WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Today, Independent Women Features, the grassroots storytelling and original journalism arm of Independent Women, released its newest, exclusive female athlete documentary “Hold the Line” featuring Sia Liilii. Liilii is an Independent Women ambassador and captain of the University of Nevada, Reno women’s volleyball team. The documentary provides an exclusive inside look into Liilii’s life from Oʻahu, Hawaii, to the national stage fighting for women’s single-sex sports and fair competition. 

During the fall of 2024, the University of Nevada, Reno women’s volleyball team was scheduled to play the San José State University (SJSU) women’s volleyball team, which rosters a male athlete. Liilii and her teammates made the difficult decision to forfeit the match on October 26, 2024 over safety and fairness concerns. 

About the decision to stand with women, Liilii told Independent Women Features:

“We weren’t fully supported and backed by a lot of the university officials at our school. We were told we weren’t educated enough on the subject, that we needed to reconsider our positioning. Personally, I was very afraid about coming forth, but I don’t think I would go back and do anything differently.”

Liilii quickly became an advocate for women’s fairness, safety, privacy, and equal opportunity as an ambassador for Independent Women

In the exclusive documentary, Liilii puts this common sense issue in simple terms: “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. If men are allowed to compete against women, women will be erased from sports.”

Watch Sia’s Documentary HERE

Hold the Line: College Volleyball Team Captain Stands Firm Against Male Opponent

In addition to Liilii’s story, Independent Women Features published written feature articles detailing the accounts of Liilii’s teammates Kinsley Singleton and McKenna Dressel

The release of Liilii, Singleton, and Dressel’s stories coincide with the 2025 NCAA Convention being held this week in Nashville, Tennessee. Independent Women led a demonstration inside the convention center on Wednesday renewing calls for the NCAA to end its controversial, anti-woman Transgender Student-Athlete Participation Policy, which permits men who self-identify as women to participate in women’s collegiate sports — stripping women of trophies, roster spots, playing time, resources, and opportunities.

Sia Liilii at the NCAA Convention on January 15, 2025.

About the NCAA, Sia told Independent Women Features:

“[A] NCAA policy change would be the step in the right direction, back to what, almost fifty years ago, so many women worked so hard for with Title IX. Being a female athlete, even at the collegiate level, means the world to me. There have been other female athletes on campus who have come up to me in the training room and said, ‘Thank you for being a voice for change.’”

Andrea Mew, managing editor for Independent Women Features and producer of “Hold the Line”, said: “Fairness and safety in women’s sports shouldn’t be up for debate, which is why we’re proud to feature the voices of Sia Liilii, McKenna Dressel and Kinsley Singleton. These women won’t settle for less. Governing bodies like the NCAA need to step up and stop letting woke policies erase female athletes’ achievements. Women’s sports should be about fair competition, not bending the rules for inclusivity. It’s simple — keep women’s sports for women and make the changes now. No more excuses.”

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