I don’t know if you caught it, but just a couple of weeks ago, Stanford played host to what might have been the game of the year, if only I could remember which sport. And to get it out of the way early—no, Andrew Luck was not playing, but someone named Evan Barry sure put on a show. Maybe it would help to go over what I do remember from that night . . .

For starters, the match was action-packed, particularly on the defensive end, filled with amazing back-and-forth rallies and featured clutch performances from both of Stanford’s repeat First Team All-Americans in the sport. LSJUMB was there (I guess that’s not very helpful, as I’ve seen the Band making an effort to get out to just about every sport this spring), but even they weren’t the rowdiest fans at the game (now that ought to help).

By now you might be thinking one of several things: one, why won’t this stupid columnist get to his obviously trivial point so I can go watch the Red Sox beat up on the Blue Jays? Two, who does this kid think he is, trying to make fun of me for not knowing anything about what he is talking about? Or three, how did I not know this awesome sport in which my school was the defending national champion?

I assume that most of you are picking option two, although number one might have some clout with all you fellow members of RSNation. But I guess my target audience is those in the last boat.

The match I was describing (and just recently remembered in vivid detail) was the No. 4 men’s volleyball team’s Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament quarterfinal matchup against No. 5 Long Beach State at Maples Pavilion on Saturday, April 23.

I’ll stop here and won’t be offended if some of you stop reading now because you think you don’t really care about or like men’s volleyball. Tall men running and jumping around in spandex just don’t do it for you, and that’s okay, but I would like to point out that the men’s team actually doesn’t wear spandex.

For those of you still reading, thank you. And to reward you, I’d like to hand out some statistics that ought to make those who stopped reading a little jealous. In that MPSF quarterfinal match, Stanford and Long Beach State were tied a total of 42 times in the five sets and 144 minutes it took to complete. There were also a whopping 14 lead changes in the 222 total points won in the match.

Sixty-one points either saw a team take the lead, tie the score or win the match. I don’t know about you, but for all the “parity” in major college and professional sports that brings in viewers and makes for tight finishes, it’s hard to get much closer than that.

You techies in the audience (all seven of you) have already figured out that those 61 points account for over 27 percent of the match. Congratulations, now put on some sunscreen and come out of your room to enjoy the sunny weather you saw people talking about on Twitter (#reasonthreeStanfordisbetterthanHarvard).

And on the subject of parity, let’s talk about the MPSF and men’s volleyball. In the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s national rankings at the end of the season, MPSF schools occupied seven of the top eight spots. Ohio State finished in the top spot by virtue of its victory in the NCAA title match, but all-in-all, 11 of the top 15 volleyball teams in the country play in the MPSF. For reference, there are only 12 teams in MPSF men’s volleyball.

Stanford plays in the Pac-10 in most sports—baseball, football and basketball, to name a few—and just for fun, let’s take a look at how those sports stacked up nationally. There are 10 teams in the basketball and football editions of the Pac-10, and this year, there were four nationally ranked teams at the end of the season—combined. Pac-10 baseball has three ranked teams in the top 25 right now, with two more hovering on the edge.

So that’s a grand total of seven nationally ranked teams from three different sports. Seven versus 11—I’m just an American studies major, but it seems like one is bigger than the other.

I understand you gridiron gurus who are in a race to see who can spit out your mouthpiece first and tell me that the number of quality teams across the country is way greater in football. Let me assure you, I know that there are 120 Division-I FBS football teams. I also know there are 346 D-I basketball teams and close to 300 baseball teams.

I understand all of your cries just as much as I don’t understand Jeremy Green’s decision to stay in the upcoming NBA Draft. But all jokes aside, my point here is not that MPSF men’s volleyball is far superior to any other sport, but that it’s still one of the greatest shows on turf . . . err, court.

The sport has some of the best all-around athletes in the country, simply given the fact that a volleyball player must possess the raw athleticism to jump very high, the mental ability to think through a complex set of strategies very quickly and the hand-eye coordination to hit a ball with power that is impressive by anyone’s standards.

Junior outside hitter Brad Lawson is one of the two aforementioned repeat All-Americans (junior libero Erik Shoji is the other), and watching him spike a volleyball is a spectacle I would encourage all 10 of you still reading to go and do before it’s too late. (As a side note, hop on YouTube and watch him sing an equally impressive version of the national anthem. It might move you more than you think.)

And when you have the chance to watch a game with as much action as a good men’s volleyball match has, do it. Stanford had an up-and-down year that included a sweep of the No. 2 team in the country but then never really got hot after spring break and ran into a Long Beach team that had the Cardinal’s number all season long (3-0 against the Card in 2011).

I don’t want this column to be one of those long tirades about fans not coming out to a sport I think is worthy; I don’t think those are effective or particularly interesting, with apologies to my fellow columnists. I just think that you ought to check out the MPSF and all it offers.

As the beat writer that went to most of the team’s home matches this season, I got to see the fast-paced game that is rally-scoring volleyball. And it was a great experience because Stanford played 23 of its 28 matches against nationally ranked opponents this year. As a sports fan, I enjoy watching good competition, and if the MPSF does anything well, it’s ensure tremendous competition.

And that’s all I’m trying to tell you here today. You may have lost your shot at seeing the men’s volleyball team compete this season, but next year’s squad has some serious potential to bring the KA Krazies out in force in May and maybe go after a second national title in three years.

Miles Bennett-Smith, despite his impressive collection of spandex, will always have to enjoy MPSF volleyball from the sidelines. Live the dream and schedule a meet-up in the sand pits by emailing milesbs “at” stanford.edu.