When Sia Liilii, team captain of the women’s volleyball team at the University of Nevada, Reno, found out her team would have to compete against a trans-identified male player on San Jose State University’s (SJSU) women’s team, she felt blindsided. She and her teammates had seen viral clips on social media of the male player “pummeling the ball onto the floor” and hitting “undefendable swings” and couldn’t believe they were being expected to put themselves at risk.

And that was indeed what university officials demanded of them, Liilii revealed. Despite multiple conversations with the school about her and her teammates’ concerns, officials pressured Liilii to proceed with the match against SJSU and face the male player.

But Liilii and her teammates recognized that what the school’s administrators asked of them was wrong. They held the line and decided to forfeit the match against SJSU instead. 

In an exclusive interview and mini-documentary with IW Features, Liilii shared her journey from humble beginnings to becoming an advocate for women’s rights on the national stage.

Growing up in O’ahu, Hawaii, Liilii recalls many late nights traveling from one side of the island to another in pursuit of her athletic career. 

“Everyone loves paradise,” she said of Hawaii, but after years of sacrificing time with friends and family to get to the top of her game, she got her chance to “get away and experience something new.” Liilii earned a Division 1 scholarship to the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), where she played as a starter from 2021 on, eventually becoming team captain.

Her role in the team’s leadership was vital as her teammates wrestled with how to respond to the dilemma posed by SJSU’s trans-identified male player. 

Liilii said she and her teammates first learned about the male player through social media during the 2024 pre-season. Since SJSU competed in the same conference as the University of Nevada, Reno, Liilii immediately opened the conversation with her teammates about the risks involved. It became clear right away that no one wanted to play against him, and many felt his participation in a women’s team went against their morals and values, Liilii said.

Two months later, Liilii learned that her university had put out a statement of intent to play against SJSU.

“It was really gut-wrenching,” she said.

Liilii then held a team meeting to gauge how her players were feeling, and 16 of the 17 women decided to protest the game. They informed their athletic director they didn’t want to play “due to equal opportunity, fair play, and fair competition.”

But their concerns were ignored. 

“We were told we’re not educated enough on the subject,” she said. 

While her coaches supported the team’s choice to forfeit the game against SJSU, the same couldn’t be said for the UNR administrators, who appeared to suggest that the women were the problem. 

On the day they were scheduled to play against SJSU, Liilii’s team held a press conference explaining their decision. Liilii’s bold stance in support of fairness for female athletes caught the attention of several lawmakers who attended the press conference, including Tulsi Gabbard, Liilii’s former congresswoman, and Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin. 

UNR tried to proceed with the match despite the women’s efforts, citing state equality laws which were amended in 2022 to add gender identity and expression to the list of protected characteristics. However, because there were not enough players willing to compete against SJSU, UNR was forced to officially announce the forfeit.

Not being fully supported by her university was “really tough,” Liilii said, but she praised her teammates for staying unified during the “whole traumatic experience.”

“I was very afraid about coming forth and putting my name on something that was very controversial,” Liilii admitted. However, after leaning on her faith and friends to stay true to her values, Liilii said, “I don’t think I would go back and do anything differently.”

Following the viral forfeit, Liilii joined Independent Women as an ambassador to advocate for the protection of women’s sports. Back on campus, she said other female athletes have approached her and thanked her for being a voice for change. 

However, change requires action from the top down.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the governing body for hundreds of collegiate teams like Liilii’s, changed its transgender athlete policy in January 2022 to allow trans-identified male athletes to compete in women’s events. Unless the NCAA changes this policy, female athletes under its jurisdiction will continue to be forced to compete against males who identify as transgender –– or they’ll need to take a page out of Liilii’s playbook and forfeit their game.

But it shouldn’t have to come to that.

“Women’s sports belong to women only, and men’s sports belong to men only because it gives us a chance to champion the sport without being dominated by the other sex,” Liilii said. 

A decision by the NCAA to amend its policy to acknowledge sex-based differences and make it clear that women’s sports are for females only “would be the step in the right direction back to what almost 50 years ago so many women worked so hard for with Title IX,” Liilii said, referring to the federal statute that prohibits sex discrimination in education.

There should be “no more excuses and no more delays,” Liilii added. “The changes we’re asking for aren’t complicated — they’re just common sense.”