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A California girls’ high school volleyball team has lost two more games to forfeits from opposing schools, escalating an already heated dispute over a transgender athlete on the team.

Maribel Munoz, mother of one of the players on Jurupa Valley High School’s girls’ volleyball team, confirmed the forfeits to Fox News Digital after head coach Liana Manu informed parents of the cancellations. The forfeited games were set to be against Rim of the World High School on Aug. 25 and Orange Vista High School on Aug. 29.

Jurupa Valley Unified School District (JUSD) confirmed the forfeits in a statement on the cancellations, noting that the calls were not coming from the district. “We understand and acknowledge the disappointment of our Jurupa Valley High School athletes who are ready and prepared to play. Decisions to cancel matches were made by teams in other districts,” JUSD stated.

The district also made clear that it is required by California law not to discriminate against students for their gender identity. Specifically, Education Code 221.5 (f) states that schools “shall allow a student to participate on an athletic team that is consistent with the student’s gender identity.” The district noted that it is following guidance from California Attorney General Rob Bonta and California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond.

“We are proud of our JVHS Jaguars and their willingness to play any team and represent their school and our district with pride,” the district said in its statement. JUSD said it would work to reschedule new games so the athletes would not miss more play.

The latest forfeits come in the wake of Riverside Poly High School canceling an Aug. 15 match against Jurupa Valley. Fox News Digital previously confirmed with parents of the athletes and a local school board member that they canceled their match because of the presence of the team’s transgender athlete, senior AB Hernandez.

The mother of Hernandez, Nereyda Hernandez, posted a statement on social media following the cancellations. “I understand the discomfort some may feel, because I was once there, too. The difference is, I chose to learn, to grow, and to open my heart,” Hernandez said.

She went on to note that her daughter is small for her age and that her size, strength, and gender identity have nothing to do with why Hernandez was chosen to be on the team. “This is a child, and I can assure you that she sees your daughters as peers, as teammates, as friends, not through a lens of anything inappropriate,” Hernandez added. “And to my child, she didn’t even know these things were happening.”

Hernandez, who played for the team during the spring track and field season, came under national scrutiny after she won two state titles in the long jump and triple jump. While competing, her photo appeared on billboards, including at a Los Angeles-area event that the Trump Youth Football League cited as a reason for pulling out of an annual tournament.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) over California’s policies that allow transgender athletes to play on girls’ teams. The lawsuit came even after Trump signed an executive order in February aimed at prohibiting such participation.

As of Tuesday, Hernandez is in the midst of her senior year of high school volleyball. So far this season, it has been defined more by forfeits than games.

The mother of another player, Munoz, whose daughter has played with Hernandez for the past three years, is also unhappy with the way things have played out. “It makes me feel sad, it makes me feel angry, frustrated, just so many emotions,” she said.

The issue has even played out at Riverside Unified School District school board meetings. At one meeting, both sets of parents appeared at opposite ends of the boardroom, with some in support of the Riverside Poly athletes for refusing to play while others spoke in defense of transgender students’ rights to compete.

During that meeting, Hernandez also aimed at Riverside board member Amanda Vickers for previously speaking to Fox News Digital regarding the forfeit. “You actually entertained and welcomed harassment to my child,” she said. “You are a board member. You have an oath to protect, to support all children, not just the ones that fit your ideas, your beliefs.”

She also said that the pushback has been part of coordinated campaigns to “manufacture fear, push division and pit parents against parents, all under the disguise of religious judgment.” “This has nothing to do with fairness in sports and everything to do with erasing transgender children,” she added.

Parents like Maria Carrillo have taken the opposite view, however, applauding the Riverside Poly girls for standing up for themselves. “Poly girls, we stand with you. Keep fighting, because these parents who support their confused child are the problem,” Carrillo said.

Jurupa Valley’s regular season is set to run through mid-October. It’s not clear if other forfeits could come, as both sides in the debate could not be reached for comment by Tuesday afternoon.

Trump, meanwhile, ratcheted up his rhetoric last week, as he returned his attention to California, where the majority of state Democrats and all of its Democratic governors have taken steps to protect trans rights. In a recent post on Truth Social, he claimed that he would withhold federal funding from districts that did not comply with his administration’s directives.

Jurupa Valley’s volleyball team will now have to sort through state law, federal pressure, community division, and high political rhetoric in the coming months.

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Fox News Digital has obtained internal information from Hive International, a trans advocacy organization. The documents show that the group – which operates internationally and received funding from the Obama, Biden, and Clinton administrations and the George Soros-funded Open Society Foundations – explicitly names its enemies in the trans battle.

Documents viewed by Fox News Digital show that Hive lists three targets: conservative media, including Fox News; religious and cultural “extremists”; and parents and guardians of trans youth.