BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — The coach of Quinnipiac University's volleyball team testified Monday that the Connecticut school manipulated the rosters of its athletic teams to make them appear more in line with the gender makeup of the school's population.

Robin Sparks appeared in federal court in Bridgeport as part of a lawsuit she and several team members filed last month that accuses the school of failing to provide female students with equal opportunity to participate in varsity intercollegiate athletics.

They're asking U.S. District Judge Stefan Underhill for an injunction that would prevent Quinnipiac from eliminating the women's volleyball program while the matter is in court. Sparks said Quinnipiac drops athletes from the rosters of some men's teams just before their seasons begin and reinstitutes them days later to make its Title IX reports to the US Department of Education appear more gender balanced. She did not specify which teams were affected.

Jack McDonald, Quinnipiac's director of athletics and recreation, declined to respond to that allegation outside of the courthouse.

The 1972 federal Title IX law requires schools to provide equal sports access regardless of sex.

The school's president, John Lahey, has denied that he was targeting females when he decided which programs to cut.

American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut attorney Jon Orleans is arguing on behalf of the volleyball team that Quinnipiac has failed to provide women with the equal opportunity to participate in varsity sports.