By Nick Austin – Spear Reporter | Senior Brooke Bryant (2) prepares to spike the ball (photo by Nick Orozco – Co-Executive Editor of The Spear)
After advancing to the Mountain West Championship due to Boise State forfeiting the semi-final game against SJSU, the Spartans tumultuous season has come to an end.
The Spartans lost 3-1 to Colorado State after attempting a comeback after losing the first two sets.
“They fought all the way through the end. They showed a lot of heart, they showed a lot of desire, they showed a lot of moxy,” SJSU head coach Todd Kress said of his team after the loss to Colorado State.
Senior Blaire Fleming and sophomore Nayeli Ti’a both had good games and tallied double-digit kills with Fleming having 17 and Ti’a having 12.
The Spartans were unable to contain Colorado State senior Malaya Jones as she led her team with 26 kills and was the leading force in Colorado State’s win.
“We didn’t have an answer for her with our block and we tried everything we could. I thought she played an incredible match,” Kress said.
All four sets consisted of back-and-forth scoring with neither team pulling away from the other until late in the fourth set when Colorado State went on an 8-0 run to end the match.
This was the Spartans third time playing the Rams as they had played each other twice in the regular season with both teams winning once.
Throughout the season, the Spartans faced a lot of negative publicity and backlash as they dealt with multiple lawsuits being filed against the NCAA and the Mountain West conference that accuses a member of the team of being transgender.. The player has not identified herself as transgender and San Jose State has not confirmed whether any transgender player is on the team.
“I have immense pride in the fact that we competed as a team all season long. These players put their love for the game above all else to play as a team each and every match,” head coach Todd Kress said in a statement after SJSU’s loss to Colorado. “This has been one of the most difficult seasons I’ve ever experienced and I know this is true as well for many of our players and the staff who have been supporting us all along.”
Kress said with every forfeiture the team braced for the inevitable fallout and the “appalling” and “hateful” messages that were to be directed towards them.
However with all the criticism and outside noise, the Spartans were able to make it to the MWC championship game for the second time in three years and manage a 14-7 record.
Even with five seniors leaving the team, Kress seems optimistic about the team’s future going forward.
“We’ll have a great spring season, we’ve got a great group coming in and I look more than forward to the 2025 season,” Kress said.
