a 12-5 record in conference play but they’ve gone 6-5 in Mountain West games that were actually contested. Boise State earned the No. 6 seed, going 10-8 in conference play.

The Spartans will play either No. 1 seed  Colorado State or No. 5 San Diego State in the final, which carries an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.