[Cover image screenshotted from the Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS) Live Broadcast on X]

Sia Liilii, Co-Captain for the University of Nevada-Reno’s women’s volleyball team, stepped up to the microphone at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center on Oct. 26 to thunderous applause and a standing ovation before even speaking a word.

Tears began streaming down her face as she looked out into a sea of over 400 supportive faces.

She was here, standing in front of this large crowd about to give a speech, because she and her team had the courage to stand up against injustice in women’s sports.

This rally was taking place on the same day the UNR women’s volleyball team was originally scheduled to play San Jose State University. Instead, the game was cancelled, and nine members of the team found themselves standing on a stage fighting for the right to fair play, safety, and equality of opportunity in women’s athletics.

Liilii, along with teammates McKenna Dressel, Sierra Bernard, Masyn Navarro, Kinsley Singleton, Malia Pilimai, Nicanora Clarke, Bella Snyder, and Summer Suppik, refused to play in the match against SJSU because there is a trans-identifying male on SJSU’s roster who they felt threatened their safety and the fairness of competition on the court.

But their stand was not about one person. It was not an attack on an individual but a fight for a bigger purpose.

“All female athletes deserve to be protected at every level and every age,” said Liilii, “This is unfair and has to be stopped.”

Without consulting the players, UNR released a statement that the team would compete against SJSU despite the knowledge that there was a male on the opposing team.

“Our rights and our voices were taken away. We felt unsafe and dismissed,” said Liilii.

Liilii explained how when the players approached the University to express their concerns for their safety and fair play on the court, they were dismissed and told that they were uneducated and “didn’t understand the science.”

They received no support from the administration, and Lillii recounted how they were told to “reconsider” their refusal to play against the trans-identifying male.

“How many young women will have to be beaten out for an opportunity by a male before enough is enough? Men do not belong in women’s sports. If you were born a male, you do not belong in women’s sports,” Liilii stated.

The players forced UNR’s hand by boycotting the match, resulting in a forfeit due to there not being enough available players. This was a significant decision on the players’ part, as it not only required courage to stand firm in their convictions, but also will be recorded as a conference loss. This could affect the team’s future possibilities of competing for a championship title.

The Mountain West Conference and NCAA have failed to take a stand for the female athletes speaking out against these injustices.

As Nevada’s Lt. Governor Stabros Anthony pointed out at the rally, women have fought for their rights in sports for over 100 years.

According to Anthony, new legislation will be introduced during the 2025 legislative session to ensure women’s sports are protected.

A study published by the United Nations in August, found that “over 600 female athletes in more than 400 competitions have lost more than 890 medals in 29 different sports” to male athletes.

Aside from this massive injustice to women, safety is also a major concern for female athletes who find themselves competing, or set to compete, against a male.

In certain sports, volleyball being a prime example, this concern becomes more obvious.

In men’s volleyball the net is over 7 and a half inches taller than a regulation women’s net.

As far back as 1995, there was already an undisputed understanding within the scientific community that men have a natural ability to “‘out jump’ females in explosive power capability.’”

Studies provide clear evidence confirming that male volleyball players, on average, hit the ball harder, jump higher, and approach the net quicker than female athletes.

What the UNR women’s volleyball team was being asked to do by their University, the Mountain West Conference, and the NCAA was to compete against an athlete who would not only eliminate fair play on the court, but could pose a serious risk to their safety.

Payton McNabb, who has become a powerful voice fighting for women-only sports, sustained a significant traumatic brain injury (TBI) when she was hit in the head by a volleyball during her senior season.

The athlete who spiked the ball was a trans-identifying male.

McNabb still struggles with severe symptoms from the TBI, and her story is just one in a slew of stories about female athletes who have sustained serious injuries from male athletes who claim it as their right to compete against females.

Every UNR athlete who spoke at the rally mentioned how much of their life they invested in volleyball, how much they loved the sport, how much it had given them. They also talked about how they dreamed of playing college volleyball at the NCAA D1 level, but being required to play against a male is not something any of them anticipated.

Freshman Libero, Kenzie Singleton, expressed the incredible burden of not only being a new freshman but of now being faced with a male opponent on the court.

“You shouldn’t have to have your achievements, your records, your successes diluted by having to play against a male player. You shouldn’t have to risk your safety to play the game you love,” said Singleton.

Junior Middle Blocker, McKenna Dressel, has spent the last 14 years of her life playing volleyball. She now finds herself expending incredible amounts of energy just defending her right to play against other females.

“Why are my title IX rights being ignored?” asked Dressel, “Why is our physical wellbeing not being addressed and protected?…Why are women so easily cast aside? Why are the feelings of men so much more important than all these bigger questions for women?”

While some will see what is happening with the UNR women’s volleyball team and claim that this is a rare case, male infringement into women’s sports is happening regularly, all over the country.

Another speaker at the event, 17-year-old Galena High School student, Kendall Lewis, shared her story of how she felt when she found out she would be competing against a male.

Lewis said she felt “discouraged and overshadowed by someone [she’d] never met” and experienced an initial jolt of fear go through her body at the news.

Following Lewis’s speech, the UNR teammates gathered Lewis in their arms and formed a group hug, displaying a moment of unity, emotion, and power.

Co-founder of the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, Marshi Smith, and 2-time national volleyball champion at Stanford University, Jen Hucke, also spoke at the event, encouraging those in attendance to continue boldly speaking up for women’s rights in sports.

12-time All-American swimmer, Riley Gaines, introduced and closed out the event, reminding the team that while they were not competing in a match that day, they were still working as a team for a common goal, to protect women in sports in the present and in the future.