After weeks of speculation, the Nevada women’s volleyball team’s match vs. San Jose State has officially been canceled.
Nevada did not reach the minimum six-player requirement to play a match. The university sent a statement on Thursday night.
“Due to not having enough players to compete, the University of Nevada women’s volleyball team will not play its scheduled Mountain West Conference match at San José State on Saturday, Oct. 26,” the University of Nevada, Reno said. “Per Mountain West Conference policy, the match will be recorded as a conference loss for Nevada.”
The match has been in the national news for weeks now after a majority of Nevada’s volleyball players voted to forfeit its match against San Jose State. However, the university said because of the Nevada Constitution, it can’t legally forfeit the match.
Brian Sandoval, university president, said despite the law, players have the First Amendment right to not play, and there would be no punishment for deciding not to play the match.
A dozen players, including Sia Liilii, Nevada co-captain, will be at The Little Waldorf on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 1 p.m. for a “Women Sports Are For Women Only” rally. The match against the Spartans was scheduled for the same day at noon.
Riley Gaines, a former NCAA swimmer, will also be in attendance and will be one of the speakers.
The match was originally set to take place in Reno, but both schools mutually agreed to relocate the match to San Jose. It allowed Nevada to not be responsible for any travel expenses since it was relocated.
With the official cancellation, Nevada will take a loss in conference play. This comes just an hour after Nevada lost a road match against Fresno State, and will now 11-10 overall and 4-6 in conference play.
Many Nevada players are also still pursuing a potential lawsuit against the university with Joey Gilbert, a local criminal justice attorney, and UNR alumni.
Dominic Gutierrez can be reached via email do**************@*nr.edu or via X @d_m_g_16
