Business as usual at Cox Pavilion as UNLV tops SJSU team mired in controversy
A campus police officer stood at the entrance of Cox Pavilion on Thursday as friends, players’ families and students trickled in.
But well before the Rebels took the court against San Jose State for a volleyball match, it was clear the lieutenant’s services wouldn’t be needed.
Although five teams have forfeited to the Spartans this season in protest against the participation of transgender athletes in sports, there was no heckling or political messaging Thursday.
The only signs in the crowd were in support of UNLV, held by children who were given the supplies to make them at Cox Pavilion — a normal activity the team provides for kids at its home games.
The public address announcer also read a statement before the match asking everyone in the building to show respect to one another, another routine occurrence.
The most out of the ordinary event was the Rebels’ 3-1 victory, which snapped the team’s six-game losing streak. UNLV is ninth out of 11 teams in the Mountain West standings, while San Jose State is second.
Only the top six teams will make it to the conference tournament at Cox Pavilion from Nov. 27-30.
“We dealt with a lot of adversity, with a lot of injuries all season,” coach Malia Shoji said. “But this match means a lot because I think it’s them playing with pride, despite what the postseason may look like.”
There was an announced crowd of 623 on Thursday, a far cry from UNLV’s season high of 3,117 for a win against Hawaii on Sept. 17.
The first set was a marathon the Rebels (11-13, 4-9 Mountain West) ultimately won 34-32. UNLV also won the second set 26-24. The Spartans (13-4, 10-4) won the third set 25-18 before the Rebels closed things out with a 25-16 win in the fourth.
San Jose State senior Blaire Fleming had a game-high 20 kills, while UNLV freshman Basia Latos had 17.
The Spartans have dealt with controversy in recent weeks after co-captain Brooke Slusser joined a lawsuit against the NCAA’s inclusion policies. She said she didn’t want Fleming on the team, alleging her teammate was transgender.
Fleming and Slusser avoided interacting with one another most of the game.
The Rebels also beat the Spartans in four sets on the road Oct. 12. There were protesters at that game. UNLV captain Chloe Thomas said Thursday’s atmosphere was different.
“Cox always has a family-friendly environment, and UNLV is such a diverse, accepting campus. So I’m not surprised that everyone had open arms here tonight and wasn’t yelling out mean things and wasn’t being rude,” Thomas said. “The vibe at San Jose definitely made us have to lock in on our side a little bit, making sure we weren’t looking up to the stands.”
Thomas, a senior, said the protests have a negative impact on the player experience.
“I don’t like that we have to deal with that at games, but it is what it is,” she said. “Hopefully you won’t see much of that anymore, and hopefully Blaire (Fleming) graduates in peace.”
Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.