(CNN) — No. 2 seed San Jose State lost to No. 1 seed Colorado State in the Mountain West Conference volleyball final on Saturday at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas amid an ongoing gender controversy surrounding a Spartans player.
The Rams downed the Spartans in four sets: 27-25, 25-20, 23-25, 25-16 to clinch an automatic bid to the 64-team NCAA Division I women’s volleyball tournament.
With the loss, San Jose State’s chance of making the tournament takes a hit. The championship bracket will be announced on Sunday.
Sunday’s final came amid a monthslong controversy and ongoing legal challenges claiming there is a transgender player on the Spartans’ team.
Over the last several months, multiple teams in the Mountain West Conference, as well as one other team, refused to play against San Jose State. The dispute continued as several athletes from various schools in the conference filed a federal lawsuit earlier this month seeking to stop a San Jose State player from competing in championship games.
Neither the player in question nor San Jose State University have commented publicly on the player’s gender. CNN is not naming the player since she has not publicly discussed her gender and declined to comment through a university official.
The first and second rounds of the tournament are scheduled to begin on December 5 and run through December 7. The national championship game is on December 22 at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky.
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