Aztecs Volleyball Sweeps San Jose State Team Burdened by Transgender Lawsuit Controversy

The visiting San Diego State volleyball team recorded its second straight sweep Thursday at San Jose State (25-21, 25-18, 25-19) in a Mountain West clash.

The match was played against a backdrop of tension as San Jose State has dealt with four abrupt forfeits by opponents, including fellow MW teams Utah State, Boise State and Wyoming.

The issue apparently stems from the presence of Spartan Blaire Fleming, who Yahoo Sports reported was outed as transgender in a class action lawsuit against the NCAA. The revelation came about last month when Fleming’s teammate, Brooke Slusser, joined the suit, in which plaintiffs are seeking a ban of transgender women in college sports.

Fleming has not addressed her status in public.

The Aztecs played on Thursday despite the controversy, raising their record to 11-4 overall and 3-2 in conference play.

The Spartans suffered their second straight defeat, falling 9-2 on the year and 4-2 in the MW.

SDSU is off to its best start since 1995, when the Scarlet and Black had a 13-2 record through its first 15 matches.

The Aztecs were led by the combo of Jasmine Davis and Kat Cooper, who combined for 17 of the team’s 36 kills, committing one error apiece. Davis blasted 10 kills on 18 swings for a .500 hitting percentage and served up two aces, while Cooper finished with a .545 efficiency, launching seven put-aways in 11 swings.

As a team, SDSU maintained the edge in kills (36-30), hitting percentage (.233 to .098), service aces (8-4) and digs (37-32) to key its victory. SJSU’s paltry .098 clip marked the lowest efficiency by an Aztec opponent this season.

San Diego State also benefitted from 14 unforced attack errors and 10 misguided serves by the Spartans.

SJSU received a double-double from Fleming, who led all players with 11 kills and 10 digs, but hit just .053 after committing nine attack errors. Slusser added seven put-aways and dished out 15 assists.

San Jose State coach Todd Kress told the San Francisco Chronicle that his team has been the target of hate on social media, email, direct messages and voice mail. He called the ugliness “outside noise,” but also expressed fears about the toll on his players’ mental health.

But the intensity of the situation, which has drawn the attention of activists, high-level politicians and now, national media, has surprised him.

“I don’t think anybody, any of us, envisioned this,” he said.

San Diego State concludes its weekend road trip with a matinee match at Fresno State at 11 a.m. Saturday. The Bulldogs (7-9, 3-2 MW) defeated UNLV at home in four sets Thursday.