The San Jose State women’s volleyball team’s game at the University of Nevada later this month may end up as another forfeit victory for the Spartans. But they’ll have to travel to Reno on Oct. 26 to find out.

The Spartans have been at the epicenter of the debate about transgender athletes in women’s sports, seeing four opponents refuse to play SJSU for unspecified reasons. And for several hours Monday their Mountain West game at Reno had been added to the list. Wolf Pack players announced through a web site that they had voted not to play against the Spartans to make a stand in the controversy.

But by mid-day, the saga took another twist when Nevada officials announced that not only don’t they support their players’ decision or stance, the school intends to play the game as scheduled.

OutKick.com, the conservative sports and political web site, released a statement from the players Monday morning that read, “We, the University of Nevada Reno women’s volleyball team, forfeit against San Jose State University and stand united in solidarity with the volleyball teams of Southern Utah University, Boise State University, the University of Wyoming, and Utah State University.

“We demand that our right to safety and fair competition on the court be upheld. We refuse to participate in any match that advances injustice against female athletes.”

By mid-day, University of Nevada school officials released a statement that said, in part “the players’ decision also does not represent the position of the University.”

The school concluded by saying, “The University intends to move forward with the match as scheduled, and the players may choose not to participate in the match on the day of the contest. No players will be subject to any team disciplinary action for their decision not to participate in the match.”

A week ago, Nevada officials, in a statement to OutKick, said that it “intends to play its remaining Mountain West schedule, including the matchup with San Jose State.”

Based on the dates in Monday’s statement, the players may have approached school administrators around the same time before going to the web site. The school’s statement said, “On Oct. 13, 2024, the majority of members of the University of Nevada, Reno women’s volleyball team sent a statement to the University advising the institution that they were forfeiting its scheduled match with San Jose State University on Oct. 26, 2024. The players’ decision and statement were made independently, and without consultation with the University or the athletic department.”

The statement added, “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 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.”

If Nevada does not have enough players to field a team against SJSU, they will become the fifth school to forfeit a match against the Spartans this season.

Earlier Monday, all indications were there absolutely would be no game. SJSU officials even released a statement noting their continued disappointment that their players, “who are in full compliance with NCAA and Mountain West rules and regulations, are being denied opportunities to compete.”

Time will tell if the match will be played in Reno. But for now it’s still on the schedules of both teams’ web sites.

Schools that previously refused to play the Spartans — fellow Mountain West conference members Boise State, Wyoming and Utah State, and Southern Utah, which opted out of a tournament game against SJSU in September — did not say why they were forfeiting their matches. But San Jose State player Brooke Slusser joined a lawsuit earlier this month and said she has a transgender teammate who, she argued, has physical advantages over other women athletes. This news organization is not identifying the player named in the lawsuit.

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon supported the university’s stance by saying, in part, “it is important we stand for integrity and fairness in female athletics” in a post on Twitter/X.

SJSU head coach Todd Kress acknowledged Thursday after his team’s match against San Diego State that people have been sending “disgusting” hate mail to members of the team via social media platforms, texts and phone messages.

“The people who are sending those messages, I think they need to wake up, look at themselves in the mirror and really question who they are as human beings,” Kress said. “Is their end game to try to damage the mental health of 18-, 19- and 20-year-old females?”

The Spartans are 9-3 overall and 4-3 in Mountain West play. SJSU, which has lost the past three matches it has played, including two at home last week, is scheduled to play at New Mexico on Thursday and at Air Force on Saturday. The scheduled Oct. 23 home game against Utah State is a forfeit, so the Spartans don’t play at home again until Halloween night against Air Force.

“We’re day by day, and we’ve kind of learned to roll with the punches,” Kress said. “We don’t take anything for granted when we get a chance to play.”