In Sunday’s column, I sarcastically identified this Friday’s state Senate informational briefing about University of Hawaii football as the first big sports event in Hawaii of 2022.

I’m glad that apparently no one took that seriously. Of course, it’s actually tonight’s men’s volleyball season opener, as the University of Hawaii hosts Loyola-Chicago.

In most other parts of the country, people might think that’s a joke, too. But the Rainbow Warriors are the only men’s volleyball team in the nation that can call itself this for at least the next few months: “Defending national champion.” That means a lot, especially at UH, where men’s team national championships are few and far apart. Let me amend that … few and far apart in the memories of Hawaii fans; technically, this is the one and only, since the 2002 championship won by Hawaii was vacated by the NCAA.

And volleyball is a big part of our state’s identity. For sports, it’s almost up there with surfing.

Plus, isn’t this great timing? We all need a break from the junk off-the-field stuff.

Sports are supposed to be a distraction from the real-world garbage that maybe is important and we can’t ignore. But it’s toxic in large doses.

Everyone finally has a chance to get away from all the off-field and off-court irritation and disappointment surrounding UH athletics — and high school sports, too, with the OIA’s announcement that spectators won’t be allowed at Oahu’s public school prep competitions until further notice.

And it’s anyone’s guess when the pandemic will dissipate enough for us to count on college basketball tip-offs with any level of assuredness there won’t be cancellations, last-minute and otherwise.

After the CFP semifinal games on New Year’s Eve, someone suggested that Cincinnati and Michigan come to Hawaii and play in a third-place game to replace the EasyPost Hawaii Bowl that was not played. UH had too many coronavirus cases and portal-ized transfers to give Memphis a game on Christmas Eve.

Excellent idea, points for creativity … but of course not practical this year. Would anyone want to risk another tease, two more teams coming from the continent for a game here only to not be allowed to play it? Maybe it’d be OK if they called it “recreational” and played at Kapiolani Park.

Near the end of 2021, we also had two Diamond Head Classic Christmas Day tilts and UH hoops’ Big West season-opening games canceled at a rate faster than politically incorrect celebrities.

And all those football transfers. To those who say other schools are losing guys, too, remember that in many cases they’re running toward a new school, perhaps to follow their coach — and not away from their old, previously beloved, program.

What UH fan who watched the Sugar Bowl on Saturday didn’t feel a little coach envy while seeing former Warriors defensive coordinator Dave Aranda lead the Bears to victory over Ole Miss?

And if you want some irony, it was current UH coach Todd Graham whose Tulsa team tore up Aranda’s defense in a 62-35 Hawaii Bowl victory in 2010 — a Warriors defense that was among the nation’s leaders with 30 forced turnovers and went 10-4 including a tie for WAC champions.

Sorry, this was supposed to be about volleyball and the present. But now that we’ve established that tonight’s match is the light out of the wilderness, we can address that age-old question that fans of successful teams get to ask.

Are they reloading, or rebuilding?

Maybe both.

Coach Charlie Wade’s Warriors are the preseason No. 1 team in the AVCA Coaches Poll, despite losing four huge stars from last year: hitter Colton Cowell, hitter-blocker Patrick Gasman, libero Gage Worsley and hitter Rado Parapunov, the national player of the year.

But three starters return — setter Jakob Thelle, blocker Guilherme Voss and hitter Chaz Galloway.

Look for the high-flying Galloway to emerge as a big standout this year. With so much veteran talent around him in 2021, his swings were limited as a second-year freshman. He’ll be among the players on center stage starting tonight, and a key in Hawaii’s attempt to repeat its national championship.

For home matches, the Warriors have another key returnee, which was forced to “redshirt” last year. That would be the 7th to up to 10,307th “players,” those in the stands at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

Staying on top of the mountain is never as easy as getting there. But that many live, in-person fans — starved so long of mass celebration and garlic fries — won’t hurt the effort one bit.