San Jose State’s ladies’s volleyball crew had two gamers listed on the Mountain West’s all-conference honorable point out checklist this 12 months who’re additionally on opposing sides of explosive lawsuits.
Senior Blaire Fleming and Brooke Slusser have been each on the checklist in addition to Annie Kaminski and Kiki Remensperger from Boise State, San Diego State’s Jasmine Davis, Basia Latos and Chloe Thomas from UNLV, Utah State’s Kaylie Kofe and Wyoming’s Sarah Holcomb.
Slusser is a part of two lawsuits alleging the college and Fleming actively sought to stop Slusser and different gamers on the crew from realizing Fleming is a organic male.
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The 2024 Mountain West volleyball season all-conference honorable mentions embody San Jose State gamers Blaire Fleming and Brooke Slusser. (Courtesy of the Mountain West)
On the courtroom, Fleming and Slusser anchored among the best offenses within the Mountain West.
The Spartans completed the common season with the third-best hitting share within the convention.
Slusser completed with a prime 10 particular person hitting share within the convention.
Fleming was second within the convention in kills per set with a .386, nonetheless effectively behind Colorado State’s Malaya Jones, who led the way in which at .457.
Fleming had a signature second within the second-to-last sport of the season towards first-place Colorado State at dwelling on Senior Day. Fleming led the sport in kills with 24 and complete assaults and clinched victory within the fifth set with a match-point service ace.
Proper after the play, Fleming was swarmed by teammates in celebration. Even Slusser acquired concerned. This group celebration happened simply days after Slusser and different Mountain West gamers filed a second lawsuit over Fleming’s presence on the crew towards San Jose State and the convention.
Slusser beforehand joined a lawsuit towards the NCAA headed by former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines over the governing physique’s insurance policies on gender ideology which have allowed transgender athletes to compete as ladies.
In each lawsuits, Slusser has alleged Fleming’s spikes journey at 80 mph.
“Brooke estimates that Fleming’s spikes were traveling upward of 80 mph, which was faster than she had ever seen a woman hit a volleyball,” Slusser’s grievance states. “The girls were doing everything they could to dodge Fleming’s spikes but still could not fully protect themselves.”
Fleming beforehand set a single-game document at John Champe Excessive Faculty with 30 kills in a match and a single-season document of 266 kills for the varsity’s women’ volleyball crew.
Footage from the athlete’s Hudl web page of the school-record 30-kill match in September 2019 exhibits how laborious and quick Fleming’s spikes got here down at the highschool stage towards lady opponents.
Brooke Slusser, left, and Blaire Fleming of the San Jose State Spartans name a play in the course of the first set towards the Air Pressure Falcons at Falcon Court docket at East Gymnasium Oct. 19, 2024, in Colorado Springs, Colo. (Andrew Wevers/Getty Photographs)
President-elect Trump even commented about footage of certainly one of Fleming’s performs by which the participant spiked a ball at San Diego State participant Keira Herron in a match earlier this season.
“I saw the slam. It was a slam. I never saw a ball hit so hard,” Trump mentioned throughout a Fox Information city corridor earlier than he was elected to a second time period. “But other people, even in volleyball, they’ve been permanently — I mean, they’ve been hurt really badly. Women playing men.”
In one other match towards New Mexico Oct. 18, certainly one of Fleming’s spikes knocked an opposing participant to the courtroom.
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Regardless of the lawsuits and the controversy, Slusser and the remainder of her teammates have taken the courtroom with Fleming throughout a season that has included a number of forfeits.
San Jose State completed with a 12-6 convention document, incomes a No. 2 seed within the Mountain West Event. The crew achieved this with six of these 12 wins coming through forfeit after Utah State, Boise State, Nevada and Wyoming all refused to face this system amid the continued controversy involving Fleming. Boise State and Wyoming every forfeited two matches towards San Jose State.
In matches they’ve performed, Fleming’s spiking means is the centerpiece of the crew’s technique. Even Slusser has arrange Fleming for one of many athlete’s feared spikes all through the season whereas being a part of the lawsuit that has alleged security considerations with these spikes.
Because the crew gears as much as play within the Mountain West match in Las Vegas this week, it’s sure to face a crew that has already forfeited a match towards San Jose State.
Blaire Fleming of the San Jose State Spartans assaults the web in the course of the first set towards the Air Pressure Falcons at Falcon Court docket at East Gymnasium Oct. 19, 2024, in Colorado Springs, Colo. (Andrew Wevers/Getty Photographs)
Utah State and Boise State will meet within the quarterfinals for the best to advance and face San Jose State within the semifinal after the Spartans acquired a first-round bye.
Slusser beforehand instructed Fox Information Digital her crew does not know if the Spartans’ upcoming match opponents will face them.
“We’re just mostly wondering, are teams even gonna play us, period, if we go there? Because of just everything that’s happened this season,” Slusser mentioned. “It seems like every few days it looks like it’ll be a fine day and everything’s normal, and then something else happens. So, I truly do think everyone’s just kind of taking things day by day and taking the punches as they come.”
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