The world of college sports is often filled with drama both on and off the court, but few stories exemplify the challenges faced by student-athletes and coaches quite like the Colorado State University (CSU) Rams’ journey to winning the 2024 Mountain West Conference (MWC) Volleyball Championship. While the team’s thrilling victory over San Jose State University (SJSU) on November 30 should have dominated the headlines, it was overshadowed by a storm of off-court controversy. Yet, in the end, CSU’s performance on the court spoke far louder than any political or social debates, reminding everyone why sports remain a powerful force for unity, resilience, and strength.
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A Championship on the Line
For the CSU Rams, a win in the MWC Volleyball Championship was a crucial step toward returning to the NCAA Tournament. The Rams had not appeared in the NCAA tournament since 2019, and this was their first opportunity to clinch the MWC title since 2011. Despite boasting a strong record of 20-10 for the season, the team knew they had much more than just a title at stake—they were competing for something much more meaningful: the chance to represent their university on the national stage.
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Head coach Emily Kohan, who took over the program in 2023, made it clear from the start that returning to the NCAA tournament was one of her top priorities. CSU had historically been one of the most consistent programs in college volleyball, reaching the NCAA tournament for 25 consecutive years before a rare absence in 2020. Kohan’s commitment to restoring that legacy was unwavering, and she had assembled a team capable of achieving greatness.
The MWC Championship match was set for November 30, and the Rams were ready to face off against San Jose State University, a team that had experienced a turbulent season marked by controversy. Off-court issues, including debates around gender and fairness in sports, had grabbed national attention, threatening to overshadow the athletes’ hard work and the competition itself.
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Off-Court Controversy and its Impact
The controversy surrounding the SJSU Spartans began earlier in the season when setter Brooke Slusser publicly claimed that one of her teammates was transgender. While the athlete in question, along with the university, never officially confirmed or denied these claims, the revelation sparked a firestorm. As a result, several teams within the Mountain West Conference—Wyoming, Utah State, Nevada, Southern Utah, and Boise State—chose to forfeit games against SJSU, citing issues around fairness and inclusion. However, these teams never explicitly named the transgender athlete as the reason for their decisions.
The situation escalated further when Slusser filed a federal lawsuit, alongside ten other current and former players from the Mountain West Conference, seeking to ban the transgender athlete from participating in the tournament and to eliminate losses from teams that forfeited their matches against SJSU. The lawsuit became a focal point for national discussions on gender, fairness, and the rights of transgender athletes in competitive sports.
Despite the media attention surrounding these issues, the CSU Rams remained focused on their goal—winning the Mountain West Championship. Head coach Emily Kohan, who had been steadfast in her support for her players, refused to be drawn into the controversy. Instead, Kohan emphasized the importance of demonstrating courage through their play and letting their performance on the court speak for itself.
The Rams Respond with Their Play
And that’s exactly what the Rams did. On November 30, in front of a packed audience, CSU faced off against SJSU in a match that was much more than just a volleyball game. With the MWC title on the line, CSU played with determination, composure, and skill. The Rams won the match in four sets, securing their first conference title in over a decade.
CSU dominated in several key areas, recording 64 kills to SJSU’s 57 and posting a remarkable .409 hitting percentage compared to SJSU’s .193. Malaya Jones led the charge for CSU, finishing with 26 kills, nine digs, and three blocks. Her outstanding performance earned her a spot on the MWC All-Tournament team, alongside teammates Emery Herman, Naeemah Weathers, and Karina Leber. Herman, CSU’s setter, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, contributing 34 assists, four kills, and seven digs in the championship match.
Jones, who had already been named Mountain West Player of the Year earlier in the season, was one of the standout players in the championship, but the team’s overall performance reflected the collective effort and unity of the entire squad. Kohan, too, was recognized for her leadership, receiving the Mountain West Coach of the Year award.
In the aftermath of the championship victory, Kohan spoke passionately about her team’s resilience and focus, saying, “Our team, individually and collectively, decided to stay a group and to show courage in the way we were going to play and the way we were going to make our statement by controlling our own destiny.”
Controversy Continues, but the Rams Stay Focused
While the Rams’ victory was a testament to their skill, character, and perseverance, the controversy surrounding the SJSU Spartans continued to loom large. The controversy began even before the championship match, during the teams’ regular-season encounter on October 3, when SJSU associate head coach Melissa Batie-Smoose filed a Title IX complaint accusing a CSU player of conspiring with the transgender athlete to target Slusser during the match. Mountain West officials ultimately found insufficient evidence to support the claim and closed the investigation. Batie-Smoose, who had been part of the federal lawsuit against SJSU’s alleged transgender athlete, was not present on the bench during the MWC tournament.
In an effort to protect her players from the media frenzy, Kohan took the bold step of shielding her athletes from interviews following the Rams’ semifinal and championship victories. “There’s been a lot of focus on my players, and, maybe, people trying to pick at them and picking on these young humans,” Kohan explained. “You couldn’t ask for them to be better humans, and people are still trying to come at them and try to make them pretty vulnerable. So I’m here to make sure I try to protect my players.”
Adding to the controversy, three Black players on the CSU team—Jones, Weathers, and Leber—chose to kneel during the national anthem in solidarity with the ongoing fight for racial justice. This act of protest, which the players had been practicing since their freshman year in 2020, was widely covered in the media, drawing both support and criticism. Kohan, however, remained unwavering in her support for her players’ right to express their beliefs.
“In this program, we raise critical thinkers to be able to make decisions for what’s important to them, and for those three, they’re Black players,” Kohan said. “It’s been important to them for five years, and they’ve stood their ground for saying that this is something that they believe in, and we’ve all supported them.”
Looking Ahead: A New Challenge
With the Mountain West Championship now in hand, the CSU Rams are preparing for their upcoming challenge in the NCAA tournament. They will face off against sixth-seeded Texas A&M in the first round on December 6 in Tempe, Arizona. Though the controversy surrounding the season may have shifted the focus away from the team’s achievements, Kohan and her players are determined to continue making their mark on the court.
“We stuck together through a lot and against a lot of odds and a lot of negative energy, and we controlled our own destiny,” Kohan said. “We made a statement in the process. … We’ve been able to stay about the Rams—about the ‘Ramily’—and not be nasty humans.”
In the end, it wasn’t the controversy that defined this CSU volleyball team—it was their play, their unity, and their commitment to each other. As they head into the NCAA tournament, the Rams have made it clear that they are a force to be reckoned with, and their focus on the game will continue to be their greatest strength.
With a legacy of resilience and a determination to play the game they love, the CSU Rams have proven that, in sports, what happens on the court is what truly matters.
