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University of Nevada women’s volleyball player Sia Liillii shined under the spotlight of Republican leaders this week.
Liillii, a senior and captain for Nevada, led her team to a victory over Utah State on Tuesday, just days after she and her teammates announced they intended to forfeit an upcoming match against a team with a transgender player.
After the game, she met with Republicans, former Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin and Nevada Senate candidate Sam Brown.
The figures attended the game in person to praise the decision of Liillii and her teammates.
In front of the major allies of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, Liillii spoke out against her own school. Despite her teammates’ wishes, her university and volleyball program announced it intends to move forward with the game against San Jose State, which has already seen four other opponents forfeit this year. Liillii said the players have had direct conversations with Nevada Athletic Director Stephanie Rempe, but it has not changed the program’s mind to not officially cancel the match.
“I know what our team is going to do, and we are going to have integrity,” Liillii told The Reno Gazzette Journal. “I think this is the toughest thing our team has gone through, but I’m just glad I have so many brave young women behind me, and I get to be the captain of this team.”
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Nevada Wolf Pack women’s volleyball players with Sam Brown and Tulsi Gabbard. (Sam Brown Campaign)
Nevada released a statement this week confirming its plan to play San Jose State, while promising that its own players will not be disciplined for declining to play.
“The University and its athletic programs are governed by the Nevada Constitution and Nevada law, which strictly protect equality of rights under the law, and that equality of rights shall not be denied or abridged by this state or any of its subdivisions on account of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, ancestry or national origin,” the statement read. “The University is also governed by federal law as well as the rules and regulations of the NCAA and the Mountain West Conference, which include providing competition in an inclusive and supportive environment.”
San Jose State has been dealt a string of forfeits amid an ongoing controversy and lawsuit involving its players. Brooke Slusser, a junior playing for San Jose State, is currently engaged in a lawsuit for sharing a court, locker room and even a room on overnight trips with a player who was not disclosed to be a biological male to her and others on the team until it was later revealed.
OPINION: AS A FEMALE ATHLETE, I DO NOT CONSENT TO PLAYING ALONGSIDE MEN IN COLLEGIATE SPORTS
From front left to right, San Jose State setter Brooke Slusser celebrates after scoring a point with libero Randilyn Reeves, outside hitter Blaire Fleming and libero Alessia Buffagni during the first set of an NCAA college volleyball match against Colorado State on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024 in Fort Collins, Colorado. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
The player, Blaire Fleming, is still competing for San Jose State and would be on the court if Nevada plays its upcoming match on Oct. 26.
For Liilllii, that simply cannot fly.
“For us, it always came down to … equal opportunity, fair play on the court,” Lilli told the outlet. “Women have fought so hard to get to the point where we are, playing D1 volleyball and having matches like this. For someone who is a biological male to come in is not fair.”
Gabbard responded to Liillii’s comments by saying she is “so proud of her,” per The Journal.
Matches against San Jose State could come with added security risks, as police protection has been assigned to the team since its match against Colorado State, Fox News Digital previously reported.
San Jose State and its players have been placed in a bullseye of a national controversy over the inclusion of transgenders in women’s sports, with social media criticisms seen against Slusser from pro-transgender activists, and criticisms against Fleming from those with anti-transgender beliefs.
Spartans head coach Todd Kress has admitted there is tension in the team.
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San Jose State University Spartans head coach Todd Kress speaks with members of the news media following their loss in an NCAA Mountain West women’s volleyball game against the Colorado State University Rams in Fort Collins, Colorado, on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
“Sometimes tension is not necessarily a bad thing, and I’m not saying that there is. But you know, when you do have tension, or you do have confrontations, I mean, I’m a person that believes that from confrontation, good things usually happen. We settle our differences, and we work through it,” Kress said.
“The last thing that I would want is there’s the white elephant in the room, and there is no tension, we don’t address it, and we never move past it, right? So I think there may be tension, but it dies. If we’re in a meeting room and there’s tension, it dies there. If there’s tension on the court, it dies there. We really don’t let the boundaries cross over, and that’s how I think we’ve been so successful thus far.”
When San Jose State played Colorado State, it was one of the few matches it had played in weeks amid the series of recent forfeits. Kress said he even felt compelled to thank Colorado State head coach Emily Kohan just for agreeing to play his team.
Whether Kress will get to thank Nevada head coach Shannon Hunt for a game is uncertain.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Nevada for comment but has not received a response at the time of publication.
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