The San Jose State women’s volleyball team’s quest for perfection ended with its first loss of the season on Thursday night at Colorado State.
At least the Spartans were back on the floor. Because lately it's been cancellation after cancellation by their opponents for reasons that have not been specified.
“I walked up to (Colorado State coach) Emily (Kohan) and I was like, ‘Should I say thank you for playing us tonight?’” said Todd Kress, whose team had won nine straight to start the season before a three-set loss to the Rams. “I seriously meant that because, of course, we’re disappointed that we’re losing opportunities to play. But it’s not just us that are losing opportunities to play, it’s the people choosing not to play us. That’s very unfortunate when it comes to these young women that have earned the right to step on the court and play.”
The Spartans (9-1, 3-1 Mountain West) got an unexpected break in their schedule when Boise State forfeited a game on Sept. 28, one of four programs that have canceled on San Jose State in the last three weeks.
Utah State announced Wednesday it was forfeiting its Oct. 23 contest versus San Jose State. That was on the heels of Wyoming issuing a statement saying it would forfeit its game against the Spartans, who they were supposed to play Saturday in Laramie, Wyoming.
The spate of cancellations started Sept. 14, when Southern Utah didn’t take the floor against San Jose State, with the result listed as “canceled” on the conference’s website.
Political figures from Wyoming, Idaho and Utah have weighed in and suggested the forfeits centered around protecting women’s sports.
“We’re in a position where it appears that government and politics has kind of intertwined itself with college sports,” Kress said. “The one thing that I love about college sports, it’s always been a safe haven for me. That’s one area that government, I don’t think should be involved. And so it seems, or at least it appears, that some of those decisions are being made at levels to where they’re denying their student-athletes to play, which is then denying our student-athletes to play.”
San Jose State appeared rusty in its return to action for the first time in more than a week, losing 25-18, 25-20, 25-20.
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“Athletes are creatures of habit, they really are. So are coaches,” Kress said. “So when we have additional days off, we’re kind of like, ‘Yeah, what are we doing here today?’ I mean, that could definitely have something to do with it. I’m not one that really makes excuses, so I just think that we came in and played a team that was ready to play.”
Before playing Thursday, the Rams (7-6, 3-0) had a team conversation about the situation.
“We decided to prioritize our unity and our quest for a conference championship and try to make the statement in playing," Kohan said.
Mountain West officials declined to comment on the forfeits. An email sent to Southern Utah wasn’t returned. In followup emails to Boise State and Wyoming, the schools referred back to their original statements announcing the forfeits.
The Spartans are simply tuning out the outside noise.
“When we walk into that gym, it’s all about mutual respect, and we’re all here for one goal — we all want to win a volleyball game,” San Jose State setter Brooke Slusser said. “When we walk into that gym, it doesn’t matter what’s happening in your personal life, what’s happening with a teammate, it doesn’t matter. You go in there and you work your butt off for each other, because we love each other.”
Dealing with the cancellations now and potentially more down the road can make it difficult to maintain rhythm.
“It’s not ideal,” Spartans right-side hitter Brooke Bryant said. "Not saying we’re expecting it to happen, we kind of are. And when we do get the opportunity to put the jersey on, we just play for each other.”
The Spartans won't play again until Oct. 10 at home against San Diego State.
“This team is one of my favorites, in regard to the fact of who they are as human beings,” Kress said. "They are incredible people. I love each and every one of them, and they have rallied around each other.
"I’m not sure of any teams that I’ve coached in the past would be able to handle some of the outside pressures that we’ve dealt with, but we’ve done an incredible job of doing that.”
